The Presidency has denied a report that President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed one of the two factions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State.
The President stated this in a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Saturday.
Mr Shehu said his statement was “to counter a public statement by one of the factions of the All Progressives Congress in Kano State, that they have received the endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari.”
“This is blatantly untrue. This cannot happen when matters are awaiting adjudication by the courts.
“To be clear on this one, President Buhari has not endorsed any faction.
“His support is for the All Progressives Congress as a Party, united and strong, and not of any faction,” Mr Shehu said.
The APC in Kano is split into two factions, one loyal to the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and the other to a senator, Ibrahim Shekarau.
Just like some other state chapters, the crisis within the Kano chapter degenerated into a legal tussle after the October 18 parallel congresses that produced two sets of executives loyal to the two leaders.
Mr Shekarau’s faction elected Haruna Danzago as chairman while Mr Ganduje’s faction elected Abdullahi Abbas.
It is against this backdrop that a High Court in Abuja on two different sittings ruled on the matter.
The court, in November 30 and December 17, ruled in favour of the faction loyal to Mr Shekarau, the senator representing Kano Central, after the APC headquarters had endorsed the congresses that produced Mr Abbas-led executive.
While the matter remains in court, Mr Danzago, after meeting with Mr Buhari on Friday, told BBC Hausa that the president congratulated him as the legitimate chairman of the party, a claim Mr Shehu has now denied.
“He (the President) asked me what did you get? I replied to him that I got the chairmanship of APC in Kano, then he congratulated me,” Mr Danzago reportedly said in Hausa.
He added that there was no discussion around the Kano APC crisis between him and the president owing to the fact that the matter is still in court.
