Thousand of APC members loyal to Senators Shehu Sani and Suleiman Hunkuyi in Kaduna state have left the ruling party.
Loyalists of Senators Shehu Sani and Suleiman Hunkuyi have pulled out the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna state.
Chairman of the APC Akida faction, Tom Maiyashi, and Ja’afaru Abas Ibrahim, legal adviser of the Restoration Group made the announcement a joint press conference on Friday, July 13, 2018, in Kaduna.
Senators Sani and Hunkuyi who have been engaged in prolonged rivalry with Governor Nasir El-Rufai are members of the “Akida” and “Restoration Group” factions of the APC.
“This joint press conference is the culmination of extensive reviews and consultations over the state of the All Progressives, Congress (APC) in Kaduna state as well as in the nation,” Maiyashi said.
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“As you will appreciate, groups such as ours that had been on the frontline of the efforts to keep our party along the lines of survival, accountability and integrity, will be diligent in ensuring that whatever steps we take, are consistent with our high sense of responsibility.
“We are satisfied that the positions we have arrived at are in the best interests of our members and the ongoing-efforts to create options and strategies that will rid our nation of undeserved and avoidable challenges.
“Members of our two groups have decided to leave the APC because it is incapable of accommodating and responding to well-meaning dissent, criticism and demands for inclusiveness and internal democracy,” he added.
Both groups also advised their teeming members to formalise their withdrawal from the APC.
Both groups are yet to disclose the political parties they are moving into.
“We want to commend the resilience and commitment of our members in the face of institutionalised exclusion, marginalisation and abuse. We urge them all to keep faith” Maiyashi noted.
The Kaduna Senators recently opposed Governor El-Rufai's loan request at the Senate.