Fact-Check: Did President Buhari Congratulate Factional APC Chairman in Kano?

Fact-Check: Did President Buhari Congratulate Factional APC Chairman in Kano?

Claim: A message circulated on the  Facebook fans page of one of the top radio stations in Kano claims President Buhari has congratulated one of the APC factional leaders for emerging a winner. 

Verdict: No known official channel of communication reported that President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated any of the factional chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano for emerging winner. The Claim is FALSE. 

Full Text: 

Following a parallel APC convention held in Kano, the Facebook fans page of one of the top radio stations in Kano claims President Buhari has congratulated one of the factional chairman for emerging winner. 

The text translated from Hausa to English reads, “The Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Ahmadu Haruna Danzago for emerging the new APC Chairman in Kano State following its convention on Saturday morning. End of talk.” 

How the Crisis Rattling the APC in Kano Escalated: 

Crisis rattling the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) escalated when former governor and senator representing Kano Central, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, one other senator and four federal lawmakers waged war against Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on 14th October 2021.

The members of the National Assembly representing Kano rejected the outcome of APC ward and local government congresses while demanding urgent intervention of the national leadership of the party to avoid disintegration ahead of Saturday state congress.

In a petition sent to the national headquarters of APC at the end of the meeting, the forum unanimously resolved that, “We reject in totality, the purported congresses said to be carried out by the state party leadership, at the ward and local government levels in the entire state because of its exclusiveness and flagrant violation of all known civilized norms, rules and party guidelines.

“We shall resist any attempt by the state party leadership to carry out state Congress in the same exclusive and kangaroo manner aimed at imposing party officers on the members of the party in the state. We urged the national leadership of the party to urgently take decisive steps to end the destructive tendencies manifestly exhibited in the management of the party affairs in Kano State.”

Responding to the allegations, the Caretaker chairman, Prince Abdullahi Abbas, denied the allegations of the lawmakers claiming that the party considered all the senators and lawmakers as critical stakeholders and decision-making forces of the party.

“You have failed your constituents,” Ganduje fires back at lawmakers

But reacting to their allegations during a stakeholders’ meeting at Government House in Kano on Thursday, the governor said it was unfortunate that leading members of the party in the state are doing disservice to the party.

He said the aggrieved groups do not believe in the party structure since they rejected the party leadership from ward to state level.

“You have failed to deliver good projects to your constituents and you are facing problems then you accuse me of your travails?”

“The money you are collecting in Abuja has not come down to your constituents and you’re blaming me? You’re taking me as scapegoat to your problems.

“The congress will hold and the doors are opened to all from every camp to come and contest. It is either by election or by consensus.

Crisis Escalate, Parallel Leaders Emerge

In Kano, in spite of attempts to prevent conduct of a parallel congress, the senator representing Kano Central, Ibrahim Shekaru, led his group to conduct its congress and elected Ahmadu Haruna Zago as the state’s party chairman.

A party member from the national headquarters, Sani Bello, supervised the congress in Janguza, Tofa local government area of the state.

Bello, at the end of the congress, announced Zago as the party Chairman among other newly elected executives.

Ganduje declares Shekarau-led parallel APC Kano Congress illegal

Speaking at the APC Congress at the Indoor Stadium on Saturday, Governor Ganduje declared that any parallel Congress was illegitimate.

He said: “Only disgruntled politicians will hold a parallel state congress in Kano state.

“We are here in Sani Abacha Stadium with 3,320 delegates assembled to participate in the APC state congress -to elect officials of APC who will run the affairs of the party.

“This is the (only) authentic gathering where members are going to elect state congress members. Any other place in the state, where this type of gathering is said to be taking place must be regarded as illegal,” Ganduje said.

Bickerings Over Legitimacy: 

The newly elected factional chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kano State, Ahmadu Haruna Zago, has said his faction had conducted a lawful congress recognised by the national headquarters of the party.

While Mr Danzago emerged chairman in a congress held in Janguza, an area located on the outskirts of Kano city, Abdullahi Abbas emerged chairman in the state-backed congress held at Sani Abacha Stadium.

But in an interview with DAILY NIGERIAN on Sunday night, Mr. Danzago said the congress conducted by the faction led by the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, is null and void as it neither satisfied the requirements of the law nor support the national secretariat of the party.

Abdullahi Abbas, the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje-backed chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kano State, in turn refuted claims by a faction led by former governor Ibrahim Shekarau, that they were recognised by the national headquarters of the party.

In a chat with DAILY NIGERIAN, Mr. Abbas said the legitimacy claims by the factional chairman of the party, Ahmadu Haruna Zago, were only aimed at causing confusions in the party.

Verification: 

Various search engine checks with different keywords associated with “Muhammadu Buhari,” the “All Progressives Congress,” “Abdullahi Abbas,” and “Ahmadu Danzago,” reveals that the closest congratulatory message recently linked to the President was his felicitations with Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia on the occasion of his 57th birthday which came up on Oct. 18 and one linked to renowned geographer, Prof Akinlawon Ladipo Mabogunje, on his 90th birthday, on October 18, 2021. 

President Buhari’s spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, has said in the statement that the president joined the entire Ikpeazu family, their friends and associates in praying for good health and long life for the governor. 

No other National Daily reported anything that links the President to any of the factional APC chairmen in Kano. 

Also, a visit to statehouse.gov.ng the Nigerian Presidency’s official website which provides daily updates from the Villa shows that the only other recent congratulatory message from the President was the one where he felicitated with the former Director-General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Sen. Basheer Garba Lado on his 55th birthday, October 16, 2021 signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity) Mallam Garba Shehu.  

Similarly, a check on the facebook pages – as government officials are officially not using Twitter – of President Muhammadu Buhari, his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Senior Special Assistant Media and Publicity, Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad who is also from Kano State, reveals that there was no such message from the President. 

Conclusion: 

Based on all publicly available correspondences within the period under view, there was no shred of evidence to substantiate the claim, which is therefore concluded to be FALSE.