From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The last may not have been heard about the rift between the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the chieftain of the party in Zamfara State, Senator Kabiru Marafa as they have relaunched fresh attack on each other.
Senator Marafa had while dismissing the threat by the APC Caretaker Committee to expel him from the party for expressing reservations on the legality of the committee and its activities, described it as an empty threat, warning that he cannot be silenced.
In a statement he issued in Abuja on Wednesday, Marafa noted: “Expelling me from the party will only aggravate the problem, it will herald the beginning of the agitation; rule of law must be respected. The committee is an illegal and alien to the constitution of the party, we are building everything on nothing. Rather than the expulsion threat, the committee or the chairman should respond to issues I raised.”
Reacting further, Marafa said: “APC is a political party not a committee, committees are created to serve a specific functions not to usurp the powers of the entire legal entity. The function of the Mai Mala committee is to plan a convention just as its name implies, Mai Mala is the chairman of the APC convention planning committee and not APC itself.”
He reiterated his determination to institute a legal action to save the party against what he tagged, ‘’over ambitious Buni’’, if he refuses to revert to his original assignment as chairman convention planning committee.
“We will show him the way out dishonourably We will not allow the party we contributed immensely to develop to be destroyed by over ambitious self-centred and enemies of the party, and the country.
“This is the party we laboured, toiled and laid the foundation for its success. We will not allow those who have little or no stake in the party to destroy it or to please certain individuals and achieve their selfish interest,” he said.
Responding to his fresh attack, National Secretary APC Caretaker Committee, Sen John James Akpanudoedehe, said that the party will not join issues with him.
“We are not abusive to any member of our party, we are too mature to go into personal response. Our interest is in general public and then the party. We are not going to go back and forth with anybody. Any information that is giving out, we are duty bound to respond by stating the fact as it is.
“I will not descend to the level where Marafa will talk and I reply. I am not going to do that. I have never been personal with anybody, he can abuse me, my duty is to explain to the public, my interest is to give a balanced information for the public to see whether we are saying the truth or not.
“That’s all, we are not going to enter into personal tarade of words. Nobody can drag me or the party to the gutter, we are an institution. They are not dealing with an individual but an institution,” he said.