An All Progressives Congress (APC) group, the Progressives Right Group (PRG) has backed Salihu Lukman and called on Abdullahi Adamu, national chairman of the party, to be accountable.
This in reaction to a recommendation by Ahmad El-Marzuq, APC national legal adviser, for the expulsion of Lukman, vice-chairman of the party in the north-west.
Lukman had asked the federal high court in Abuja to compel Adamu and Iyiola Omisore, the party’s secretary, to publish APC’s financial records.
In a statement on Monday, Ibrahim Dikko Yusuf, the group’s convener, said the national chairman should convene a national executive committee (NEC) meeting where he will present the party’s financial records.
Yusuf expressed displeasure that despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s instruction, Adamu is yet to refund nomination fees to all the aspirants that stepped down in the build-up to the party’s last convention.
“The issue of accountability is one key factor that distinguished APC from other parties in 2015 and earned us the victory at the polls over the incumbent PDP administration, but down the line, especially in the last three years, our party has been bugged by the PDP syndrome and our leaders have resorted to impunity and flagrant disobedience of the party constitution,” he said.
“Despite the huge revenues accrued to the party from the sale of nomination forms to aspirants for the just concluded general elections, Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led NWC is still owing members on party assignments.
“Sadly, the affairs of the party had been conducted discretionary at the expense of the party’s constitution.
“When we read the open letter by the National vice-chairman (north-west), Malam Salihu Lukman to the national chairman on these very pertinent issues, we were happy that things may have started to take shape.
“Let it be clear that as members of this party, we will resist any attempt by the chairman and some members of the NWC to stifle Malam Salihu Lukman or fail to attend to all the pertinent issues raised. We stand by Malam Salihu Lukman and we call for the party to return to the path of constitutionalism.”
The group added that Adamu must call for a NEC meeting immediately and “render the necessary accounts”.