DAGGERS DRAWN [APC Saga]: Buni, Marafa's Feud Gets Messier |TOP STORY

The party on its part has threatened to wield the big stick on Senator Marafa over his verbal attacks on Buni. The threats came 24 hours after Marafa declared the CECPC an illegal contraption and vowed to ensure its dissolution through the judiciary.

However, in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja and signed by the National Secretary of the CECPC, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, the party warned Marafa against insubordination.

Marafa in his own statement asked the CECPC to stop grandstanding and address all issues he raised at his Sunday's news conference.

What Marafa said, by spokesman

Spokesman of the Marafa faction of the APC, Bello Bakyasuwa Maradun said in a statement:

"In his courageous and issues-driven politics, Senator Kabiru Marafa raised pertinent points that undermined the legality of the APC national leadership under Mai Mala Buni, while equally providing the rationale for his APC-led faction to conduct a parallel congress.

"It is interesting that issues raised by Senator Marafa did not sit well with the so-called caretaker leadership of APC under Mai-Mala Buni through a statement attributed to one Mamman Mohammed who called himself DG Press and Media Affairs to Governor Mai Mala Buni.

"We want to thank the DG for acknowledging the fact that Senator Marafa is a responsible politician. But instead of addressing the issues raised by Senator Marafa against his boss, Mr. Mamman went bluffing, describing the actions of the highly-respected senator as 'political suicide' and advising on the obvious stance of going to court which Senator Marafa unequivocally stated in all his statements.

"In responding to his statement, we consider it imperative for Mai Mala Buni and his co-travelers on the road to perdition to what the famous boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, says 'Bragging is when a man says what he can't do. I do what I say'.

"This is because Nigeria and the world have witnessed the courageous and responsible way Senator Marafa conducted his affairs as a senator of the Federal of Nigeria and his political engagements in general.

"We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted by the outburst of Mr. Mai-Mala's spokesman and lose sight of the real issues raised by Senator Marafa.

"For the records, Senator Marafa took Mai-Mala Buni up on the stupendous and scandalous amount of money and assets he declared in his code of conduct form as published by Sahara Reporters which are not justifiable in the context of his family and or business antecedents.

"Senator Marafa also related the misguided actions of Mai-Mala Buni as products of his lack of formal education, his history of never attending a school and challenged him (Mai Mala) to mention the legitimate schools he (Buni) ever attended.

"Senator Marafa equally recalled how he and Malam Nasir El-Rufa'i were instrumental to Mai-Mala's emergence as APC National Secretary and went further to mention names of some eminent personalities that are all alive as witnesses to his claim.

"Such personalities include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Lawal, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso, Senator Ali Modu Sherif and so on.

"On these grounds, Senator Marafa questioned the moral disposition of Mr. Mai-Mala Buni's arrogant and undemocratic ways of doing things in APC generally and Zamfara in particular as if he has a pedigree beyond being a councilor, PA to the governor, then party national secretary before becoming a governor.

"One would have thought Mamman would debunk these claims or get across to one or all the eminent personalities mentioned by Senator Marafa to debunk the claim.ÔÇØ

Don't reduce issues to personality contest - APC

Buni in the statement signed by Akpanudoedehe, the APC warned Marafa not to reduce party issues to a personality contest.

"The party urges Senator Marafa and his cohorts not to reduce the political issues to a contest of personalities but submit to party supremacy and internal dispute resolution structures adequately provided for by APC constitution.

"Anything outside this amounts to insubordination and indiscipline and the APC constitution is very clear on this,ÔÇØ Akpanudoedehe stated.

On allegations that it bent the rules in the conduct of the hitherto suspended congresses in Zamfara State, the CECPC said: "Our attention has been drawn to uninformed and misguided comments by Senator Kabiru Marafa regarding the All Progressives Congress, APC, Ward congresses held in Zamfara State on Saturday, November 13, 2021.

"While the APC will not join issues with Senator Marafa who is supposed to be one of the party leaders in Zamfara State but chooses to denigrate the party and its leaders, it is important to set the records straight.

"For the avoidance of doubt, APC received intelligence reports bordering on the security of the Zamfara State APC Ward Congress Committee, hence the need to temporarily suspend their activities. That necessitated the letter of November 5, 2021, to the chairman of the committee, Alhaji Ibrahim Kabir Masari, only.

"After evaluation and consultations, the committee in a letter, dated November 10, 2021, was okayed to proceed with the conduct of the Zamfara State Ward Congresses on Saturday, November 13, 2021, which Sen. Marafa participated.

"This had nothing to do with the 21 days notice for the conduct of Wards, Local Government Areas and State Congresses in Zamfara State earlier sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, which subsists.

"The letter to Alhaji Ibrahim Kabir Masari which Senator Marafa is brandishing, is an internal administrative correspondence and was not copied to INEC nor any other agency or person(s) as the case may be.

"This clarification is necessary to guide Senator Marafa and his cohorts who seem bent on misleading our teeming party members in Zamfara State.ÔÇØ

Banire reacts to spat, says Marafa just expressing his opinion

Reacting to the spat between the duo, a chieftain of the party and former legal adviser of the party, Mr. Muiz Banire, urged Governor Buni not to take Marafa's opinion personal, adding that the latter could not be sanctioned for expressing his personal opinion.

Banire said: "My position is this: there is a procedure for sanctioning, they have to set up several structures to discipline Marafa, you can't just wake up and say you want to discipline somebody.

"He must be given fair hearing. Take for example, if what somebody told me is correct and he is saying that by the Supreme Court judgement, the validity of the Caretaker Committee is in question, that is his opinion, nobody can punish him for that.

"I don't think Buni should take it personal because that is his (Marafa's) perception of the issue. When you express an opinion, you may be wrong or right. For me, there is nothing wrong in that.ÔÇØ

Zamfara not Yobe, says APC stalwart

A party official from Zamfara State, who is an ally of former Governor Abdulaziz Yari, said his group had no qualms about the decision taken by Marafa but noted that they were already in court challenging the CECPC.

"Marafa took a political decision. We took a legal decision. We went to court, even before the so-called congresses. Marafa is free to challenge Buni's CECPC because that committee has continued to carry on as if we are primary school pupils. The reality is that Zamfara is not Yobe. Buni must know this,ÔÇØ he stated.

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