Kaduna 2023: ADP condemns exclusion of candidate from BBC Hausa guber debate
Austine Emmanuel, Kaduna
The leadership of Action Democratic Party, ADP has condemned the exclusion of its candidate, Hon. Sani Sha’aban from the governorship candidates debate organized by the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC slated for Wednesday, 18th January, 2023.
The ADP Party chairman of Kaduna State, Hon. Umar Musa, condemned the exclusion in a press conference in Kaduna, said the act was a deliberate attempt to ridicule his candidate.
According to Umar, BBC had earlier invited Sha’aban to be part of the debate organized for candidates of various political parties contesting for Kaduna guber poll in the forthcoming general elections, but surprisingly, the invitation was withdrawn on Tuesday, a day to the debate.
In his remarks, the Director General (DG), ADP, Hon. Ben Kure, disclosed that he received a WhatsApp message from a correspondent of BBC informing him that Sha’aban is not eligible to participate in the program on the ground that INEC said he is not the authentic candidate of the party.
Responding to the situation, Kure noted that Yusuf Jubril was just a placeholder in the INEC list, pending when the party shop for the best candidate.
He added that upon the court judgement that gave ADP liberty to conduct substitution primary that produced Sani Sha’aban, Jubril had sworn affidavit that he is no longer the candidate of the party.
Kure reiterated that the party had done the needful, stressing that relevant documents validating the emergence of Sha’aban as the authentic candidate of the party was submitted and received by INEC headquarters in Abuja.
He alledged that the withdrawal of invitation is triggered by politicians who are afraid that Sha’aban is more prudent and qualified than them, same way they short changed him during the Kaduna guber primary of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
He said, “we received the withdrawal of notice with mixed feelings because in communication with INEC, Jubril Yusuf was just the dummy by the party.
“Every process was duly followed and documents were signed by the national chairman and secretary of the party and submitted to the INEC headquarters in Abuja. Notice of emergency congress was given and INEC can also testify of the substitution primary that produced our candidate,” he said.
Asking for their next line of action, the DG appealed to their teeming supporters to remain calm, adding that there is no cause for alarm as their candidate will use other available media to reach out to the good people of Kaduna State as soon as possible.
He also disclosed that they had demanded for the copy of INEC letter sent to BBC that led to the withdrawal of invitation, but there was no evidence to prove the assertion.
He said INEC as a responsible commission is saddled with the responsibilities of uploading over 60,000 profiles of candidates due to court matters, expressed optimism that Sani Sha’aban remains the authentic candidate of ADP without any doubt and will win the 2023 guber poll to liberate the good people of Kaduna State from decades of misrule.
