More than 300 leaders and officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Albasu Local Government Area of Kano State have petitioned Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
They accuse the local government chairman and a member of the state House of Assembly of supporting a rival senatorial candidate ahead of the 2027 elections.
The petitioners want the governor and the APC State Working Committee to investigate the chairman, Garba Aliyu Hungu, and Musa Tahir Hungu, who represents Albasu Constituency in the Kano State House of Assembly. They say the officials’ political activities could undermine the party’s interests.
At the centre of the dispute is Kasim Ibrahim Bataiya, the New Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Kano South Senatorial District. The petitioners accuse the two officials of associating with him and supporting him politically, even though the APC is backing Senator Kawu Sumaila for the seat. They allege that the relationship predates the officials’ emergence on the APC platform, and that Bataiya helped them secure their respective tickets in the past.
The petition, reportedly signed by more than 300 party stakeholders across Albasu’s wards and local government structure, also claims that some APC councillors, political appointees and local government party officials attended Bataiya’s activities, including campaign rallies, and encouraged support for his senatorial ambition.
One allegation concerns the Albasu Local Government town hall, which the petitioners say was used for political meetings and the launch of Bataiya’s senatorial campaign.
They accuse the chairman of providing the facility.
The petitioners further claim that efforts by party elders to investigate the alleged participation of APC members in the opposition candidate’s campaign were frustrated.
According to the petition, a fact-finding committee led by Dr Yunusa Adamu Dangwani was set up to examine the allegations, but the chairman and the state lawmaker allegedly prevented it from carrying out its assignment.
The dispute also extends to internal party coordination.
The petitioners accuse the local government leadership of failing to organise meetings with members of the APC legacy group, despite what they described as directives from the governor and party leadership.
They said a meeting was held through the intervention of the member representing Albasu, Gaya and Ajingi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, but later attempts to convene further meetings allegedly failed.
The distribution of government empowerment programmes is another source of grievance. The petitioners allege that some benefits meant for APC members and supporters were diverted to individuals considered loyal to the NDC candidate. They called for greater accountability in the implementation of such programmes, arguing that party members at the grassroots should not be excluded from government interventions.
They also questioned the level of mobilisation from Albasu for the APC presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna. They claimed that while other local governments reportedly deployed at least 30 buses, Albasu provided only 17.
Another issue raised is the alleged continued participation of the current Amirul Hajj in NDC activities. The petitioners claimed the individual retired from public service about two years ago but has yet to be replaced by the local government leadership.
Seeking the intervention of the governor and the party’s state leadership, the stakeholders asked for the allegations to be examined under Article 21 of the APC constitution, which they cited in their call for possible disciplinary action.
They nevertheless urged the party to invite the two officials to respond before reaching any decision, insisting that the allegations be tested through an impartial investigation supported by verifiable evidence.
The petition was signed by Hon. Adamu Abdu Fanda, Caucus Chairman; Hon. Wada Ibrahim Daho, Caucus Secretary; former Kano State House of Assembly member Hon. Sunusi Usman Bataiya; Isyaka Danyaya, Albasu APC Deputy Chairman; and other ward and local government officials.
Efforts to obtain comments from Garba Aliyu Hungu and Musa Tahir Hungu were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
The allegations remain unverified, and no finding of wrongdoing has been established against either official.
