The All Progressive Congress in Bauchi State has announced the removal of Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, as the chairman of the Stakeholders’ Forum in Ningi Local Government Area.

The stakeholders’ forum comprises serving and former national and state Assembly members, former council chairmen, party chieftains, and political office holders, among others.

The Ningi Local Government Secretariat of the APC said that the removal of the Speaker followed a directive it received from the state caretaker committee chairman.

However, the Speaker, who is the chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, insisted that he is still the leader in the local government.

The Speaker, who represents Ningi Constituency in the state House of Assembly, in a statement by his spokesperson, Abdul Burra, said that his purported removal as chairman of the APC stakeholders’ in the LGA, could not stand.

He urged his supporters to remain calm and not to take law into their hands.

Suleiman explained that as a loyal party member, he will never allow violation of the constitution of the party and divisive actions that will bring misfortune and crisis to the party by some “born-to-rule elements.”

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According to him, since his emergence as the Speaker of the State House of Assembly and the Number Three citizen in the state, he has been occupying the position of the chairman of stakeholders.

He stated that all of a sudden, the local government party chairman called and told him that he had received an instruction from the state party secretariat that he had been replaced by Hon. Abdullahi Sa’ad Abdulkadir (Baba Iyali) as chairman of the Ningi Local Government APC Stakeholders.”

Burra quoted his principal as saying: “I remain the chairman of Ningi APC Stakeholders. Majority of the critical stakeholders recognise by the party constitution are with me and have already rejected my purported removal.

“The stakeholders are the ones responsible for appointing their chairman and I am enjoying the full support of virtually all of them, except very few.

“We will conduct the ward congresses and  other congresses in conformity with the party’s constitution and the guidelines of the congresses.”