A fresh leadership crisis has reared its head in the fold of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State, as a faction believed to be loyal to the Nigeria Ambassador to Germany, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar has approached a High Court to stop the inauguration of the executive council members elected recently.
A member of the faction, Alhaji Hassan Mohammed Sherif, had approached the court to seek for an order restraining the National Caretaker Committee of the APC led by Mai Mala Buni from inaugurating the new leadership in the state.
Bauchi State High Court consequently gave an interim order on Friday restraining the national leadership of the party from administering the oath of office on the Hon Babayo Aliyu Misau led executive members elected recently.
The Court issued an Order of Interim Injunction halting any moves by the APC to inaugurate the new leaders of the party in the state.
The recent development is the height of the crisis that trailed the conduct of the APC State Congress which produced two factional leaders with Hon Sanusi Aliyu Kunde loyal to Yusuf Tuggar and Hon Babayo Aliyu Misau loyal to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu both claiming to be the legitimate APC leaders in Bauchi State.
Copies of the Court Order which was made available to Journalists over the weekend contained that the Court order restrained the acting APC National Caretaker Committee Chairman who is the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon Yakubu Dogara and their ‘privies, agents, cohorts and representatives in whatever capacity from administering the oath of office or according ’ Hon Babayo Aliyu Misau and his backroom ‘recognition’ as Bauchi APC leaders.
The Court Order also ordered Hon Babayo Aliyu Misau and those that emerged as APC leaders in Bauchi State along with him from ‘parading themselves in whatsoever manners or means and or acting in whatever capacities or names called as Bauchi State Executive Officers of APC pending the hearing of the substantive suit filed’.
The order of the High Court persists pending the determination of the suit brought before the court by the plaintiff, Hassan Sheriff.
It will be recalled that two factional state congresses were held simultaneously during which two different state executive members emerged for the APC in the state, a development that has thrown the party into leadership crisis.