The crisis engulfing the Taraba State chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC)—which led the Supreme Court to nullify the party’s governorship primary—took another turn last night. Thirty‑eight of the State Executive Committee’s members passed a vote of no confidence in Chairman Ibrahim El‑Suldi and allegedly removed him from office. In a release signed by the aggrieved members, they invoked Article 21(d)(vi) of the APC Constitution as the basis for their action.
The committee explained that their grounds for the vote of no confidence stemmed from El‑Suldi’s failure to discharge his responsibilities, his neglect and dereliction of duty, and misconduct. They alleged that the chairman ignored lawful party directives, notably the National Secretariat’s instruction to adopt an indirect primary election mode. Instead, El‑Suldi communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission that the party had chosen a direct primary, a move that sparked internal disputes and numerous litigations and contravened Article 21(a)(iii) of the APC Constitution.
According to the statement, El‑Suldi has been absent from his state office, relocating permanently to Abuja and effectively abdicating his duties. He has allegedly failed to convene State Executive Committee (SEC) meetings without justification, sidelining party officials. The committee stressed that, during this critical election period, SEC meetings are essential for strategising and planning to win forthcoming elections, and El‑Suldi’s conduct has undermined their collective efforts.
Citing the party’s factionalisation and the alleged infractions, the SEC declared that it had exercised the powers granted by Article 21(d)(vi) of the APC Constitution to remove El‑Suldi as Taraba State APC Chairman.
Reacting to the development, state party Publicity Secretary Aaron Artimas described the purported removal as the work of “desperate members” who feared they would not advance in the rescheduled governorship primary set for February 10. “I am a member of the State Executive Committee, but I didn’t sign the purported removal. What they did was bring in some members of the SEC loyal to David Kente to carry out the shameful act,” he said.
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