Special Assistant to Senator Shehu Sani of the All Progressives Congress in Kaduna (APC Kaduna), on Politics and Ideology, Malam Suleiman Ahmed, has said nothing will deter his principal from criticising any policy of the state government he finds to be ‘anti-people’.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) in Kaduna on Tuesday Ahmed also reacted to the alleged suspension of the senator by the Tudun Wada North, Ward 6 of APC, saying it has only given the senator additional impetus to stand up against any wrong done the people in form of policies.
The party at the ward level had in a letter dated December 7 and allegedly signed by the party’s Ward Secretary, Malam Ahmed Abdullahi; the Public Relations Officer, Malam Auwal Anguwa; and an Ex-Officio member, Malam Aminu Alilan, suspended Sani for 11 months.
The letter said that Sani was suspended for consistently criticising the policies of Gov. Nasir el-Rufai, an act which the APC ward executives described as ‘anti-party’.
The senator’s aide said, “This letter is not relevant. It has no value to us; this letter will energise him the more; it will strengthen his resolve to criticise the government of the state if it goes wrong.
“The senator will continuously criticise any (government) policy that is anti-people up to the end of (his tenure in) the Senate and beyond.
“So if you feel that the senator should not criticise the government of the day because he is part of the party that brought the current government to power, then when he comes out to re-contest in 2019, do not vote for him. He will criticise the government, whether or not he comes back as a senator in 2019.”
According to Ahmed, Sani has been consistent in his criticism of anti-democratic processes and elements, which he said he did not start with the current dispensation.
“He has been doing criticism anti-people policies right from the military era. That’s what has taken caused his imprisonment on several occasions,” the aide said.
He, however, disclosed that the senator would consider seeking legal redress if served with a genuine suspension letter in line with standard procedure.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the party in Makarfi Local Government Area, Malam Tukur Abba, has condemned the alleged suspension of Sani.
Speaking at a news conference in Kaduna, Abba said that due process was not followed in the purported suspension of the senator
