Lawan Gambo, chairman of last Saturday’s congress of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has disowned four people who claimed to be members of his committee but were not of the exercise.
He said the four people were not part of the list given to him by the national leadership of the party, explaining that he worked with 6 other people.
According to him, four people which included his secretary, Abdullah Bello, conducted the exercise, adding that only him and two others were not allowed to go out.
Though there were disagreements owing to the alleged falsification of delegates’ list, Ajiboye Omodewu and others had been declared chairman and excos members during the congress presided over by Gambo’s secretary, at the Liberty Stadium.
Bello, OYOINSIGHT.COM learnt, had been asked to oversee the congress when Gambo was held hostage at his apartment by hoodlums sponsored by politicians.
However, some four people had come out to say they were members and did not participate in the exercise and that only the chairman took the decision to come with the process.
But speaking with Nigerian Tribune on the controversy, Gambo described the notions of falsification of the delegates’ list as unfounded and baseless.
He said he only worked with the list handed over to him by the national secretariat of the party, asking those who think that the list was falsified to take their agitation to the APC headquarters.
Gambo said he was the one that mandated his secretary, Abdulahi Bello to conduct the congress because he was held hostage in his hotel for about 12 hours.
On disharmony in his congress committee, he disowned those four persons who said they were members of his committee and did not mandate the committee Secretary to conduct the congress.
Gambo said those four were not part of the list of committee members given him by APC national secretariat, stating that he worked with six other persons.
Gambo said: “As far as I am concerned, I do not know any falsified list and falsified list never existed. The list I gave to the stakeholders was the only authentic list the national secretariat gave me.
“How can anybody falsify a list that a national party under the leadership of Mai Mala Buni gave me? If anybody thinks the list was falsified, they should go to the national secretariat and complain; the claim that the list was falsified is baseless and unfounded.
“I have done my congress, whether I am physically presented or not, the congress has been conducted and it was successful.
“I was under hostage for 12 hours. There are virtually over 2,000 people who barricaded my hotel, put heavy buses on the road and only a human can cross and no vehicle.
“Since the secretary was on the convention ground, I gave him the mandate to preside over and he did it and it was successful.
“We are seven and three were with the secretary at the congress ground. Only myself and two others were not there but I gave the mandate to the secretary to continue with the congress. In a committee, any member of the committee can be nominated to preside over the congress. There is nothing illegal.
“Did you see any other chairmanship contestant step forward at the congress venue apart from one? That means consensus has been achieved. The chairman appeared physically, by himself. If any other chairmanship contestant appeared physically, then we would done physical election by the delegates.
“The four members that claimed to be my committee members are not members of my committee. I do not know them. They are not part of the list the National Secretariat sent to me as members of my committee.
“All the positions were done by consensus. We carried every single person along.”
