Congress: Fresh leadership Tussle In Taraba APC, As Aspirant Drags Party To Court

The leadership crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State has taken a fresh dimension, as a chairmanship aspirant, Alhaji Haruna Hadi Lau, has dragged the party before the Federal High Court in Jalingo, over the outcome of the March 3, 2025 state congress.

The congres, which produced Alhaji Abubakar Bawa as state chairman, was alleged that the new executive of the party is dominated by defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Lau, who contested for the chairmanship position, is challenging the process that produced the consensus candidate, alleging that he was unjustly excluded from the exercise.

The development comes despite an earlier appeal by Governor Agbu Kefas, urging aggrieved party members to give consideration to his request for unity following the congress.

Addressing journalists in Jalingo at the weekend, Lau insisted that he never stepped down for any candidate, contrary to claims circulating within the party.

He argued that, the process that led to the emergence of the new state chairman lacked transparency and fairness.

According to him, the National Officials assigned to conduct the congress failed to properly engage with the contestants before the exercise.

“The congress was conducted without my knowledge because I did not see the election committee and the appeal committee.

“If they were on the ground, they ought to have met with all the contestants before the congress, but that did not happen,” Lau said.

He further alleged that, the committees responsible for conducting the exercise were hijacked and deliberately kept away from some contestants, including himself.

Displaying a receipt for the chairmanship nomination form he purchased, Lau expressed disappointment that the party leadership failed to explain why he and his supporters were excluded from the caucus meeting that eventually produced the consensus candidate.

“I did not step down for anybody. I bought my form and was prepared to contest, but the process was not transparent,” he maintained.

Lau disclosed that he has formally petitioned the process and approached the court to seek redress, insisting that the alleged compromise of the committees left him with no option but to challenge the outcome legally.

The development has also sparked growing discontent among some members of the party in the state.

Some of the aggrieved party members, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed concern that the manner in which the congress was conducted could negatively affect the party’s fortunes ahead of the 2027 general elections.

They alleged that, long-standing members of the party were sidelined during the congress, paving the way for what they described as “new APC members” to occupy key leadership positions.

According to them, several members of the newly constituted executive were formerly members of the PDP.

The concerned members warned that, unless the national leadership of the party intervenes to address the grievances, the internal crisis could deepen and undermine party unity in the state.

They therefore called on the national leadership of the APC to urgently intervene and resolve the dispute.

However, reacting to the allegations, the party’s state spokesperson, Aaron Artimas, dismissed the claims, and explained that positions in the state executive were zoned and allocated to various stakeholders to nominate candidates.

According to him, the stakeholders submitted a list of nominees, which was later endorsed by the party’s caucus made up of former elected leaders.

“The positions were zoned and given to stakeholders to produce candidates. The caucus, which comprises former elected leaders, agreed on the list presented by the stakeholders, and the nominees were given forms to complete,” Artimas said.

He added that the governor, as the leader of the party in the state, was permitted to present a candidate of his choice for the chairmanship position.

Artimas also questioned Lau’s claim of purchasing a nomination form, stating that the party had no record of him submitting any form through the appropriate channels.

“He did not give us any form or indicate that he bought a form. If you buy a form, you are expected to submit it through the relevant channel.

“Since he did not submit any form, how are we supposed to know that we had two candidates interested in the chairmanship position?” he said.