A faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kaduna State, loyal to Governor Nasir el-Rufai, ‎on Monday overturned the six-month suspension slammed on him.

The governor was yesterday suspended for six months by the “Akida APC” faction of the party after a stakeholders’ meeting.

They accused the governor of “anti-party activities.”

Those who attended that meeting included an aspirant during the party’s governorship primaries in 2015, Isa Ashiru; Chief of Staff to Senate President, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed; owner of Kaduna-based Liberty FM radio, Dr. Tijjani Ramalan; Senator representing Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani; and his counterpart from the Northern Senatorial District, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, among others.

Immediately after the stakeholders’ meeting, the party chieftains drove to the parallel office of the party on 11B Road in Kaduna, where the factional Acting Chairman of the party, Danladi Wada, announced the governor’s suspension.

However, on Monday, the Acting Secretary of the party in the state (recognised by the state government), Yahaya Baba-Pate, while addressing journalists at a press conference, said the faction that suspended the governor had no such power.

Baba-Pate said their faction was duly recognised by the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun, and that the suspension of the governor would not hold.

According to the chieftain, it was only a legitimate organ of the party that can suspend any member of the party or the governor.

He consequently declared the governor’s suspension “null and void and of no effect.”