Ex-rep: Gbaja declined calls to remove me as committee chair over APC crisis in Kano

Sha’aban Sharada, a former member of the house of representatives, says Femi Gbajabiamila, ex-speaker, was “pressured” to remove him as chairperson of the committee on national security and intelligence.

Sharada represented Kano municipal federal constituency in the night national assembly.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Sharada said there were calls for Gbajabiamila to remove him as chairman of the intelligence committee because of the crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) chapter in Kano.

The APC in Kano was embroiled in a leadership crisis that saw the party polarised into two factions.

One faction was loyal to Abdullahi Ganduje, the immediate former governor, while the other was led by Ibrahim Shekarau, a former senator.

Sharada was in the Shekarau-led faction. In 2022, he switched his allegiance from the APC to the Action Democratic Party (ADC) under which he ran for governorship in the 2023 elections.

“When our party was engulfed in a severe leadership crisis in my home state of Kano, the speaker faced repeated calls to remove me as the chairman of the house committee on national security and national intelligence even after I had successfully served in that capacity for two years,” he said.

“Numerous attempts were made to coerce and intimidate honourable speaker Gbajabiamila, with the threat of withdrawing support from the 21 Kano house members if he did not yield to their demands.

“However, he steadfastly resisted the pressure, remaining resolute in the face of intimidation, and refused to succumb to the powers seeking my removal.

“Throughout it all, he implored them to allow him to resolve the matter amicably while advising me to avoid actions that might escalate the crisis.

“Upon learning of the challenges the honourable Gbajabiamila was confronting, I offered to resign as chairman of the committee to relieve him of the burden.

“However, the affable speaker rejected my offer, insisting that I remain loyal to the party’s cause.”

Sharada congratulated Gbajabiamila for his appointment as the chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu.

He said Gbajabiamila’s “guidance and extensive” network provided him with “invaluable empowerment” while he was a lawmaker.

Sharada, who was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari as the executive secretary of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education, in the last days of his administration, hailed Tajudeen Abbas for his election as speaker of the 10th assembly.