Scores of demonstrators on Thursday stormed the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress in Abuja to demand the resignation of the National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, following his recent suspension by a faction of his ward executives and the alleged bribery allegation levelled against him by the Kano State government.

Chanting solidarity songs and displaying several banners that read, “Ganduje must resign” and “Return the APC chairmanship to North Central,” the protesters appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to consider returning the leadership of the party to their region.

The agitation comes two days after the Forum of APC State Chairmen passed a vote of confidence on Ganduje and backed him to remain as national chairman.

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The delegation of 37 state chairmen gave the endorsement during a solidarity visit to the national secretariat of the party.

The former governor had recently been slammed with a fresh suspension by a faction of the Ganduje Ward in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano, an action the ruling party said was carried out by some impostors allegedly being sponsored by the state government.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the protesters under the aegis of Concerned North Central APC Stakeholders lamented that the continued stay of Ganduje in office was a clear violation of the zoning process in the party.

Leader of the demonstrators, Mohammed Mahmud Saba, disclosed that, unlike the 37 APC state chairmen, his people in the North Central have passed a vote of no confidence on the national chairman and equally demanded his immediate resignation.

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Saba reiterated that the people of North Central felt betrayed when the position of APC national chairman was hijacked from them following the exit of Senator Abdullahi Adamu despite giving Tinubu the third highest votes after North West and South West at the 2023 presidential election.

He said, “We the North Central APC Concerned Stakeholders have resolved to unanimously agitate for our right and reclaim our mandate which was handed unto us by the National Convention of our great Party in 2022. Various sections of our constitution have established the procedure of replacing an executive member at all levels of the party in the event of death, resignation, incapacitation or expulsion from the party by any executive member.

“It is a fact that the emergence of Dr. Umar Ganduje as national chairman was done against the spirit and soul of the APC which is the constitution of our great party. This singular act has impacted negatively on us as a people in the North Central.

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“We feel betrayed and spited because we gave His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the third highest votes after North West and South West in the country which put us in a better position to enjoy the fruit of our labour.

“We, therefore, demand that Dr Umar Ganduje resign immediately and stop parading himself as the National Chairman of our great party; the zoning arrangements made by the National Convention in 2022, which zoned the office of the national chairman to the North Central be respected by the NEC and all other organs of the party and that all governors elected on the platform of the APC in the North Central should wake up from their slumber and mobilize their members against this impunity until Ganduje resigns as the national chairman.”

Tragedy struck at Mowe Market in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State as no fewer than three persons including a mother and child, were reportedly electrocuted.

The incident reportedly happened on Monday following the restoration of power after the Sunday downpour.

The Chairman of the Local Government, Ambassador Adesina Ogunsola, during his visit to the market on Wednesday gave a seven-day notice to all the traders with shops and stalls under the high-tension powerline to vacate to forestall the recurrence of the tragic incident.

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An eyewitness said that the electric shock was from the step-down transformer suspended on an electrical pole next to the shop where the incident happened, just as the shop owners arrived for their daily sales in the market.

The woman and her son were said to have been burnt beyond recognition.

The Director of Information at the Obafemi Owode Local Government, Segun Soneye, confirmed the incident to our Correspondent on Thursday

Soneye, in a statement, blamed the incident on the erection of shops made of iron under the powerline by the traders.

He said, “The chairman of the council had visited the affected shop owners and commiserated with them over the incident.

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“The LG boss has already given shop owners a seven-day ultimatum to evacuate their make-shift shops built under the high tension powerline to forestall the recurrence of the incident.”

Speaking during his visit to the market, Ogunsola who commiserated with the families of the victims, also blamed the incident on the nonchalant attitude of the.

The LG boss wondered why people would disregard safety rules and have their shops close to electrical poles that carry step-down transformers.

Ogunsola, while giving the vacation order to the traders with shops and stalls under the powerline, said, “Let me also say that everyone that has extended its shop beyond where it should be, particularly those under high-tension cables should start removing it from today.”

The police spokesman, Omolola Odutola, also confirmed the incident but said only the mother, Ujuwa Okechukwu, died from the incident.

Tragedy struck at BrickHall Schools located in the Cadastral Zone B11, Kaura in Abuja on Wednesday, when a four-year-old pupil, Miguel Ovoke, died during the school’s feeding hours.

According to the death certificate dated April 24, 2024, issued by Excel Specialist Hospital, Abuja, which was sighted by our correspondent, Ovoke was brought to the hospital by his teachers around 11 am in an unconscious state.

The medical report, signed by Dr. Akinwande Ajayi, on behalf of the medical director, indicated that he was brought in, “on account of aspiration on meat while feeding at school.”

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The hospital said upon examination, the medical team found that the boy’s pupils were fixed and dilated, with a nonreactive response to light.

His peripheral pulses were said to be “impalpable, blood pressure was unrecordable, and there was no cardiopulmonary activity or respiratory excursions, silent chest.”

The report indicated that all efforts of the medical team to resuscitate him failed.

The report concluded that he was “Brought in Dead.”

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It was learnt that the parents of the deceased, suspecting foul play, have contacted a lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, to handle the case on their behalf.

Adeyanju confirmed the development to our correspondent on Thursday.

Attempts to get the reaction of the school authorities as of the time of filing this report have not yielded any fruit.

The school has yet to respond to an email sent to its known email address.

The PUNCH correspondent also called and sent messages to the Head of School, Gloria Ijezie, to get the school’s reaction.

However, these efforts proved abortive as the calls to her line were redirected, and the messages sent to her as of press time remained unanswered.

Details later…