The senator representing Kaduna North senatorial district, Suleiman Hunkuyi, on Thursday vowed to remove Governor Nasir El-Rufai in 2019.
The Senator was once a strong ally to Mr El-Rufai but had since parted ways with the governor due to political differences.
Mr Hunkuyi is now nursing his gubernatorial aspiration at the state faction of the APC known as Kaduna Restoration Group.
Mr Hunkuyi spoke at the inauguration of the APC Aspirants Platform, set up by his political faction to checkmate plans by Mr El-Rufai and his followers .
The group fears that the governor could field his loyalist as executives during the party’s congresses ahead 2019 elections.
According to him, branches of the forum would be established in all local government areas of the state.
He said the forum would reject any plan to stop the conduct of elections into various positions during the congresses.
He said: “The current government and the party’s executives emerged through election at the congresses and primaries, but the government of the day in Kaduna State is planning to use consensus in conducting the affairs of the party in the state.
“Are they afraid of election? We therefore, reject any attempt to base the emergence of party executives and aspirants on consensus, the democratic processes must be followed.
“If it has to be by consensus, then all the immediate past party executives in the state, whose tenure expired yesterday must be returned.
“Anything short of that, anyone interested for any leadership position in the party or elective position must purchase form and stand for election,” he noted.
Also speaking, the Chairman, Kaduna Restoration Group, Tijani Ramalan said that the group will not support El-Rufai candidacy in 2019.
According to him, El-Rufai’s policies and his attitudes towards the party’s democratic principles were clear indications that he was unfit to govern a sensitive state such as Kaduna.
“All his appointments at the federal level were his relatives who were not even APC members.
“Therefore, we are calling on all APC members in the state to support the forum to protect democracy in the state to be able to provide the dividend of democracy to the people
“I learnt that APC reconciliation team would be coming to Kaduna, if they want our support, then El-Rufa’i should not run in 2019,” he said.
