The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has criticized the former national chairman of the organization, Engr Yabagi Sani, for taking the new leadership of the body to court after initially congratulating its emergence following the December 18, 2023 election, where he was rejected through the ballot.
In a statement signed by the national publicity secretary, Chinyere Ogekalu, and provided to LEADERSHIP in Abuja, IPAC responded to a press conference statement issued on January 2, 2024, by Dr. Alex Maiyanga, the national organizing secretary of the ADP, a party where Yabagi Sani serves as the national chairman.
Ogekalu highlighted that on December 12, 2023, some progressive party leaders resisted Engr. Yabagi Sani’s attempt to extend his tenure beyond its expiration on December 13, 2023. Vindicating those who resisted him, Yabagi Sani went to court on December 28, 2023, seeking an order to stop the inauguration of the newly elected IPAC National Executives. Simultaneously, the court directed the current IPAC Executives to continue running the council until the suit’s determination.
Ogekalu suggested that the court may have been misled by Yabagi Sani to remain in power at all costs for self-aggrandizement, not for the benefit or love of the organization. She questioned the urgency in going to court after congratulating the winner and filing a petition challenging the election outcome on December 22, 2023, at the IPAC Election Appeal Committee set up by his administration.
She noted that the court might not have been aware that by the time the order was granted on December 29, 2023, Engr. Yabagi Sani’s tenure had already expired, and the new IPAC National Executives led by Alh. Yusuf Dantalle had emerged on December 18, 2023, and started carrying out their mandates.
Ogekalu emphasized that the inauguration of executives, not recognized by IPAC’s Code of Conduct, is a ceremonial event. She characterized Yabagi Sani’s legal action as the desperation of a rejected egocentric leader trying to impose himself on an organization that has moved on from his leadership.
The statement also ridiculed the reasons Yabagi Sani provided for irregularities in the election, citing the reduction of the Electoral Committee from three to two members. Ogekalu dismissed this argument, pointing out that Yabagi Sani had set up numerous committees during his tenure, none of which achieved the required quorum of 50%. She noted that the third person in the electoral committee was unavoidably absent due to a trip abroad, and all decisions were appropriately communicated, meeting the quorum requirement of 50%.