Scores of protesters Thursday called on the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to step aside in the interest of the party, ahead of the Ondo state governorship poll.

The protesters, who stormed the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, warned against the repeat of the Zamfara state experience where all the candidates of the party that emerged victorious in the 2019 poll, lost their seats to the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The protesters, under the aegis of the Guardian of Democracy and Development Initiative (GoDDI), called on Ganduje to adhere to the Kano state High Court order suspending him as a member of the party.

Some of the inscriptions on the placards brandished by the protesters include: “We don’t want what happened in Zamfara to happen in Ondo”, “Respect the court order from Kano state to save our party in Ondo state”, “We don’t want another disaster in Ondo state”. 

Jointly led by Messrs Danesi Momoh and Abdulkadir Shuaibu, the protesters, who read an open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and addressed to the national secretary of the party, Senator Surajudeen Ajibola, argued that the continuous stay of Ganduje in office would interfere with anything that has to do with Ondo APC primary election following the confusion over the court order.

The protesters argued that Ganduje attempting to act as chairman of the party will amount to building something on nothing. 

“Sir, it is important to therefore save our great party from impending doom by ensuring that all action taken so far since the suspension of the National Chairman be invalidated and the person empowers to act as the National Chairman in the face of the suspension of the National Chairman is allowed to act so that whatever is done in furtherance of Ondo Primary election will not be validated,” the protesters stated.