There were fears, yesterday, that fresh crisis may rock the All Progressives Congress (APC) over alleged plans by some members of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) to impose a Senator as national chairman of the party on members.
A group, APC Youth Development and Solidarity Forum, who made the allegation, warned that the party may implode if such imposition takes place. The group stated this in a statement issued in Abuja. It accused the governors of embarking on a selfish mission ahead of the 2023 presidential poll.
The allegation was contained in a statement: “How governors Mohammed Badaru, Atiku Bagudu, Kayode Fayemi, and others have plotted to impose Senator Sani Musa and others as national chairman, Excos to satisfy the selfish interest of projecting Badaru/Fayemi ticket for 2023 Presidency” read by the secretary of the group, Chief Tobias Ogbeh.
Part of the statement read: “We are constrained to invite you for this press briefing following our discovery of a plot to sabotage the APC by some desperate individuals that are working internally to implode the party. Ordinarily, the affairs of the APC should be left as its internal matters except that the people we are raising this alarm about, today, are not really after the APC. What they are after is the soul of Nigeria, which they want to own for their evil intent.
“All the evil that this cabal has perpetrated in the past months are geared towards illegally winning public offices at the highest level, so that they can continue to pillage the country and make a mockery of the progress that an APC government at the centre has brought to Nigeria by reversing all the gains made in the past six years.
“It is for this reason that we are raising the alarm now, so that Nigerians will know that people with less than sincere interest are on the verge of hijacking the APC and consequently impose a presidential candidate on Nigerians, use the popularity of the APC to win election and then capture power to the detriment of Nigerians. Therefore, the matter is no longer an internal issue of the APC.”
The forum alleged that the governors have hijacked the entire exercise given the way they fixed February 26, as date for the convention in flagrant disregard to the preferences expressed by stakeholders.
“Nigerians would be deprived of having an APC presidential candidate that passed the rigours of primary election. Governor Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State and their other desperate allies that include serving ministers have perfected plans to ensure that Senator Sani Musa is imposed as APC national chairman alongside other lackeys that would be named to other positions at the convention. Senator Sani Musa would, in turn, deliver Bagudu as APC presidential flag-bearer and Kayode Fayemi as his running mate. They have cooked up what they called ‘unity list’ to package their evil plot as something positive and desirable for the party and the country when the contrary is the case. We want APC stakeholders and Nigerians to know that these state governors are working against the interest of the country.”
Meanwhile, an APC group, under the auspices of Concerned APC Members Forum, has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari, to intervene in the crisis facing the party on the choice of its national chairman.
The forum, in the petition, signed by its convener, Okpokwu Ogenyi, in Abuja, yesterday, commended the president’s resilience in safeguarding the soul of the APC, urging him to minimise the crises in the party ahead of the 2023 poll.
“Judging by the activities of the various actors, we appeal to Mr. President not to allow the selfish interest of the presidential ambition of some ranking members to destroy the party. We want Mr. President to recommend a highly committed and disciplined member, a man of humility and resilience with acute knowledge of party administration that will respect both former and serving governors, senators, ministers, party faithfuls, and of course, the leaders of our party.
“This will go a long way in reducing internal crisis in the party, controlling the expenditure of some aspirants, and solving the problem of reconciliation after the national convention.
“We recommend Mr. President call a meeting of all the aspirants for the National Chairmanship position and hand over the preferred candidate to them, instructing an all-inclusive government.
“This will immediately heal any injury in the heart of anybody and the explanation to his supporters on why he stepped down. We shall continue to work with you for the development of our beloved party, APC, and country, Nigeria,” the Forum noted. – The Sun.
