The former Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Mohammed Lukman, has described alleged plans to postpone the party’s National Convention as a mutiny against the party’s leadership.
In a press statement, Mr Lukman was reacting to the news in the media of plans by the party’s Caretaker Committee to shift the February 26 date of the national convention to a later date.
The Ex-PGF DG lamented that the ruling party is being held captive by a small group of leaders whose only interest is to impose themselves as presidential or Vice-Presidential candidates for 2023 elections.
He alleged that the uncertainty surrounding the APC’s National Convention is by a minority group of governors in connivance with the leadership of the party’s Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee.
“There is so much uncertainty created to ensure that the party is manipulated to meet the aspirations of these leaders. Sales of forms to aspiring candidates for party offices to be contested at the National Convention was to commence on Monday, February 14, 2014. The speculation was that forms could not be sold until the zoning of offices was finalised.
“Following the departure of President Muhammadu Buhari to the EU-AU Summit in Brussels, the argument became that zoning will only be finalised after his return. Then it became that there was disagreement among Governors on zoning. The latest is that some Governors are opposed to some party offices coming to their zones because of their Presidential or Vice-Presidential ambitions.
“As things are, today being February 21, 2022, the National Convention is just five days away. Sub-Committees to handle specific responsibilities of organising the convention were expected to have been announced on Saturday, February 19, 2022. The CECPC has provided no information. Now that President Buhari has returned from the EU-AU Summit, the old deceptive argument about Governors having a meeting with President Buhari to decide on zoning and other matters related to the convention has started again.
“Why should the CECPC wait for the meeting of Governors and President Buhari before it set up sub-committees to organise the National Convention? If Governors and the President are the ones to organise the National Convention, why do we have CECPC? It is that the leadership of the CECPC is incompetent, or it is deliberately using the meeting of Governors and President Buhari to create uncertainty in the party as part of the plot to achieve its dubious plan of blocking the convention from holding,” the former PGF boss argued.
Lukman, who described himself as a freelance APC Campaigner, called on members and leaders of conscience to rise to the occasion and salvage the party.
“As a party, APC is now in a state of emergency. Any slip will destroy the party. It is not the period to allow dishonest political leaders to gamble with the party’s survival and, by extension, weaken the nation’s democracy. We must do everything to restore some minimum standards by leaders at all levels. Every party leader and member must wake up to the challenge of saving the party. APC is a product of sacrifices by leaders and members. Every sacrifice is required now to save the party,” he said.
e/Suzan O.
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