Compel Caretaker Committee to hold Convention on February 26 says Ex-PGF DG

Leaders of Nigeria’s governing party, the All Progressives Congress, APC have been called on to compel the party’s Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee to hold the party’s National Convention on February 26 as scheduled.

The immediate past Director-General of the Progressives Governors Forum, PGF, Mr Salihu Lukman, made the call in a press statement titled “A Comparative Review of Performances in Government.” 

Even though the convention to elect substantial leaders for the APC is less than a week, no apparent preparations are in place.

Members aspiring for leadership positions have not started purchasing forms yet because the Caretaker Committee in charge of the Convention Planning has not started the sale. Investigations show one reason for the delay is that a lot of horse-trading is still going on regarding the zoning of the party positions and political offices for the 2023 General Election.

This uncertainty surrounding the National Convention has raised apprehension amongst party members who are worried that they may postpone the convention.

Mr Lukman explained that the Caretaker Committee led by Governor Mai Mala Buni needs to hold the convention as scheduled for the party to prepare for the 2023 General Election.

“Every committed party leader and the member must rise to the challenge of compelling His Excellency Mai Mala Buni and his team of undertakers to hands off the party by ensuring that February 26, 2022, National Convention is successful. Party leaders and members need to put behind all the uncertainty created by His Excellency Mai Mala Buni around the National Convention so that the business of preparing for the 2023 electoral contest can earnestly begin in APC. As a party, APC needs to put itself in the roadmap for the 2023 electoral contest to properly showcase all the achievements of President Buhari’s led APC government,” he said.

The PGF Ex-DG further emphasised the need for APC to focus its 2023 election campaigns on its achievements. According to him, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has created a false narrative surrounding APC’s performance since 2015 because APC leaders are not creating the narrative themselves.

“They need to undertake a comparative review of Nigeria’s experiences under both PDP and APC is essential to ensure that both leaders of PDP and APC are challenged to adopt issue-based campaigns during the 2023 elections.

“Issue-based campaigns should be about correct and honest assessment of challenges facing Nigeria based on which campaigns of political parties and candidates proposes policy responses by governments they control when elected.

“The ability of political parties and their candidates to propose policy responses, which meets the expectations of Nigerians should be primarily the determining factor for electoral victory. Therefore, APC leaders and members allow PDP leaders to continue to make many inaccurate claims against the APC, which is detrimental to the electoral profile of the party and its candidates in the 2023 elections. 

“Part of the questions the campaigns for 2023 must respond to with experiential explanations include, how did PDP manage the Nigerian economy between 1999 and 2015? What were the justifications for the claim of its so-called successes? Specifically, what was the revenue profile of the government? How much was the government earning from oil and non-oil? How much was the foreign exchange rate between 1999 and 2015? What was the expenditure profile of government—capital and recurrent? Since PDP leaders are alleging mismanagement of the economy by the APC led government since 2015, which they claimed is the reason Nigeria is the ‘poverty capital of the world’, what was the poverty profile of Nigeria between 1999 and 2015? Regarding insecurity issues in the country, how efficient was PDP in the management of security challenges? What are the current realities under the APC led government of President Buhari?” Lukman said.

Mr Lukman further enumerated some achievements listed some areas of challenge in Nigeria that political leaders need to focus on addressing.

“With lower oil revenue, APC led government of President Buhari can match revenue-earning under PDP. He has also demonstrated that a marginal increase in the capital budget can execute much more projects beyond what PDP claimed to have achieved. The so-called argument for achievements under PDP’s sixteen years would need to be proven beyond empty loud noise aimed at hoodwinking Nigerians. 

“Whenever PDP leaders complained of too much borrowing by the APC led Federal Government of President Buhari, it must be borne out of shame about the mismanagement of opportunity during their tenure when with so much oil revenue, instead of initiating projects for national developments, they opted for looting spree of the national treasury.

“Part of the shame is also the denial around the opportunity the 2004 Paris Club debt cancellation presented, which would have translated into a significant capital budget. Instead, the PDP government continued the same business as usual economy management. 

“PDP governments reduced management of challenges of poverty and insecurity in the country to rhetoric and most times denials between 1999 and 2015. The result is the crisis of insecurity in the country, which is consuming human lives and property.

“Certainly, notwithstanding initiatives being taken by the APC led government of President Buhari, it is important that political leaders engage in a depoliticised debate of resolving challenges of insecurity based on a stronger commitment to unite Nigerians. It is only when national responses to insecurity are depoliticised that political leaders irrespective of partisan affiliation can subscribe to some minimum standards,” he said.

E/Suzan O.