NEWISSUES, Abuja
Contrary to the stand of five former governors of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who defected
to the All Progressives Congress (APC) that they
are automatic leaders of the opposition party in
their states, the APC leadership has said it has not
ceded the offices to them.
The clarification came as top leaders of the APC,
who championed its emergence from the defunct
All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC) and Democratic
People’s Party (DPP), have continued to reject the
governors as their leaders, describing them as
“strangers in the APC fold”.
The APC leadership has also hinted that the party
will hold its first national convention to elect its
national officers in March while the local
government and state congresses will precede it
in February.
In an interview with LEADERSHIP Sunday, APC
interim national spokesman Alhaji Lai
Mohammed said the party did not give the
leadership mantle to any of the defected
governors and urged APC chieftains in the
affected states to sheathe their swords in the
overall interest of the party.
“We have not asked the new PDP governors to
take over the leadership of the party in their
states. Nobody has said that. What we agreed on
was that all the new PDP governors should be
given the same privileges being enjoyed by the
APC governors, which is just to be given the
opportunity to appoint representatives for the
interim committees of the party. Those who are
claiming that do not get it right,” Mohammed
said.
“The defection of the new PDP governors to the
party should make us happy because they made
us stronger in the states where they come from.
Their coming has positive and negative sides: the
positive is that we are stronger in their states
while the negative side is that those who have
been in charge of the party are feeling threatened
with their ambition for one post or the other.”
He added: “There is a need to manage the ego and
interest of those who are angry and feel
threatened that their ambition might not being
realised; but they should all forget about their
ambition and work harmoniously with the
former PDP governors. They should learn from
our leaders who sacrificed their personal
ambition for the merger to become a reality.”
The defection of governors Rabi’u Kwankwaso of
Kano State, Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto, Murtala
Nyako (Adamawa), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara)
and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers) has caused
disaffection among stakeholders in the states.
The only exceptions are Kwara and Rivers states
where there is no discord among the members.
In Adamawa State, retired Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa
and Governor Nyako are fighting for the soul of
the APC, while in Kano State Governor
Kwankwaso is at loggerheads with his
predecessor in office, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.
The same goes for Sokoto State where Governor
Wamakko and former governor of the state
Attahiru Bafarawa are into a supremacy contest.
At the centre of the dispute is the condition given
to the defected governors that they would enjoy
the same privileges and rights given to the APC
governors in their states.
To the defected governors, this means that they
are the leaders of the party in their states, but
this has been rejected by the founding fathers of
the APC in the affected states.
Although APC national leaders has set up
machinery to address the logjam, the crisis is far
from over, thereby making political analysts
suggest that the party should learn from the PDP
which zoned its offices to take care of various
interest groups in the party.
“The zoning of positions and elective offices
within the PDP was adopted purposely to take
care of every interest group that made up the
party in 1998 shortly before and after the Jos
convention, and this was why the party still stays
by the zoning arrangement; and it was the death
of President Umaru Yar’Adua and the assumption
of office by then vice president Dr Goodluck
Jonathan as president that led to the crisis
rocking the party till date,” a serving senator
said.
But Mohammed urged those who are unhappy
with the pact APC struck with the defected
governors to put the interest of the party and the
country first in their grievances if they wanted an
end to the poor governance of the PDP.
He stated that the former PDP governors came to
the APC at the right time, adding: “Our
registration would start in February and they
with their supporters would be given the same
opportunity to register and participate in the
congresses coming up in the same month and in
the national convention holding in March.”
Mohammed accused the PDP of orchestrating the
crisis in the affected states, but expressed
optimism that the commission set up by the party
would resolve all the conflicts before the
congresses.
He also allayed fears of domination in the
convention and the primaries which would
follow, declaring that there would be no zoning
as every member would be free to contest in the
open primaries for each office.
“By the grace of God, all the conflicts would be
resolved before the congresses in February and
the convention in March. To achieve this, the
party has set up a high-powered committee to
smoothen all the rough edges and this would be
done shortly before the registration scheduled
for this month. Our congresses would be in
February and, by March, we would have the
convention.
“There is no zoning in our constitution. We
would be guided by our constitution. We have
been hearing a lot of rumours and speculations
that are not true.
All our officers and candidates for all election
will emerge through a transparent process.
Nigerians are interested in how our presidential
candidate will emerge. We won’t disappoint
them,” Mohammed said.
-Leadership




www.newissuesmagazine.com/defected-pdp-govs-state-leaders-apc/

This is d crux of the matter. How can Lai say they are not the leader of the party in d state when nyako n co has been singing everywhere that they are the leader in d states . Wahala is brewing. This assemblage of frustrated politicl dead weights will implode sooner dan later. When a governor controls who becomes d party chairman n oda state offices, I wonder what lai is den saying they are nt d leader of the party in d state.


Confused bunchs.

Apc, if una pass 2014, call me bascard...

Am still learning oooo

Lusola15: Am still learning oooo

strangest: Apc, if una pass 2014, call me bascard...

IF APC CONTEST 2015 GENERAL ELECTION AS A PARTY, CALL ME BLESSED.