Convention: APC group kicks against imposition, says election must represent wishes of party members

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Rebirth Group has spoken out against imposition in any form ahead of the party’s national conference on March 26.

It urged the party to embrace proper democratic ideals as much as possible while electing new members to the National Working Committee (NWC), in order to guarantee that the NWC reflects the wishes of the majority of party members.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari recently named Senator Abdullahi Adamu as the party’s next national chairman.

However, in a statement published Saturday by his Spokesperson, Mr Aliyu Audu, the group said it welcomed stakeholders’ reiterated vows to hold the meeting on the revised date.

It stated that it was disappointed that the February 26th date, which had been set with much fanfare from party members, had to be rescheduled in light of the fact that the party was already running out of time.

It did add, however, that it was not completely surprised by the turn of events because it had predicted that the Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee would not conduct the convention anytime soon from the day the February date was announced, saying “we were vindicated.”

“More disappointing for us is that after all the dithering that has taken us from a six-month mandate to twenty-two months and counting, the same Caretaker Committee that has consistently failed to deliver on its core mandate of delivering the national convention and even inspiring any sort of confidence will be allowed to continue to supervise the process of the same convention it couldn’t organize,” the group said.

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The group stated that while it has no personal animosity toward the CECPC, it would like to ensure that the party’s handlers run the party’s affairs in such a way that it is stabilized and its fortunes are preserved for the tasks ahead.

“As we look forward to the convention, it is our hope that the APC will embrace proper democratic ideals, which thrive on guaranteed member freedom of choice; and that the election of the new NWC members will be as representative of the wishes of the majority of party members as possible,” it continued.

“One of the issues for which we felt the APC required a rebirth is one that concerns imposition in any form, and we trust that the upcoming Convention will be above board in this regard.”

The group expressed satisfaction with the current commitment to deliver the convention, as seen by the few activities that preceded the announcement of the new date, particularly with the entry into the fray of Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.

“Unlike what was initially obtainable, Mallam El-Rufai did not only inspire confidence with the communication of the decisions reached at the various stakeholder meetings, he also went ahead to ensure that the zoning arrangement, which has been an issue on the minds of many members of the party, was also communicated to the public as agreed by the stakeholders; a development that has not only calmed frayed nerves but has helped to inspire confidence in the Martial Law system,” it said.

“Despite El-involvement, Rufai’s it would have been very gratifying if he and many other party leaders had not only spoken out against the party’s tragic trajectory during the last 22 months with the CECPC at the helm, but also taken responsibility, as he has done in the last few days.”

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“We believe that his protracted silence, along with that of many others, contributed significantly to the current status of the party, and we hope that lessons have been learned and that future events of this sort will be avoided.”