Twenty days to its convention, aspirants for the position of national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) appear resolute in their bid, despite reports that President Muhammadu Buhari may have endorsed a former governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Adamu among them for the post. This is coming as Adamu reportedly said contrary to media reports, he was not endorsed by President Buhari.
Part of the arguments of the other contestants, the Nigerian Tribune learnt, is that all the power blocs, including that of the governors elected on the ticket of the APC, will decide who gets the nod from delegates at the March 26 convention of the party.
Adamu, a serving senator, was the chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee set up by the All Progressives Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CCPC) under the leadership of Governor Mala Mai Buni of Yobe State.
Other contenders for the office include a former governor of Benue State, Senator George Akume; exgovernor of Nasarawa State, Senator Tanko Al-Makura; a former governor of Zamfara State, AbdulazizYari and a former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff The media was abuzz at the weekend that President Buhari had approved a draft of the zoning formula to be adopted by the party for key elective offices at the convention.
Last week, the APC national leadership released the list of members of an adhoc committee under the chairmanship of the governor of Kwara State, Abdulrasaq Abdulrahman as chairman. It also announced the list of 22 subcommittees as part of arrangements for the convention of the APC on March 26.
A media report claimed the president signed a document on the zoning arrangement for APC The draft zoning list was reportedly dated February 25, 2022. Based on the zoning template, the post of national chairman is zoned to the North-Central; national secretary (South-South); deputy national chairman (South) to the South-East and deputy national chairman (North) to the North-East. It was said that president Buhari restated his endorsement of Adamu for the post of national chairman.
Notwithstanding the report, contenders for national chairman are pushing ahead to reach out to stakeholders across the states, especially under the control of the ruling party.
For instance, the campaign train of one of the leading chairmanship contestants, an inside source told the Nigerian Tribune On Sunday, will move to Ondo State, on Tuesday to lobby prospective delegates to the convention on behalf of the aspirant. The camp claimed that the majority of the power brokers and stakeholders in the party look up to the governors to play a crucial role in the contest.
The camp of another contestant said the claim in certain quarters about a presidential blessing to the bid of an aspirant has not deterred anyone from keeping hope alive as the countdown to the convention peaks.
The source insisted that all the APC governors were not united on the said endorsement of Adamuas consensus candidate by the president
“No aspirant in the North- Central has stepped down, even the ones from North- East have made themselves clear on the issue. “The governors are not united on the choice of Adamu. So, there is no consensus in the real sense of the word. The battle is likely to enter another phase this week,” the source said. But when contacted, the spokesman of The Saliu Mustapha Campaign Organisation, Mr Dapo Okubanjo restated that the APC had channels of communication to relay any official development in the party to its teeming members. “As far as we are concerned, nothing is cast in stone yet on a consensus choice even though the zoning favours the North-Central.
“However, as a party man, Mallam Saliu Mustapha still believes that once a decision is taken on the choice of any one, it would be communicated through official channels to concerned parties.
“And until that is done, we believe that the race is still open to all contenders who showed interest in being the next national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC),” he stated.
Buhari did not endorse me —Adamu
Meanwhile, Senator Adamu has reportedly said contrary to media reports, he was not endorsed by the president.
Adamu made the clarification in Keffi, while he was playing host to officials of the party at the Local Government level at his Keffi country home, on Saturday. Recall, during the last meeting of the APC, it was gathered that the president had endorsed Senator Adamu. But immediately after it was announced it did not go down well with some party’s stakeholders and state governors.
According to the Governors in a statement, Senator Adamu is not a core member of the party, saying, someone who knows the in and our of the party should be the one to head the party not a former member of PDP.
The governors also alleged that his performance as the chairman of the APC reconciliation committee was also not encouraging to give him the mandate.
However, a source who was at the meeting said the senator told them to disregard reports saying Buhari has not endorsed him. He told them to pray for his success at convention of the party slated for 26th March, 2022.
“Senator Adamu told those at the meeting that President Buhari has not endorsed any candidate for the position of the national chairman.
“Instead, Senator Adamu requested for the party officials to pray for his successful emergence as the next national chairman of the APC.”
According to the source, the former governor appealed to the party officials to mobilise at least 100 persons from each electoral ward that will accompany him to the convention on March 26. Musa intensifies consultations, reels out programme In the meantime, one of the leading aspirants for the national chairmanship, Senator Sani Musa, has intensified his consultations and strategies ahead of the party election.
Senator Musa, who currently represents Niger East in the National Assembly, has been engaging in consultations with stakeholders in the party across the country.
Speaking on his programme, Musa said if given the opportunity to lead the APC, he will completely re-engineer the internal structures and workings of the party, stating that the governing party needs total leadership re-orientation for it to actualize its institutional potentials.
He said: “APC needs total leadership reorientation for it to actualize its institutional potentials. I will be adaptive to participatory and affiliative work style that will usher visionary and pacesetting leadership for the party that will give the party a new direction and philosophy.
“APC must be made an institution, which is the only antidote to reckless abuse of office and ethics which brings about disharmony and wrangling within the various organs of the party viz-a-viz its followers.”
Restating his reform agenda for the party as expressed in three Rs: reconciliation, re-organisation and redirection, he stated the need to immediately reconcile aggrieved members of the party at all levels on a sustainable basis.
“We need to reorganise the party in such a manner that it is able to effectively mobilise all segments of the country from youths to women groups to meet up with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) timetable timelines for the 2023 elections.
“Thirdly, we must redirect our efforts towards winning elections and nation building and not wrangling. Most importantly we shall govern by the rule of law, abide by the party constitution, guidelines, manifesto and in line with the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.”
The aspirant pledged to run an inclusive leadership that is devoid of the habitual grain of the entrenched political culture of dynastic politics, sectionalism, favouritism, money politics, parasitism on the public payroll, cronyism and patronage.
He said the ruling party, under his watch, would thrive to be self-funding and not rely on individuals that will later want to be dictating the tunes, which will create wrangling and disharmony in the party.”
“Disputes are indispensable in democracy because democracy allows for different shades of opinions. “This in itself is not a disadvantage because it allows people to learn from such disputes and even matters that end up in courts afford the judiciary the opportunity to expound and develop the law regarding issues in dispute which serve as precedents for the future.
“So, I don’t see how disputes will affect the convention. I do believe that once I emerge the chairman of the APC, my reform agenda will address most of these challenges and reposition the party for the better.
“We believe in the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, and the president, being a democrat, will never subscribe to imposition against the will of the majority party faithful. Hence, we shall continue our consultations and prepare ourselves for the national convention with the hope of winning the national chairmanship contest.
“Furthermore as genuine party faithful we will always be open to abide by any genuine considerations with superior reasoning if brokered by Mr. President in return for a consensus arrangement, and cannot be pushed away and in a manner like what is been peddled now as endorsement of a nonprepared individual as one,” he said.
Niger governor plots NEC meeting
•He lacks such powers —Nabena
In another development, a crisis of confidence is brewing among the governors in the APC ahead of the convention of the party.
Certain governors not comfortable with the snail-speed preparations for the convention by the Yobe State governor and Chairman of the CECPC, Buni are scheming to seize the initiative of handling the process from him.
Nigerian Tribune checks revealed that some of his colleagues have reportedly emboldened the Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello to convene a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
Governor Sani Bello is incidentally a member of the APC CECPC, which also has Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State as member.
The chairman of the APC CECPC, Governor Buni is presently in far away Germany.
Some governors are worried that the perceived tardiness of Buni could frustrate the planned convention, and are seeking for intervention of another statutory organ of the party, the NEC for the input of other stakeholders in the APC, who have accused the governors of alienating them in the processes leading to the convention.
A deputy national the publicity secretary of the party, Yekeen Nabena has, however, cautioned Governor Sani Bello not to convene a meeting of the APC NEC in the absence of the chairman of the CECPC. Nabena in a statement last night said Niger governor lacked the power to convene a meeting without the authorisation of Buni.
He accused Governor Sani Bello of trying to hijack the caretaker committee.
According to Nabena, the Niger governor “ is just an ordinary member of the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) and not the Chairman or Secretary.
“I am using this medium to call on our leaders across the states to caution Governor Sani Bello of Niger State. The the presidency should also call him to order to immediately drop the plan to convey a NEC meeting without the knowledge of Governor Mai Mala Buni and the secretary of the CECPC.
“Governor Sani Bello is neither the chairman nor secretary of the national caretaker committee. So, where did he get the power to convey such meeting? “Governor Bello should not destroy the ruling APC.
