A political interest group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) operating with the name, the APC Southern Mandate, has expressed concern over a plot by the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun and some other members of the national leadership to foist a presidential candidate on the party. APC Southern Mandates, which comprises the chairmen and secretaries of defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) in the 17 southern states, held series of meeting at the weekend in Abuja and Edo State respectively, saying it would soon stage a national protest to demand for his sack over his bias to a presidential aspirant at the expense of others. One of the leaders of the group and an aide to the Edo State Governor, who preferred anonymity, spoke to some journalists in Abuja, alleging a plot by the party chairman and other national executive members towards the adoption of former military Head of State, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) as the party’s sole candidate for the presidential race in 2015. According to him, such action would spell doom for the party in the 2015 elections. He said the group had reached an agreement to support a younger presidential aspirant, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, instead of Buhari. “Our 2011 experience has shown that Buhari is not a good product we can market in the southern states, the few elite backing him do not have followers anywhere in the South. “We have successfully secure leaders of all the legacy parties in the South, even leaders of ACN are already buying our idea. We are going to do everything possible to scuttle Buhari’s ambition this time around,” he said. Oyegun had, while addressing journalists after the last National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party in Abuja, said the APC was ready for more presidential aspirants, assuring that the leadership would be neutral. However, THISDAY tried sunday to reach out to the APC National Chairman to get his reaction through telephone calls and text messages but could not get a reply as at was time. But the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, said there was no iota of truth in the group’s accusation, describing it as cheap blackmail. “The allegations are cheap. There is no iota of truth in that allegation, I can assure you,” he said. Meanwhile, another group drumming support for the former Head of State, known as The Buhari Vanguard, has issued a statement urging the party leadership to adopt the consensus option in picking the party’s presidential flag-bearer. The Buhari Vanguard in a statement by the its Chairman, Jasper Azuatalam, said the APC constitution and other relevant laws relating to the emergence of a presidential candidate from a political party, had shown that consensus remained “the most viable, cost effective and unifying option available to the APC.” The Buhari supporters believe that it would be in good faith to avoid launching into full-scale primary election, which they said would cost so much money and even lead to financial inducement by some who still believe in “money politics” against credibility and popularity of the candidate. “A consensual arrangement as stipulated in Article 20 of APC Constitution and Section 87 (6) of the Electoral Act is surely the best option available for the APC. This will save the APC from unnecessary litigations, rancor and strife that accompanies presidential primaries. If the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with all the resources available to them and the power of incumbency is working towards a consensual arrangement by adopting Goodluck Jonathan, it will be wholly unwise and unintelligent for an opposition political party to want to sell the dangerous region. “In the same manner, an indirect primary will give the ruling political party an opportunity to infiltrate the APC by influencing delegates with money and planting moles within the delegates to influence who emerges as the presidential candidate of the APC. This is because they know the candidate to beat in APC and they will do all within their reach to make sure that such candidates do not emerge as APC presidential candidate. “We also believe that the bitterness, rancor and disaffection that may arise from the contest will weaken the APC and give the PDP an undue advantage ahead of the 2015 presidential election. It is clear from all available statistics and parameters that the PDP has no locus in the 2015 presidential election as they will lose woefully in a free and fair contest because of their abysmal performance in government which has earned them the wrath of Nigerians,” it added
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 20:30:48 +0000
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