President Muhammadu Buhari warns the leaders (and membership) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to desist from name-calling and backstabbing ahead of the oncoming March 26 Convention, remain steadfast and maintain its unity if the party is to continue in the path of victory and its dominance at all levels throughout the country.
Recall that Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara toed the same line and cautioned APC governors against unguarded statements over the party’s crisis.
Mr Matawalle spoke in reaction to statements credited to Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu wherein he lambasted embattled caretaker chairman of APC and Yobe Governor Mai Mala Buni, saying he was being misled by some “Yahoo Yahoo Governors” to undermine the party.
Similarly, Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai had accused Mr Buni of making plans to frustrate the party’s national convention billed to be held on March 26, 2022. Mr El-Rufai vowed that Mr Buni would not return as the party’s chair and has been effectively replaced by Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger.
Mr Buni is said to have the backing of Imo governor Hope Uzodinma, Ogun governor Dapo Abiodun, Kogi governor Yahaya Bello, among others.
“It is not right for us to wash our dirty linens in the media, especially at this critical time of the party’s transformation as we move towards a decisive period in 2023.
“I believe that each of us has been trying his best in his way to move the interest of our great party forward.
“His Excellency, Gov. Mai Mala Buni has no doubt contributed immensely to the promotion of the party’s fortunes and indeed all other governors who disagreed with one another.
“However, we all disagree to agree. That is the beauty of democracy. There is no point in promoting disharmony among ourselves after disagreements are settled,” Mr Matawalle said in a statement by Zailani Bappa, his Special Adviser on Public Enlightenment, Media and Communications on Friday in Gusau.
Mr Matawalle added: ”It is not wise to drag the name of His Excellency, Mr President into taking sides on issues that are ordinarily a normal political misunderstanding common to every collection of interests.
“Now, more than ever before, the party needs the strength and unity to face the challenges ahead as we move towards the critical period of elections of which the party must maintain its supremacy at all levels.”
On Saturday, President Buhari, in a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Garba Shehu, asked the members to look at the once-powerful, ”main opposition” Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) now enfeebled and adrift and learn lessons in disunity, mismanagement and corruption.
”They failed in 16 years in power and a failure as opposition.
”Yes, we are entitled to our own share of dissent and intra-party discord. These are common in all parties, left and right all over the world.
”But parties splintered by competing egos destined themselves to the worst possible fate,” the President warned.
”As the country prepares for the long run up to the 2023 presidential election, we all expect a robust debate on the issues that matter and what is going in the APC should be a reflection of this, not the infighting we are seeing. There must be no more distractions ahead of the convention to choose new leaders.”
He recalled that the APC started out with a confidence of victory and the party today enjoys that confidence in nearly two-thirds of our 36 states.
Yet, he noted, this is a party that has been in existence barely for eight years, becoming the dominant party because it has thrown open its doors to defectors from other parties, big and small.
This alone, addition to the fact ”we didn’t start on the note of arrogance of power, nor see government as a vehicle for self-aggrandizement, to be held at all costs, but a vehicle to bring development to all without discrimination-political, ethnic or regional to our dear country made this success possible.”
The party, he went on to note, is proud of the fact that in its short period of existence, it has won two general elections decisively and despite losing a few states in 2019, it steadfastly expanded its pan-Nigerian outlook with significant defections of the opposition Governors and parliamentarians into its fold.
”Given all that is at a stake, we can expect contests into offices as we are now faced with to be heated although candidates and their promoters for party offices are not so much debating policy differences but differences of management, personality, character, and suitability for the most important leadership roles in our country and therefore the continent.”
It is equally clear that over the last week or so, the internal management affairs of the APC have been afforded generous media coverage – over and above its importance to the voters of Nigeria.
It is important to ask what benefits the poor are getting during the period of intense negative coverage.
When precisely the party’s convention is held and who is the party’s chairman is hardly a matter for the average voter: vastly more important is who convention delegates will elect as the party’s flagbearer in the coming weeks to take forward the party’s platform to the people in the general election in February next year.
It is therefore important for the media to put such matters into perspective. No one is debating policy differences here. That is for the general election. None of the declared aspirants and any of those that may step forward will change because of who may be in the party in the chairman’s seat. It is essentially the same party.
Of course the media are welcome to comment on the content of the character of the potential APC candidates; discuss their suitability for leadership; scrutinize their offer to the membership. But to focus on the routine internal divisions and magnify them into what they have become today is a waste of everyone’s time, amounting to no more than a discussion over seating arrangements.
This is not what Nigerians talk of in their communities. They have an inclination only for things that matter.
