The All Progressives Congress (APC) will emerge stronger as a party and a force to reckon with after its forthcoming congresses and national convention, ahead 2019 general elections.
This was the submission of the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi on Sunday.
Speaking with newsmen in Ilorin, he dismissed insinuations in some quarters that the party’s forthcoming convention might tear it apart, saying he does not see the two processes generating any ‘rancour’.
The APC had scheduled May 2nd to 9th for its ward, local government and state congresses, following President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to its NEC to reconsider its earlier decision on ”tenure elongation” for national officers of the party.
Abdullahi also stated that the continued stay of officers of the party in office was not ”tenure elongation” as termed by some people.
Rather, he said their continued stay in office was in the ”wisdom” of National Working Committee (NEC) members of the party to avert acrimony that might arise from such elective process, which he said could weaken the party ahead of 2019.
He however assured that in spite of the president’s advise that the party should reconsider NEC’S position, it would come out stronger after the congresses and convention.
”As you know it is a long road that we have walked before we arrived at this processes of congresses and convention. The idea of many members of the national executive committee of the party was that they should not go into such competitive processes at this time few months to elections, naturally congresses and conventions tends to generate acrimony. It is even more difficult at the ward level than at the state and national level.
” Now we have issues in a couple of states if you now throw congresses into it , you will have the potentially destructive situation that may weaken the party ahead of 2019.
”So the wisdom of majority of NEC members is that we should not have congress at the national convention rather current officers of the party should be allowed to complete their tenure, this what some people called tenure elongation, it wasn’t tenure elongation by any means”.
On whether Kwara would still retain its position of the national publicity secretary, Abdullahi responded thus ”The NEC’s decision was that the zoning arrangements should be sustained as much as possible.
“So, if NEC directed that the zoning arrangement should be maintained, it means that the position of the national publicity secretary will remain in north -central and specifically in Kwara state.
”So I don’t envisage any situation that is going to generate any rancour in the party as far as election into the national offices is concerned.
“I think the position that will be most contested is the national chairmanship of the party, which is of course is zoned to the south-south zone of the party , I don’t know who else is going to contest , I know Chief John Oyegun will re-contest for the second time, as the chairman of the APC. The whole arrangement will go smoothly and we believe the post congresses election, convention, APC will remain as a stronger party and as a strong fighting force to face at the polls’’
