It is evident that before the constitution of the present All Progressives Congress, APC National Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, the party was already tottering on the brinks of a serious rift. There was a major division among the principal stakeholders who believed that the former National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole performed abysmally in the 2019 general elections in which APC lost in some swing States including Bauchi, Adamawa, Bayelsa and Zamfara and should accordingly be shown the way out. Others held their ground that the Comrade Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole should be allowed to consolidate as he barely came on board at the eve of the elections and couldn’t have performed a magic.

In his intervention however, Mr President and leader of the party, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari was determined to prove that the potential of APC as a party to internally disagree is more than matched by her mechanisms and capacity to reconcile and evolve that common ground that is the defining essence of serious politics and irrevocable roadmap to nation building. He was right in his thoughts as a father and elder statesman. His pedigree and credentials as a Major General (Rtd.) and former Head of State and principal player in the formation of APC, speak volumes of the sagacity, political savvy and experience as a leader of men.

Thus, the appointment of His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni, Governor of Yobe State as Chairman, APC National Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee was to restore cohesion, reconcile aggrieved party members across the country following the 2019 general elections and above all, conduct a National Convention of the party by the end of 2020, having been constituted in June of the same year. All of these mandates, tall as they seem, have been achieved and indeed exceeded, with the party membership registration and revalidation across the country already in place. But unfortunately, a new and dangerous syndrome has set in. The Caretaker Chairman and his team are not in the mood to conduct the all important APC National Convention that would strengthen and deepen the winning streak of the party. Mai Mala Buni and his team appear to be carried away by the largesse of high party office and the luxury thereof.

We of the Core CPC Arewa Youth Congress which metamorphosed to APC Arewa Youth Congress since the 2014 merger, are deeply concerned that our great and beloved party, the APC is further drifting under the Mai Mala Buni led Caretaker Committee. Having achieved a reasonable measure of reconciliation and harmony and went further to deliver a credible register capturing our membership across the country, one would expect the Caretaker Committee, in consultation with critical stakeholders of our party to announce a programme for congresses leading to National Convention not exceeding June 2021 which in essence was an extension requested in December 2020 by the committee. History repeats itself when leaders refuse to learn from history. Elections are lost when those in party leadership and authority fail to do the right thing as at when due.

APC Arewa Youth Congress is of the view and position that the Caretaker Committee, having delivered on it’s mandate should vacate with honour and dignity after the APC National Convention in June, with a substantive National Exco and NWC to consolidate and sustain the winning streak of the party. It is unthinkable that Mai Mala Buni and his present committee would be asking for eight weeks extension for membership registration when it should be an ongoing activity of every party. The criticism all across the political space is that our great party, the APC, lacks the ability and capacity to conduct ordinary congresses and national convention within record time and consequently cannot be entrusted with the leadership of the country. Our concerns as a youth organization are further compounded by what we considered as a conspiracy of silence by critical stakeholders who have kept silent in the face of this reluctance or outright dereliction of responsibility within time line. We look up to APC leaders including the elected and appointed members of the legislature and executive to rise to the occasion before we get confronted by recalcitrant tigers in party offices.

It is pertinent to state here and categorically too, that the same circumstances that led to  Mr President, His Excellency, Muhammad Buhari stepping in to ensure sanity and stability in the party through the constitution of the same committee in mid 2020 have reared up their ugly heads again. A situation where we are led without clear direction and objective can only make the party grope in darkness to the derision of the opposition parties and detractors. We therefore call on our leader and father of the party, Mr President to call on the Caretaker Committee and its leadership on the urgent imperative of a national convention before APC derails irretrievably.

Posted from WordPress for Android