Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje was National Chairman of the NewPDP which broke from the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2013 to merge with the All Progressives Congress (APC). The former National Secretary and Acting National Chairman of the PDP, in this in an interview with the New Telegraph admitted that the APC does not have the required National spread /structure hence the loses suffered by the party during rerun elections extract :
Why is APC keeping silent on the trial of the Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT)?
Many of us have been surprised or taken aback that the party has not been living to expectations about the trial of the Senate president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; living up to expectation in terms of making the Senate president have a sense of belonging as part of the party which is very important for any member, let alone the calibre of the Senate president, who has sacrificed lot of resources for the party.
I have been trying to make the party realise that not only the Senate president but everybody that contributed to the success of the party matters from the highest to the lowest hierarchy.
We have gotten to a level where we have to be realistic and ensure that the right thing is done at the right time and in the right manner, moreso from the fact that we belong to a group that is not very satisfied with the performance of the party.
It is not only because the Senate president is currently going through a very pronounced political persecution, but because there are other cases and instances where we are not happy about the performance of our party. A case in point is the recent rerun elections in Rivers State.
You will agree with me that before and during the elections, APC did not have the expected and desired presence in the state. With the volatile nature of the rerun elections, some of us with our humble experiences expected the presence of our party there. It is regrettable.
Today, we have counted about one 150 rerun elections both at the state and national levels across the country and our party, the APC has lost majority of the elections. Not because the party has lost popularity, but because of lack of enough presence of the party in the various places where the elections were held.
Politics is not technical but practical. If APC decided to abandon its members in the middle of the election, you don’t expect magic from such situation. The party should be proud that the Senate president is from its fold.
Though he was not wanted by some certain interests, he went into an election and won. The PDP episode with Aminu Tambuwal (former speaker, House of Representatives) is still fresh. The PDP then didn’t throw the baby away with the bath water, knowing fully well that such move will be counterproductive.
It was well managed and that speaker still remained the speaker of the then PDP government. Our party may loath the ways of PDP, but out of every bad situation and experience, there are atoms of goodness and every visionary leader will separate the chaff from the corn and take what is good out of it.
So, it is not as if the Senate president has gone against his party. I am a witness of how our Senate president got the seat and I can say that as at the time we went for the election, the party had no candidate for the poll. The party first made a statement that it has zoned the seat to the North- Central before all the intrigues.
When there are lots of distractions, you would lose focus and the APC has lots of distraction created by the party itself.
We must sound a note of warning to President Buhari to shine his eyes. There are people in the party, who claim to be working for the success of the party but actually doing that for their own selfish interests.
But it will lead them to nowhere. We will never romance impunity. President Buhari should be wary of them and play more politics now.
Since the coming of Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, no Senate president has had dry, blatant, politically tyrannical and open persecution as Saraki.
What is your take on the trial of Saraki?
The case of Saraki has not followed due process and rule of law. It was the due process that was missing in the case of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and he was discharged but not acquitted.
So, why is Saraki’s case different? So, as regards whether we are comfortable with where we are and whether we are joining other groups, every politician has aspirations about development of his people and if you cannot achieve it in one place, you go to another place.
It doesn’t mean that I am a political prostitute but that I am a principled person and will not stop until I get what I want, which in this case is good governance, equality, democratic dividends for my people. Impunity, lawlessness and lack of due process were not what formed APC.
With the intervention of some leaders like us, that party will continue to thrive, but for it not to go the way of PDP, the president must play politics.
About aktrending
0 comments :
Post a Comment