With the 2023 election gradually approaching, President Muhammadu Buhari has again warned leaders of the All Progressives Congress at both national and state levels against factions and imposing unpopular candidates.
Speaking at the 11th meeting of the National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress on Wednesday in Abuja, the President called for due process to be followed.
“I enjoin you all to follow due process in all the party processes and more importantly to develop more mechanisms against corruption.
“I call on all party members to abide by all extant laws, rules, and regulations and to leaders of our party to avoid the imposition of candidates that cannot win popular elections.
“This dictatorial behaviour cost us many strategic seats in the past. In the recent past, this led to some of our strong members, unfortunately, opting to go elsewhere because of the unfairly oppressive behaviour of party leaders at the state level.
“I must caution strongly against any tendency towards developing cliques, in–fighting within the party.
“We want to win well not succumb to factions on account of personal acerbities and desire to retain control at all costs. That surely is not the road to win,’’ he stated.
Meanwhile, the National Executive Council of the All Progressives Congress transferred power to the Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee until July 2022.
APC’s National Secretary, Sen Iyiola Omisore, disclosed this to delegates at the 11th National Executive Committee Tuesday in Abuja.
This is as the president told new members of the National Working Committee, which had been delegated powers of NEC to work towards keeping the party together by creating more room for discussions.
“There’s no time to develop differences among ourselves. We have no time for that,’’ he added.
Speaking on the forthcoming general elections, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress , Senator Abdullahi Adamu, warned that the internal crisis in the party may affect the chances of the party.
“We must succeed, failure is not an option,’’ the APC Chairman said.
Also, Buhari urged party members to be more mindful of the pitfalls that led to the ouster of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2015.
“The PDP thought that only time could remove them, and the time actually came. They thought it was impossible to lose elections,’’ he added.
He said the APC was formed by a merger of Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change, All Nigeria Peoples Party, some members from All Progressives Grand Alliance and the new PDP, which was a faction of the then ruling party.
“We put together a committee with clear terms of reference on how to remove the PDP from power. The PDP thought it wasn’t going to be possible. But it happened,’’ he said.
“Furthermore I am pleading with all litigants to withdraw cases against the Party and put faith in party mechanisms.
“Now that NEC has vested its powers in NWC for the time being, as requested, and in compliance with the Party Constitution in the overall interest of the Party, I want to assure Mr. Chairman and the entire NWC members of my full support,’’ he said.
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