APC National Convention: Buhari Insists On Consensus
Interested members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC):backing on popular votes to emerge as party officials in the scheduled National Convention of the party may have been living in fool’s paradise as President Muhammadu Buhari has insisted on the consensus option for all party positions rather than election.
The President, during a meeting with governors on the platform of the party, asked the governors to come together and sort out all the remaining party positions “so that within the next 24 hours we can arrive at a Unity List which we can take to the convention”.
To accentuate his position, President Buhari directed the leadership of the party to immediately refund monies collected from contestants for all positions.
“Finally, all those who have bought forms indicating interest and have been dropped should have their money refunded without delay”.
The President also used the occasion to reel out some of his administration’s achievements. According to him, his government has done its best to deliver good governance to the country, guaranteed national food security, provided modern infrastructure to kick-start economic growth and have implemented the most comprehensive social welfare programmes in the nation’s history.
While pointing out that his administration has had to endure the worst economic crisis with the free fall of oil prices from an average of $100 per barrel over 15 years of PDP government to an average of $30 – $50 until the recent energy crisis, President Buhari enjoined the state governors not to be diverted by petty quarrels.
“We need to remind ourselves of these achievements and not be diverted by petty quarrels and unseemly jockeying for positions. It will be a very sad and regrettable development if these manifest gains are frittered away as a result of internal dissent and rivalry.
“We must avoid narrow focus and inordinate personal ambitions at the expense of our party’s common good. We must stop frivolous and diversionary litigation when the Party’s reconciliation processes are available for settling disputes.
“We must restore sanity and purpose in the affairs of our party and lead ourselves to victory and safety”, he started.
President Buhari also used the occasion to underscore his resolve to hand over to an APC member at the expiration of his tenure in May 2023.
“As I remarked when I met Your Excellencies on 22 February, our aim must be to hand over to an APC government at the centre and the great majority of states. We must not, by default, allow the PDP to get its dirty hands on government again and return us to the Stone Age”, he said.
APC’s first elective National Convention is scheduled to hold in Abuja on the 26th of March.
