National Vice chairman (North West) of All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Salihu Lukman, has alleged subterranean plot by some conservative elements to undermine the party’s zoning for principal officers of the National Assembly.
In a piece titled: “APC and Transition Politics,” Lukman accused the leadership as the mastermind.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, acting in concert with the ruling party, had endorsed Sen. Godswill Akpabio, Barau Jibrin, Dr. Tajudeen Abass and Benjamin Kalu as Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 10th National Assembly.
But scores of aggrieved aspirants, led by Senator Abdul’aziz Yari and Deputy Speaker Ahmed Wase, have registered their opposition with the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee (NWC), saying the endorsements were unjust and undemocratic.
Lukman claimed the conservative bloc in the party is whipping ethnic northern arguments.
He, thereby, called on Tinubu to assume full control of the party to avert further damage to his administration.
The official alleged: “As if those consultations were not designed to produce agreements, once the NWC approved the recommendation for zoning the leadership of the 10th National Assembly, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, instead of acting as the National Chairman, facilitating implementation of decisions of organs of the party, he is acting as a factional leader, opposing the decision of the NWC.
“Instead of working for the success of the decision of the NWC through activating meetings of higher organs of the party to confer more legitimacy to the decision of the NWC, he seems to be more interested in ensuring that the 2015 model of rebellious leadership emerge in the 10th National Assembly.
“President Tinubu’s job is clearly cut out for him. From all available evidence, he must have been very prepared. Given all the internal battles he had to surmount ahead of his emergence as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he has all it takes to return the APC to its founding vision of being a progressive party.
“And based on his governance track record in Lagos State, he clearly has both the vision and drive to turn a new progressive leap for the country with a government that is both responsive and representative. As someone who, as he refers to himself – city boy – basically coming from humble beginning, he has no excuse if he fails to roll out unconventional leadership initiatives.”
He continued: “The first test of his emergence as leader of APC and President of Nigeria is whether he will allow leading conservatives to continue to block structures of the party from operating as provided in the APC constitution. It is already a tragedy that two undeniably hardcore conservatives will be given the task of leading the APC as National Chairman and National Secretary.
“How can a party envisioned to be progressive have such a misfortune? Part of the test will be whether President Tinubu, having agreed together with the APC NWC on zoning formula for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly, just sit and watch conservative right-wing elements within the APC use northern ethnic arguments to mobilise for the defeat of endorsed candidates for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly?
“The take-off for the President Tinubu administration will surely define what to expect. The choices are clear.”
