Appoint only core party members as ministers, Enugu APC tells Buhari

Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint only core and loyal members of the party as ministers in his expected cabinet.

It said the President should resist the temptation of appointing those who want to reap where they did not sow, or minsters that could constitute a cog in the party’s wheel of progress in their states, as experienced during the last dispensation.

The state chapter said the party would not hesitate to oppose the appointment of a non-core member as minister in the state.

Speaking during its State Executive Council (SEC) meeting at the party’s secretariat in Enugu, its Chairman, Dr. Ben Nwoye, explained that various state chapters in the country suffered serious setbacks during President Buhari’s first tenure.

He attributed the development to appointment of non-core members of the party as ministers and other key government positions.

The Enugu APC, which passed a vote of confidence on President Buhari and the Nwoye-led executive in the state during the meeting, said engaging opportunists would be counter productive, especially at the state level.

“Such non-core member ministers would always use their positions to engineer crisis for their selfish interests. For APC to change its perceived negative narrative in some states, the President should assemble formidable cabinet members made up of those who truly believe in party supremacy.”

“We want to use this medium to call on Mr. President not to make the mistake of appointing non-core members of our party as ministers. Rather, he should engage those who have contributed to APC’s progress and sincerely believe in its ideology, so as to help him drive government’s next level agenda,” he said.

It also appealed to the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and the National Working Committee (NWC) to lift the suspension on one of its chieftains in the state and Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, who was suspended some months ago over alleged anti- party activities.

The Enugu APC further commended President Buhari for recently appointing one of its members, Mrs. Maria Aniobi, as a member of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) board, assuring him that she will not disappoint the Federal Government.