Members of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC in the North Central geopolitical zone have cautioned President Bola Tinubu against attempts to shortchange the zone in the selection of a new National Chairman for the party.
Following the resignation of the erstwhile National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu from Nasarawa state, North Central Nigeria, there are reported attempts by the President and the APC Governors’ Forum to impose the immediate-past Governor of Kano state (North West), Dr Abdullahi Ganduje on the party as Adamu’s replacement.
However, the APC North Central Progressives Forum said if Osun State is allowed to replace the erstwhile National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore who is from that state, the same legal right must be extended to Nasarawa state, or at least, any other state in the North Central.
Convener of the Forum, Comrade Ahmed Suleiman in a statement on Sunday in Abuja said it was deeply surprising and disappointing “to see how some stakeholders from North Central are busy endorsing or celebrating the unjustifiable deliberate plan to short-change and undermine the interests of the North Central Zone of APC and the Zone at large”.
He said; “After all the collective efforts made by the zone to help the party win elections three consecutive times by constantly giving votes of 2,411,013 (53%) in 2015, 2,465,599 (54%) in 2019 and 1,760,993 in 2023 respectively, despite the heterogeneous nature of the zone due to tribes, ethnicities and religions, constant short-changing has been the thank you gift to the Zone for being faithful and supportive to the party.
“We wish to remind you, Sir, that in this 2023 election, North Central’s votes was higher than the votes of 1,185,458, from N/E, 799,957 from S/S and 127,605 from the S/E zone of the Country. If this injustice of short-changing is allowed to continue, it will be a total disregard and betrayal of our collective sacrifices, support and loyalty as a zone, which we have played in the last 8 years and wish to continue playing to the party and the government.
“We therefore call on the President, H. E Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who has tasted the bitterness of injustice and the joy and benefits of fairness and justice in his political history to please help to put a stop to this dangerous political misrepresentation and avoid any unforeseen crisis in the party.
“Politics is about the people’s feelings, values, interests and sense of belonging, and should not be allowed to be toyed with by any self-driven interests. Worthy to recall, is the zone’s recent shortchanging in National Assembly leadership, security high-ranking, despite the security challenges that are be-deviling the zone, and now the leadership of the party is to be taken from the zone which was used to deny us all the aforementioned positions. The painful part of all the above-mentioned is that, this constant undermining is done without any consultation with the stakeholders of the party from the zone, and if there is any, the people deserve to know. All these deliberate attempts to relegate the zone politically, forces one to ask, what is the offence of the North Central zone of APC??
“It is important to remind us that both the Chairman who is from Nasarawa state and the Secretary who is from Osun state resigned the same day, now the Secretary is to be replaced from the same state and zone, but Nasarawa or any other state from North Central does not qualify to retain its Chairmanship position, what an injustice! What an orphan!! What a robbery!!!
“As a Forum drawn from the Six States of North Central and the FCT, we therefore, calling on all well-meaning Nigerians who are lovers of justice and fairness, irrespective of political interests or affiliations to join hands with us to stop this injustice against the entire North Central.
“And for those who are busy endorsing this injustice to our collective sense of belonging and interests, please permit me to speak to your conscience, that you should remember the injustice you are supporting and celebrating today because of any self-serving interest may come after you or your zone somehow someday”, he added.
