Saraki, Kwankwaso, Tambuwal may dump APC soon
NEWS DIGEST – A delegation of the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) who joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) before the 2015 general elections on Wednesday visited the party’s national secretariat to protest against alleged marginalization. Daily Trust Reports
They were led by a former acting PDP national chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, who told journalists yesterday at the party headquarters that the discussion with APC national chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun on the issue was aimed at strengthening and uniting the party ahead of 2019.
In a letter addressed to Odigie-Oyegun on April 27, 2018 but copied to President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, they listed their grievances and advised that an emergency meeting be held not later than seven days from the date of the receipt of the correspondence signed by Baraje and Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
Daily Trust learned that the letter might be a prior notice to the party leadership of a purported impending plan by the group to leave the APC.
They claimed in the letter that the efforts and sacrifice of the new PDP members that included five sitting governors of Sokoto, Kano, Kwara, Adamawa, Rivers States; former governors of Kebbi, Gombe, Osun States, former vice president of Nigeria, former acting National Chairman of PDP, sitting Speaker of the House of Representatives, many serving members of the National Assembly and PDP elders were never publicly acknowledged by President Buhari.
The letter titled ‘Request for Redressing of Grievances of the Former New PDP Block within the APC’, read “We the members of the APC who moved over from the PDP before the 2015 general elections in Nigeria are desirous of strengthening our party, especially now that new party congresses have commenced and the Convention and another round of general elections are imminent. Obviously, this cannot be achieved without addressing fundamental issues which we wish to raise in the letter.
“We therefore wish, with due respect, to re-state our expectation then and now that the APC we all laboured to build would be one united, inclusive, cohesive and progressive party devoid of divisions, factions, cleavages and tendencies. We envisioned a political party promoting equal rights for all Nigerians and ensuring rapid and even development across the country. Of course, there is no gainsaying the fact that the lofty ideals enumerated above cannot be attained without ensuring justice for party faithfuls and citizens.
“It is an undeniable historical fact that the movement of the former New PDP block to the APC contributed immensely to the victory of the APC in the election. Most of our leaders not only delivered their States to the APC at the election, some of the governors were also assigned specific responsibility to ensure that other States were also delivered to the APC in the 2015 election. The then Governor at Sokoto took charge of Kebbi and the then Governor of Kano State took responsibility for Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa States just to mention a few examples. There were also unprecedented efforts by many stakeholders such as Senator Bukola Saraki in concert with others, to deliver the entire North Central to the APC.
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“These efforts, contributions and sacrifice were made in spite of the fact that the presidential ticket was taken by the erstwhile Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) block of the party. It is a matter for grave concern that His Excellency, Mr President, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has never publicly acknowledged our efforts in the face of clear evidence that the total number of votes scored by the APC in States where leaders and members of the then new PDP block held sway made the difference.”
The letter further read, “At this stage, we would chronicle a few grievances which if addressed will lead to harmonious APC where justice, equity, fairness and peace will reign and enable APC avoid rancour, reinvigorate the pace of national development and face the 2019 general elections as one united party. Our grievances include:
“In the constitution of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the New PDP block was gonerally sidelined as virtually no position was conceded to it. The only member of FEC that belonged to former New PDP block comes from a State that contributed virtually no vote to the APC in the 2015 presidential elections.
“There has been no significant patronage and appointments to positions in various government agencies such as Chief Executives and Executive Directors of government agencies and parastatals as members of our block of the party continue to helplessly watch as these positions are shared by the erstwhile CPC, ACN, ANPP, and even APGA blocks of the party and those who have no party at all.
” In appointments into Boards of various government agencies, very few former New PDP members were patronised. These are however not commensurate with our contributions to the growth and victory of the party.
“When members of the former New PDP block showed interest in running for the offices of President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, they were subjected to a vicious and relentless political opposition as if they were not legitimate members of the APC family.
“During the party primaries preparatory to the 2015 General Elections, most of the promises made to sitting members of the National Assembly, who belonged to the former new PDP in terms of a level playing field were reneged upon or observed more in breach.
“There has been general lack of consultation, non recognition and even persecution of former New PDP members and leaders by the party and government. For example, some of our leaders are denied the security cover necessary to visit their constituencies even though they are elected representatives of the people in a government they sacrificed so much for.
“Harassment, intimidation and persecution of former New PDP leaders by the government, is still an ongoing affair. We do not want to overstate the obvious by cataloguing names of former new PDP stalwarts that are targets of this political pogrom.
“There is inadequate reflection of programme and policy contributions of members at the former New PDP block in the running of the government.
“Our belief is that it does not augur well for our party if a section of it feels that it is being treated as outcasts and meddlesome interlopers in the party they rightly belong with the legitimate expectation to be treated with justice both in the running of the party and the government.
“In conclusion. we the members of the former New PDP block of the APC wish to reiterate that this letter is written patriotically with the best of intentions and the good of our party, the APC, and is issued to alert the leadership of the APC and in particular, the leader of our party, Presidentn Buhari, GCFR, who only recently indicated his intention to seek a second term as President, of grievances that exist within the party with a view to ensuring justice for all members of the APC family regardless of the blocks they came from prior to the formation of the APC.”
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