BREAKING NEWS, Politics
–
ABUBAKAR Kawu Baraje, former acting national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to be wary of fifth columnists within party and guide against its factionalisation. He advised the president to ‘shine his eyes’ and save the party from the hands of a few people who think they are more important than every other party member.
Baraje, who spoke with journalists in Ilorin, Kwara state, lamented that factors that led to the factionalisation of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its eventual collapse were gradually creeping into the APC. He said impunity, lawlessness and divisive tendencies which led to the PDP downfall now reign supreme in the APC. Baraje said the aforementioned vices were being promoted by a few self-centred leaders of the party and admonished Buhari to start playing politics so that the APC would not suffer the PDP’s fate.
The APC chieftain expressed reservation over the ways and manners the ruling party is being run, noting that this has resulted in APC losing in many of the states where rerun elections had taken place.
He warned that if care is not taken, the “PDP may take over the control of the two chambers of the National Assembly. “There are many distractions. President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has brighter idea on how to turn around the fortune of Nigeria, but a lot of things went wrong before APC came in as the ruling party. Most of the distractions were created by APC itself. For instance, the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki who heads an important arm of government is not getting the necessary support from the party because a few people think they are more important than others.
“What led to the factionalisation of PDP is gradually creeping into APC; the dragon of impunity is creeping into the party. President Buhari should shine his eyes and should be wary of these people. He should start to play politics now to consolidate on the gains of APC seizing power from the PDP.”
Though, Baraje clarified that he was not aware of any plan by some politicians to form a new party, he added that “politicians will always move from one platform to another until their aspiration is met. This is not selfishness but a matter of principle. For instance what will I be doing in any party where the prosperity of my people is not guaranteed?”
On the trial of Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, Baraje asked rhetorically “is the rule of law being followed? And this is a party that promises to uphold due process and the rule of law. “The same lack of procedure that made the tribunal to discharge Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu is the same lack of procedure that is happening in Saraki’s case.”
He lamented that “our party has been docile and unconcerned about the political trial of Saraki, a loyal party member and the nation’s number three citizen. The party is expected to rise to the occasion on issues affecting any member of the party. I am one of the many people who are not happy about how APC is being run.
Not only the issue of Saraki, but failure of our party to do the needful on rerun elections. “APC has lost majority of all the elections, not because APC is not popular but because of lack of national secretariat’s presence where rerun elections had been held. APC should be glad that one of their own is Nigeria’s number three citizen. The PDP supported Aminu Tambuwal as speaker of the House of Representatives despite emerging against the wish of the party. They didn’t throw away the baby with the bath water. As at the time we were going for senate presidency’s election, there was no party candidate. There were influential members contesting for the position which was initially zoned to the north central.
“Through the dint of hard work of Saraki, APC won in all the north central states. The arrangement that we have in the Senate now is God-designed. The PDP may take over the control of the two chambers of the National Assembly if care is not taken.”
He also clarified that Saraki was not drawing salary after vacating office as the governor of Kwara state in 2011, saying he only draws his pension as constitutionally approved.
Culled from Blueprint
— Apr 11, 2016 @ 16:15 GMT
|
Tags:
