Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) under the umbrella of APC Integrity Group have asked the minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi, and Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, not to engage in actions that are capable of imploding the party.
They were reacting to reports suggesting the endorsement of former governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, by President Muhammadu Buhari as consensus candidate for the national chairmanship position of the party ahead of the forthcoming national convention.
Specifically, the group made up of members of the legacy parties, including Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and All Peoples Grand Alliance (APGA), accused the minister and the governor of being behind reports of endorsement of Senator Adamu by the president.
In a statement issued in Abuja by its coordinator, Malam Dawu Mohammed and secretary, Comrade Chinsom Nwakanma, the group said the issue of endorsement of a candidate by President Buhari is a fluke and should be disregarded.
The Integrity group noted that President Buhari is close to all the candidates and would not adopt any one of them without consulting others.
According to them, the aspiration of securing the presidential and vice Presidential tickets of the party through a preferred National Chairman, which the Minister of Transportation and governor of Kaduna State are pushing for, was capable of destroying the party.
They however called on the legacy parties to rein in and save the party before it goes into oblivion, even as they implored the national chairmanship aspirants, North Central governors and the national leadership of the party to reach a consensus among candidates.
In the event where they fail to do so, the group urged the aspirants to prepare for election in the convention.
The Integrity group in their position paper said, “We have observed with dismay the plan by some persons to destroy the APC by trying to foist a national chairman on the party.
“This would not be the first time that a Minister and a governor would be accused of obtaining a false signature from the President through his Personal Assistant (PA)
“We are calling on the governors and leaders of the party to speak out on the issue before such falsehood would destroy the party.
“As an Integrity group we are not against any candidate but think it would be logical that a member of the legacy parties emerge as national chairman, as had been suggested by the former governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha.
“If we allow co-joiners of APC to hijack the party, it will spell doom of our democracy. We also call on the handlers of Mr. President and Personal Assistants to be circumspect in what they do with some persons, as their actions can be injurious to the country and the party that the President leads.
“We sincerely believe that for us to have a formidable government, we must have a formidable party, therefore we object to a leadership foisted on the party by few for their Presidential and Vice Presidential ambitions.”