A member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Moh. Lukman, has described as insensitive and taking party members for granted, rumoured plan to draft former governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, to replace Abdullahi Adamu.
Lukman, in a statement in Abuja told party leaders that the only way to justify Adamu’s exit is by demonstrating commitment to restore constitutional order in APC and return the party to its founding vision of a progressive party.
He warned party’s active negotiators, President Bola Tinubu and the APC governors to retrace their steps, arguing that the choice of Ganduje would completely distort the zoning arrangement that informed the present configuration of the leadership of the National Assembly.
He hinged his claim of insensitivity on the choice of Ganduje as party chairman after the North West has produced the Speaker of House of Representatives and Deputy Senate president, resulting in shutting out the North Central geopolitical zone from the power sharing equation.
Lukman challenged President Tinubu to tame the growing powers of governorship bloc and make strong intervention to guide the process of restoring constitutional order and returning the APC to its founding vision of progressive politics.
“So far, as things are, only the president and governors blocs are active in the negotiation to produce and engage leaders of APC. Already, part of the speculations emerging from the Governors bloc is that Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is being considered to succeed Abdullahi Adamu.
“If this is true, it only suggests insensitivity and taking members of the party for granted. This is without prejudice to the person of Ganduje. This is because such a choice will completely distort the zoning arrangement that informed the present configuration of the leadership of the National Assembly.
“With the Speaker of House of Representatives and Deputy Senate President coming from North West and North Central shut out of consideration, to propose the party’s National Chairman to move to North West from North Central will be unjust and almost a political suicide.
“We must caution our Governors that since the emergence of APC, Governors have served almost as the conscience of the party.
Any consideration for such an insensitive and unjust move for Ganduje to become the National Chairman of APC must be discarded,” he warned.
Making further claims, the former Director General APC Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), maintained that “if anything, the position of National Chairman of the APC must be retained in North Central. Part of the challenge of managing the current transition within the party is getting the NWC to properly take the driving seat in managing and facilitating negotiations to produce and engage leaders of the party. The NWC must sit up and guide the unfolding negotiations. No single power bloc should be allowed to appropriate the process,” he warned.
Challenging President Tinubu, Lukman wrote, “this where the intervention of the president, being the leader of the party, would be required to moderate the excessive conduct of any power bloc, especially when such conduct risk further damaging the prospect of returning the APC to its founding vision.
“At these early stages of President Tinubu’s leadership of the party, he needs to make that strong intervention to guide the process of restoring constitutional order and returning the APC to its founding vision of progressive politics. Progressive politics must be about inclusion and justice and not some blind and insensitive considerations,” he warned.
