The All Progressives Congress (APC) Committee of Chairmen in Diaspora (Europe) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene and allow the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee conduct the party’s national convention as well as presidential primary.
According to the group, the committee has followed international best practices and this must be adopted in charting the way forward for the APC ahead of the next general elections.
The APC committee chairmen in Europe made this known in a statement today in Sweden co-signed by its President, Dr. Maxwell Okolo and Secretary, Margrette Mark.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC) Committee of Chairmen in Diaspora (Europe), having reviewed recent developments in the party, has called for the adoption of international best practices in charting the way forward for the APC at this crucial time with the General Elections around the corner,” the statement said.
“We have keenly monitored the subversive efforts by persons that do not mean well for the party; these are the vested interests that have been creating the impression that our great party is irretrievably mired in crisis when the reverse is the case. These are also the ones that have not done much to encourage the APC Caretaker and Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee not to end its mandates until it has finished its assignment.
“Available indices prove that the Caretaker Committee, ably led by Governor Mai Mala Buni, has exceeded expectations in stabilizing the party and reconciling identified factions in the various state chapters. The Committee is also on the way to delivering what could turn out to be the best National Convention our great party has ever had, provided it does not rush to conclude its assignment.
“Since we have noticed that the Committee is keen on concluding and handing over to an elected Executive Committee, APC Committee of Chairmen (Europe) has found it pertinent to urgently appeal to Mr. President who is the leader of the party, the Caretaker Committee, APC Governors’ Forum, and all other stakeholders to prevail on the Committee to remain in office and properly finish its job”.
Having considered several factors, the group concluded that it is best the committee holds both the national convention and presidential primary simultaneously.
“In view of what we have observed about the Committee’s eagerness to round off its assignment, we have, as the chairmen of the various APC chapters in European countries, on behalf of overwhelming mandate of members of the party in the diaspora, taken time to review political party practices in our countries of sojourn and beyond and we can confidently report that the template we have suggested is in conformity with international best practices in conducting the affairs of a political party,” the statement added.
“The APC Committee of Chairmen (Europe) therefore urges that the National convention of our great party should hold simultaneously with the Presidential Primary of the party just as its done in other developed and democratic nations . A natural consequence of this arrangement is that there would be no time lapse between the convention and primary, which implies that there would be no room for the crises being resolved by the Committee to resurface.
“The party cannot afford the distraction of planning two major events that can be merged into one especially the General Elections being about one year away. We should be strategic to conserve resources and channel same into winning elections instead of dissipating them on hosting multiple events.
“In terms of logistics, scheduling the Presidential Primary and National Convention at the same time will also allow our members in Europe and the rest of the world to attend the national convention of the party and give room for all members to be represented. This will save us the hardship of duplicating travel resources and the challenges associated with international travel given the hurdles posed by the management of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“It is also our belief that the APC in Nigeria, which incidentally is one of the largest political parties in the world must set the tone for others to follow. Only such commitment to long lasting internal reforms would give the party the moral high ground that would allow the party to provide the leadership it is providing in governance”.
The APC Diaspora chairmen, therefore, urged all APC stakeholders to “allow the international best practices being implemented by the Caretaker and Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee to prevail considering the immense benefits it presents to our great party”.
It also appealed that ” we must resist the temptation of being dragged into adopting approaches that have proven disastrous for other political parties in the past. The Caretaker Committee must therefore be allowed to conclude the task assigned to it”.
The APC Committee of Chairmen (Europe), however, urged Governor Mai Malam Buni and all the members of the Committee not to get tired of serving the party especially at this point that they are seen to be stabilizing the Party.
“They should note that their good efforts will amount to nullity should they hurriedly organize a National Convention that tears the party into pieces at the end of the day. History beckons on them and President Muhammadu Buhari as the party’s leader to ensure that APC adopts the template being suggested by us as the party’s leaders abroad,” the statement concluded.
