…says Govs should serve as conscience of APC
By Tom Okpe
The All Progressives Congress, (APC) National Vice Chairman, North-West, Salihu Moh’ Lukman has faulted endorsements by the Progressives Governors’ Forum, (PGF) of former Governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as National Chairman of the ruling party.
Lukman also said the party’s governors should rather, see themselves as conscience of the party, stating that endorsing a candidate for the highest position in the party is unfair to both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other leaders of the party who are not members of PGF.
Recall that the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and the National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore resigned their positions respectively in what the PGF described as resignation on ‘Personal Conviction’.
The former Director General, PGF, Lukman in a letter addressed to the Forum’s Chairman and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma on Sunday with copies to President Bola Tinubu, Members of APC National Working Committee, (NWC) and Dr Ganduje explained that; “It’s quite troubling that Progressive Governors Forum, (PGF) under Your Excellency’s leadership is being reported to have decided on adopting Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to become the next National Chairman of APC.”
He said: “While it is within the right of Progressive Governors being a very critical power bloc within the APC to endorse any candidate for the position of National Chairman, to make such decision public, in whatever manner, is unfair to both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other leaders of the party who are not members of PGF.
“It is even unfair to Dr Ganduje who is being endorsed.”
He further stressed that having served PGF between August 2013 and February 2022 as Director General, he remains conversant with conventional approach towards managing consultations between the Forum and the party.
“I am fully conversant with conventional approach towards managing consultations between PGF and the party.
“Whenever PGF is privileged to reach agreement with the President, being the party leader, on matters affecting the party, PGF takes necessary steps to first meet with the NWC or, at the least, the National Chairman.
“Where such decisions require pronouncement by organs of the party, PGF uses its influence within the party to negotiate the buy-in of members of the relevant organs. That has been the tradition.
“As a member of NWC, I feel highly slighted that I am only encountering such endorsement in the media. Coming shortly after the resignation of Senators Abdullahi Adamu and lyiola Omisore as National Chairman and National Secretary respectively who were accused of undermining organs of the party, it raises questions as to whether PGF under your leadership share the commitment to restore constitutional order in APC and return the party to its founding vision.
“Given the implication of such endorsement in terms of being unjust and unfair to the North Central region and given that the position of the National Chairman is zoned to North Central, based on which zoning for leadership of National Assembly was decided, it simply suggest that the PGF has deviated from its traditional role of acting as the conscience of the party.
“If PGF is to act as the conscience of the party, even if assuming as it is being promoted in the public that the endorsement is coming from President Tinubu, the PGF I know would have taken every step to convince the President otherwise and if the President insisted, they would have shielded the President by owning the decision.
“But to handle the endorsement in the way it appears in the public is unfair to President Asiwaju Tinubu and unfair to Dr Ganduje who is being alleged to have put so much pressure on the President, which is not true.
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“I want to strongly appeal to the PGF Chairman to kindly return PGF to its conventional role of acting as the conscience of the party by ensuring that the party always takes right decisions, which will protect interest of every member, region and all interest.
“The PGF under Your Excellency’s leadership must not be seen to be promoting or condoning decisions that are liable to acts of injustice and unfairness to any member, section of the country or interest,” he added.
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