Crack in APC as Buba Galadima announces Reformed APC

…Lists FG sins, says APC monumental disaster, worse than PDP
…Oshiomhole: We’re united, strong enough for 2019
More trouble seems to await the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2019 general elections as the crack in the party gets deeper with the split of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) forming a new faction from the ruling party.

The warring nPDP faction in APC has joined forces with some aggrieved members of the parties- Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANNP) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to form the Reformed All Progressives Congress (rAPC).

The newly formed rAPC has President Muhammadu Buhari political ally, Buba Galadima, as National Chairman and Tinubu’s political associate, Fatai Atanda, as National Secretary. The rAPC also has Zonal, state, local government and ward officials across the federation.

Addressing journalists in Abuja alongside the leader of the defunct nPDP, Abubakar Baraje, the rAPC National Chairman, Galadima cited cases of injustice, harassment of other members of the APC, failed campaign promises as the reason for their action particularly alluding to the recent Congresses and convention recently conducted by the APC which is at variance with the constitution and principles of a progressive party.

He said, “You will recall that in the build up to the 2015 general elections, some political parties and groups came together, and formed a brand new political party, the APC merger was based on the strong belief that Nigeria had come of age, but was severely underperforming and unable to meet its potentials for good governance. The Nigerian people entrusted power to the APC based on its promises and potentials.

“We are sad to report that after more than three years of governance, our hopes have been betrayed, our expectations completely dashed. The APC has run a rudderless, inept and incompetent government that has failed to deliver good governance to the people.

It has rather imposed dictatorship, impunity, abuse of power, complete abdication of constitutional and statutory responsibilities, infidelity to the rule of law and constitutionalism. It has failed to ensure the security and welfare of our people and elevated nepotism to unacceptable height.

“The APC has failed to deliver on its key promises to the nation. There is no evidence of any political will to reverse the decline of our party, while leaders who have created these circumstances continue to behave as if Nigerians owe our party votes as a matter of right.

“The APC Government has been a monumental disaster, even worse than the government it replaced. The political party that was a vehicle for enthroning the government was rendered powerless by manipulations and complete lack of due process in its operations.

“The last straw was the Congresses and Convention of the APC held recently. The Congresses were intensely disputed as it was conducted with impunity, total disregard for due process, disregard for the party Constitution and naked display of power and practices that have no place in a party we all worked very hard to put in place.

“There are countless cases in courts all over the country challenging the legality of congresses and even the National Convention itself. It is very likely that the judicial decisions on these cases will result in massive chaos, confusion and uncertainties.

The fate of a party in this state with a few months to the elections is best left to the imagination, but it is not a fate we believe our millions of members should be abandoned to.

“There were parallel congresses in 24 States namely: Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto and Zamfara.

“These congresses in Wards, Local Areas and States all over the federation produced different sets of delegates. We therefore had an unfortunate situation where the party has been seriously factionalised and divided in not just 24 States but the 36 States and Abuja FCT.

“The so-called National Convention of the APC was even worse. The National Convention of the party was ridiculed with constitutional infirmities that were so glaring and obvious that no fair minded person can claim that a legitimate and lawful executive emerged from that process.

“The Chairman of the organising Committee, Jigawa State Governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, declared 18 seats unopposed and uncontested, since only one valid candidate stood at the end of the grossly manipulated nomination exercise for each of the offices.

He therefore proceeded to declare them duly elected in flagrant abuse and violation to the Constitution of the APC”.

Reacting to the development, the APC said it has received a report that a group of politicians, reformed- APC, who described themselves as a faction of the party, saying that it would react after getting the full details.

When contacted over the issue, the National chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, said: “My appeal to all those who are aggrieved is to be patient.

The assurance is that under my leadership, we will make honest mistakes and once our attention is drawn, we will find courage to make up for our mistake.

Some people say how can people eat their words? For me, I will eat my words if it is nutritious enough and if that is what I have to do to have peace in the family.

I am not going to be detained by arrogance because I don’t think at this level, any of us will take a position except based on our conviction.

“I am very appreciative of the fact that we were elected and in the case of some of us, we were even unopposed that our members have entrusted us to pilot the affairs of the party at this time.

Like I said in the Senate, we knew there were challenges when we offered ourselves to contest for offices for which we have now been elected. So, we can’t claim that we didn’t know.

We are not going to lament that we knew, but we didn’t know it was this much. To us, it is a huge opportunity to make a difference, not only for our party, but for our country.

“We will do everything possible to sustain confidence and trust. For us, everybody is important, for us everybody matters and we want to run an inclusive party.

Like I said in my acceptance speech, in a true democracy, there are no losers. If you run the party efficiently and democratically, those who lost will find that their interest and those services they wanted to render are being rendered efficiently and democratically. They will feel a sense of relief”.

Also reacting to the development, Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno) dismissed the new group, saying that only God and time can determine the direction of the APC.

He said that the threat by the nPDP to leave the APC can never spell doom for the party but only God and time will tell.

The Senator, who admitted that politics is all about interest and that there was nothing wrong if an aggrieved group voice out their displeasure, said movement from one political party to other was normal in politics.

Senator Ndume said: “I was one of the few of the nPDP that formed the APC at the beginning. I don’t think I’m the right person to comment on the activities of the nPDP because I also read as you did on the pages of the newspapers.

“But having said this, what is happening is part of politics, especially now in our political days, all of us are Nigerians we know what is happening. So, politics is about interest and if somebody feels that his or her interest will be more protected by voicing out his dissent, so it is a movement that is normal in politics.”

On whether the threat of defection could affect the chances of the APC in 2019 general election, Ndume said: “No. Let me say that this party is a party of time decided by the Nigerian masses and it is only God that can decide the time of a political party.

“A party as bad as the PDP ruled this country for 16 years, so we are just here slightly for over one thousand days, and the people that destroyed, impacted or inflicted damages on the country were here for 16 years and expecting the APC to fix the country in less than four years. This building (party secretariat) not less than two years to be built but if you want to destroy it. you can’t do that in 30 minutes.

“So, what is happening is that we have gone down to a level almost irreparable and God in His infinity mercy brought the APC under the leadership of our current President which all Nigerians know him, he is a human being and no human being is hundred percent perfect.

In our system today, you will all agree with me that we are lucky to have such a person, and in span of three years, you don’t expect everything to be back to normal in 100% but God knows and Nigerians know that with the government of the APC, there is light at the end of tunnel.”