A youth group in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Progressives Youth Movement, has expressed concern over the sincerity of the National Chairman of the party, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, in the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.
The group in a statement in Abuja by its Chairman, Mallam Usa Abdullahi and Secretary, Udo Akpandem, said some actions of the national chairman that tend to undermine the electoral chances of Buhari have kept them worried about whether the chairman was working for the re-election of Buhari or is a fifth columnist in the APC as alleged in some quarters.
The statement read in part: “We view with concern the threat by Oshiomhole to report political parties other than the APC, which are adopting and campaigning for President Buhari ahead of the 2019 elections.
“The national chairman of the APC, Oshiomhole had been reported lately as condemning the adoption of President Buhari by political parties of former members of the party which then adopted President Buhari and campaigned for him alongside the campaign for their new parties’ candidates. He threatened to report them to Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for fraud.
“We had expected that the national chairman would be happy that other political parties are adopting Buhari and campaigning for his re-election. It is illogical that a party chairman would be unhappy that other parties are campaigning for his presidential candidate.
“With his present stand, Oshiomhole is demonstrating that fighting his personal war against some perceived adversaries is more important to him than the successful election of President Buhari for a second term.
“We see a contrast in the stand of Oshiomhole and the posture of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which is encouraging members of other political parties through the platform of Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, to adopt and campaign for its presidential candidate.”
The group called on the National Executive Committee of the APC to convene and call Oshiomhole to order before the prosecution of his personal fights undermine the chances of the party in the 2019 elections.”
“The national chairman has been allowed to run the party in his own fashion for too long without caution and this is already affecting the perception of the party by well-meaning members of the public. We call on the National Executive Committee of the party to convene and call Oshimhole to order before he does irreparable damage to the electoral fortunes of the party in 2019.
“The most important contest for the APC in 2019 and at all times is the presidential election. Our party cannot in the quest of the chairman to fight personal battles undermine its chances in the presidential election. We cannot afford to behave like the proverbial man who carried an elephant on his head and used his leg to hunt for ants. A stitch in time save nine,” the statement said.
