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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
An All Progressives Congress (APC) group, the Coalition of Progressive Youth Groups in Nigeria and the Diaspora (COPY-ND), have vowed to resist sponsored plot to destabilise the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) and President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The groups equally dismissed, as false, the reports of factions and crisis in the party’s national leadership, urging the general public to discountenance the report.
They reacted to the activities of a purported group ‘Progressive Youth Movement’ (PYM) whose illegal activities have been reported to the Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja on behalf of the Youth leaders, Director-General of the Coalition, Dr Aminu Abdullahi Isyaku, described the actions and declarations by the disowned PYM as part of a grand plot by their sponsors to destabilize the APC National Caretaker Committee under the leadership of Governor Mala Buni and also disrespect President Buhari’s support for the party’s leadership.
“Our message is simple: the APC is a party of rules and due process and is too critical to the Nigerian Youth, that cannot be distracted by a mere press briefing and reckless announcement of new leadership arbitrarily by a sponsored group that is alien to our coalition and to the Party,” Isyaku stated.
“The youth leaders represented, APC United Kingdom chapter, Grassroots Mobilisation for Buhari-Osinbajo, APC Youth League, Buhari Support Groups, Youth Mission and Initiative for African Development, Grassroots Mobilizers for Better Nigeria Initiative, among others.
“We are here today to address our loyal party youth members here and those with us virtually in their respective states in Nigeria and in the Diaspora chapters of the party, in reaction to the recent reckless and fruitless announcements of daylight hijacking, by an unrecognized group, so-called PYM, against the legally constituted APC Caretaker Committee under the leadership of Governor Mala Buni.
“We want to set the record straight and calm the anxiety of APC youths, and declare that there are no faction or leadership crises in the All Progressives Congress. We are the ruling party and we have one Caretaker party leadership in place, led by Governor Mai Mala Buni as appointed unanimously by the National Executive Committee of the party.
“We are a volunteer coalition that is driven by the concern that we have for the need to correct the negative impression created by the careless actions of the so-called PYM, that Nigerian youths in politics are desperate and disrespectful to constituted authorities.
“Accordingly, we have painstakingly analysed the political events in the last few days in the youth constituency of the party and wish to state without ambiguity, that the COPY-ND is not part of this grand plot to destabilise the party under the leadership of Governor Buni, and also to disrespect President Buhari’s support for the party’s leadership that he led to put in place.
“Therefore, the so-called new leadership announced by this sponsored desperate youth group – PYM does not represent the views of the teeming youths that form the foundation and remain the assets of our great party.
“It is rather unfortunate that at a time when we have a president, who has restored the image of the country and is developing the needed infrastructures, diversifying the economy, improved food security, fighting against insurgency and corruption, developed social investment programmes and youth inclusion in governance via his assent to the not too young to run act., but some people are ready to undermine these legacies and must not be tolerated.
“In the party today, we have a Caretaker Committee that has navigated the party from the brink of rancour, and steered the party onto the safe ground and restored order in the party through; membership registration and revalidation, the constitution of the tripartite committee, contact and strategic committee, major election victories, the institutionalisation of a reward system in the party, and the defection of governors and chieftains into the party.
“Thus, rather than channel our collective energies and votes to supporting the fruitful efforts of the government and the party leadership that is determined to mainstream the youth in all its activities, including in the next National Working Committee (NWC), NEC and indeed all statutory organs of the party, and governance, some youth members are mortgaging these opportunities to those who are clearly manipulating them.
“While we acknowledge the democratic rights of all party members, it is our firm conviction that the focal point of any such rights should be in the interest of the country, the party and the people of Nigeria and in line with laid down processes and procedures available in the party structure.
“We, therefore, call on the party to investigate the root cause and personalities involved in this unconstitutional power grabbing in the Party, and if they are truly members of the Party who acted against the law, the Party should apply sanctions on them immediately.
“As the National Convention is fast approaching, the COPY-ND is resolute in assuring our teeming APC youth members that we shall continue to seek for our rightful place in the party through constructive engagement with the party, to improve the promotion of youth interests and better include young people in party activities.
“Therefore, we want to recommend, that the party needs to know that in addressing young people, an important mechanism of promoting youth interests in the party is the use of candidate quotas. These serve to formally or informally determine the minimum required number of youth members within any list of candidates for various elected positions, or non elected positions either within the party itself or for those external positions for which the party may influence.
“We are urging the party to do more for the youth constituency of the party by doing away with practices of tokenism, and move towards genuine youth participation in shared decision making and in the adequate representation of youth interests within and outside the party,” the group noted.
