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Benue State All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders have urged the party’s leadership to sanction any party member who engages in anti-party activities through the ‘rainbow coalition’ political arrangement to scuttle the chances of re-electing President Bola Tinubu and Governor Hyacinth Alia.
The stakeholders, speaking on the recent confusion created by the political arrangement, urged the national and state leadership of the ruling party to stand firm, protect the supremacy of the party’s constitution and ensure that no individual is bigger than the party.
The convener of the stakeholders, Dominic Alancha, who spoke to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, urged the appropriate organs to act without fear or favour in accordance with due process.
Operating under the auspices of Concerned Benue APC Stakeholders and as spokesman of the Strategic Alliance, he claimed that they are aware of the activities of some members of the party who are stakeholders in their own right, engaging in activities to undermine President Tinubu’s re-election bid in Benue State and Nigeria at large.
Frowning on the activities of the political arrangement, the stakeholders said: “When people engage in activities designed to weaken the APC government, they are not merely attacking an individual, they are putting the political future of the APC in Benue State at risk by forming an alliance with smaller parties which were dead before now.
“We refuse to stand and watch our party being opposed by our party members who are aware that Benue is undergoing transformation under Governor Alia’s administration. We insist that the administration must be judged by its record, which is before Benue people.
“Today, our position as stakeholders is that the Alia-led administration’s achievements in governance provide a strong basis for him and President Tinubu to seek another mandate in 2027.
“We will not only campaign for that mandate, we shall ensure their victory in the 2027 general elections and continue to defend the record of the administration. We will defend the APC mandate, and we will mobilise across Benue State for the re-election of Governor Alia and President Tinubu,” they noted.
While threatening them with sanctions, Alancha said: “Nobody should expect immunity because of his or her position, history or influence as the constitution of the party treats everyone equally. The APC constitution is not meant for ordinary members alone.”
“The constitution applies to everybody: big man or small man, leader or follower, elected official or party activist. The rules must be the same. Where credible evidence establishes that a member has violated the party’s rules, the appropriate authorities must act.
“Not because we hate anybody, not because we want to silence anybody, but because a political party without discipline is not a political party, it is a crowd and the APC is not a crowd.
“The APC is an organised political party governed by rules. Let us also make something abundantly clear that democracy allows disagreement. Democracy allows criticism. Democracy allows competition. But democracy does not give anybody a licence to destroy the political organisation under whose platform he or she seeks political relevance.
“If you are an APC member, you have a responsibility to protect the APC.
“If you disagree with the APC leadership, use the structures of the APC.
“If you disagree with Governor Alia, use the legitimate political and party processes.
“But if you leave the party’s structures and begin to mobilise against the party’s interests, then you must understand that your actions can have consequences.
“We therefore call on the relevant party authorities to pay close attention to activities capable of undermining the APC in Benue State by way of weakening its structures built over the years and to take appropriate action whenever violations are established in accordance with due process,” they noted.
Making a special appeal, the stakeholders noted: “To our elders, leaders and stakeholders across Benue State: This is the time to rise above personal interest. Do not allow personal disagreements to destroy the collective political future of the APC.
“Do not allow factional politics to hand an advantage to our opponents. Do not allow the ambition of a few individuals to become the burden of an entire political party. The question before us is not: ‘Who controls the party?’ The bigger question is: ‘Will the APC remain strong enough to win in 2027?’ That is the question we must answer. And our obvious answer is Yes. We want a united APC. We want a disciplined APC. We want an APC that is confident about its record.
“We want an APC that can go before the people of Benue and say: Look at what we have done. Give us another opportunity to serve you. That is the APC we want.
“Therefore, let us rise with one voice and say to those who want to divide us: You will not divide us, you will not turn us against one another, you will not make personal ambition more important than the party and you will not destroy the electoral prospects of the APC in Benue State,” the stakeholders said.
