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From Joe Effiong, Uyo
A socio-political group, Movement for Better Nigeria (MBN) has predicted a woeful outing for the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the presidential election if the party makes the mistake of ceding its ticket to another northerner after President Muhammadu Buhari.
The group has also averred that for the APC to retain the presidency, it must not just give its ticket to any southerner, but should make sure that the current vice president, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, is nominated even by consensus to fly the party flag.
The coordinator of the group and chieftain of the APC in Akwa Ibom State, Dr Paul Dowells, said any attempt by the party to zone its presidential ticket to North or give it to any other aspirant other than Osinbajo would spell doom to the party.
Despite the speculation that the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deliberately zoned its presidential ticket to the North to give it a winning edge, Dowells said while addressing the press at his office in Uyo on Tuesday that giving a ticket to a northerner is not the yardstick for winning elections but rather the pedigree and charisma of the person that would fly the party’s flag.
“Zoning the presidential ticket to the North because PDP has a northerner as a presidential candidate does not make sense. If APC wants to win the 2023 elections, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo should be given the ticket either by consensus or nomination, otherwise retaining the Aso rock may be an illusion.” He said
Speaking on the crisis that erupted before the just concluded governorship and assemblies primary elections of the APC in Akwa Ibom, Dowells said it was disheartening that a party which wants to wrest power from the ruling PDP in the state could not unite and work towards achieving that purpose.
He said it was high time, APC in the state put its house together by compelling those bent on causing mayhem and disunity to shelve their differences or risk expulsion.
“We, as a group that advocates for good governance, say “Enough is enough!.” We will no longer fold our arms and watch these people take us back to the dark days. It is said that when two elephants fight, the grass suffers. In this case, APC in Akwa Ibom suffers the fight between the two persons in the party which has led to the polarisation of the party.
“What we have been suffering in this state since 2011 is ‘ownership’ and ‘entitlement’ mentality of a member who feels that without him there is No APC in Akwa Ibom, that is why we have remained down politically in the state.
“In 2015 that same person came again claiming to be the owner of APC when the likes of Comrade David Ekanem, Late Idongesit Udoekpo, Late Steve Ibanga and others who went to his house and lobbied him to leave PDP and join APC did not claim ownership. That same fight began and APC lost the election.
“In 2019, we brought Akpabio to the party, and he came again with a lot of trouble, the duo were championing their selfish interest embellished with sabotage which made APC to lose again. Though Akpabio was compensated with the office of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, taking the glory of other people who worked tirelessly for the party while Udoedehe became the National Secretary
“Now again! 2022, that same person and his likes are here, we say never again! APC has gone a long way and should allow internal democracy to thrive and not allow one person who sees the party as his birthright to have his way. We expect the party to sit down and strategize on how to win the state and not to allow internal fighting.” Dowells said.
The MBN coordinator however called on the national leadership of APC to intervene so that sanity would be restored in the state chapter of the party adding that without which, the party will not make any headway in the 2023 elections in Akwa Ibom.
