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From John Adams Minna
Uneasy calm and uncertainty have gripped the All Progressive Congress (APC), Niger State chapter, as Governor, Umaru Mohammed Bago’s sermon for a consensus arrangements for all elective offices for the forthcoming general elections hits the rock.
Indication to this emerged on Wednesday night after an emergency stakeholders meeting at the Government House could not produce a positive result towards the consensus arrangements.
The governor had called for a stakeholders meeting involving five persons each from the 25 local government areas with a view to agreeing on consensus arrangements in picking candidates for the primaries scheduled for next week.
However after about six hours of negotiations, only eight of the 25 local government areas agreed to embrace the consensus arrangements which saw a number of aspirants step down from the race. Aspirants from Chanchaga, Gurara, Rafi, Shiroro, Munya, Mariga, Kontagora and Bosso local government areas embraced the consensus arrangements.
It was gathered that before the stakeholders meeting, the governor had pushed ahead on the consensus arrangements, as he held private meetings with some aspirants and critical stakeholders.
A chieftain of the party in the state and former commissioner for Information Culture and Tourism, Jonathan Vatsa, had warned that any consensus arrangements may spell doom for the party in the general elections.
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Vatsa said every aspirant should be given a level playing field to test his or her popularity before the electorate, pointing out that this will provide an opportunity to vote out non-performing leaders at all levels.
Speaking at the Wednesday stakeholders meeting, Governor Bago assured all aspirants of a free, fair and transparent direct primary election where consensus failed.
He, however, said that discussions were ongoing with aspirants to build consensus to reduce conflict and foster unity in the party.
The governor disclosed that the timetable for the primary elections has not been changed, saying that the primaries will be held at the headquarters of every ward across the state.
He cautioned aspirants against bringing thugs to disrupt the process, warning that such could lead to outright disqualification, adding that “any non-party member found wanting during the exercise would be dealt with decisively.”
The governor commended all the aspirants who embraced consensus and stepped down, stressing that government will work closely with them and reward their sacrifices.
