There appears to be a developing crack within the ranks of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee on how to approach the open indictment of its Muslim-Muslim ticket by some of its chieftains.
Former Secretary to Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara and a former Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, at a gathering in Abuja last Friday under the auspices of APC Northern Christian Leaders’ Summit had vowed to work against the single faith ticket of the APC which has Senators Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as Presidential candidate and running mate respectively.
Lawal in his paper, “Our Case against Muslim-Muslim ticket,” described the single faith ticket as a continuation of domination of Christians, particularly in the Northern region.
The ex-SGF who maintained that the single faith ticket of the APC was not accidental but a deliberate agenda to subjugate Nigerians of the Christian faith further called to question the present NWC of the party which he noted was skewed against Christians.
He asked Nigerians across ethnic divides who are Christians to use their voter cards to reject the duo of Senators Tinubu and Shettima at the forthcoming February 25, 2023 poll.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Dogara spoke in similar vein in his own paper entitled, “Righteousness Exalts a Nation, but Sin a reproach to any People.”
Both the former SGF and former Speaker of House of Representatives who incidentally are from Adamawa and Bauchi, the same North East geopolitical zone as Senator Shettima later paid a visit to the Rivers State Governor,Nyesom Wike at his country home in the south-south state.
Members of the APC National Working Committee however expressed varied positions on how the party should handle the stance and actions of the chieftains of the party who are asking the electorate to reject the party presidential candidate.
National Vice Chairman, North West, Honourable Isaac Kekemeke was quoted as describing the actions of both Engineer Babachir Lawal and Yakubu Dogara as anti-party activities that should not be treated with kid gloves. He called for their sanctions.
He said: “For me, anyone who claims to be a member of the party, to begin to criticise the party openly, chastise the party presidential candidate, condemn the decision of the party leaders who have endorsed the choice of Vice-president candidate, is the highest manifestation of gross indiscipline and anti-party. We can’t continue like this in the APC.
“Dogara and Lawal must be called to order and disciplined. Their actions are an embarrassment to the party; what it means is that they are never with this party from the word go.
“They aren’t bigger than any other member of the party. I call for their discipline, if they refuse to desist from their effrontery. They can resign from the party. It is either they stop this open indictment of the party or they are disciplined.”
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka however, said the party would seek reconciliation with Lawal, Dogara and their colleagues who were organisers of the Northern Christian Leaders Summit. Morka, who is from Delta State in the south-south, however, declined comment on the visit to Governor Wike in Port Harcourt by Lawal and Dogara.
He said: “I don’t want to comment on their meeting with Governor Wike, we don’t know why they travelled to Rivers State to engage Governor Wike.
“But on their gathering in Abuja, where they spoke against the Muslim Muslim ticket, we expect them to submit themselves to the judgement of the party presidential candidate who actually consulted with party stakeholders.
“They aren›t the only people who are aggrieved, consultations are ongoing, even with presidential aspirants who lost out at the Convention and other aggrieved chieftains. We really don’t know the motive, the intention of the former SGF and the former Speaker, but we are going to engage them. It isn›t true that the APC NWC is quiet and doing nothing. The party is engaging everybody across board.”
Former deputy national publicity secretary of the party, Yekeen Nabena, also called for reconciliation.
The APC chieftain who noted that the former SGF was genuinely aggrieved however said the party leadership should ignore Honourable Dogara as he claimed the loyalty of the former Speaker had always been in doubt.
“At this point, Babachir Lawal has a right to be angry as a politician. What the party should do is to put in place a Committee to talk to Babachir Lawal.
“The former SGF has been faithful, unlike Dogara that has been going back and forth. People like Babachir Lawal, the party should seek audience with them.”
But the former SGF has maintained that his position is informed based on his conviction, and that he would not be bothered if reprimanded by the party national secretariat.
He said: “No! What am I getting from the party? I am not bothered!”