Recently, All Progressive Congress (APC) held their state congress across all the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory of the federation, that produced parallel excos in about 13 states.
There is indication that the party is at the risk of implosion due to the shoddy ways through which the exercise was conducted by the party.
In a statement titled, ‘It’s time APC renews itself, says Concerned APC Stakeholders,’ released by the group and signed by one of the conveners of the group, Abubakar Usman Sidiq, in Abuja.
The group raised concerns that the party was at risk of extinction with the way it continue to neglect tenet of democratic process.
Reading the text from a prepared speech, Sidiq said that the group take the courageous step to correct the anomalies going on in the party
“We take the courageous step of admitting that the APC has deviated from the ideal political party our founding fathers envisioned during its formation in 2013. Having succeeded in winning the elections and enthroning the government in 2015 to birth the radical change that was in urgent need in the country, the onerous task of managing the party as a true and progressive political party began to hit brick walls as early as the party came into power.” He said
“Much more than not, the APC has functioned as an association run and operated in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of whichever group that is dominant at any particular period. If it seems like the APC is headed in the wrong direction today, it is because we laid the foundation and nurtured it towards that trajectory many years ago. We cannot continue in this manner, and we believe it is time for the APC to rebirth and reinvent itself as a true, progressive and reform-minded political party that is constantly evolving in accordance with its philosophical objectives and the yearnings of the majority of its members”.
Usman said, “When we addressed a press conference on October 6, 2021, we warned that the experiences of the wards and local government congresses held across the country could just be trouble in the days ahead for the APC if the same applied to the rest of the processes that would end at the national convention.
Usman reiterated that the group had cautioned the party leadership against foisting unpopular candidates as leaders under the guise of consensus.
He however asked the APC leadership to learn from the mistakes of the past where some political parties attempted to micro-manage their affairs, leading to implosion.
