APC LEADERS MEET IBB Category: Lead stories Published on Friday, 02 August 2013 06:01 Written by Aliyu M. Hamagam (Minna), Andrew Agbese & Fidelis Mac-Leva (Abuja) . New party a welcome devt – Babangida . It may not last long, says Presidency . Rival ‘APC’ insists on court action The newly-registered All Progressives Congress began high-level consultations yesterday with a visit by its national officers to former President Ibrahim Babangida at his residence in Minna, Niger State. Babangida is a card-carrying member of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) but had said in the past he supported the emergence of a strong opposition in a two-party system. The APC delegation that visited the former president was led by the party’s deputy national chairman Aminu Bello Masari, and included deputy national secretary Nasir El- Rufa’i, SenatorNazif Ibrahim and the national woman leader. None of the visitors spoke to journalists before they went into the meeting, but insiders told Daily Trust the team was at IBB’s home to confer with him on the new party, which was registered by INEC on Wednesday. Shortly before the APC leaders arrived, Babangida spoke at a different forum where he described the registration of the opposition’s party as a welcome development. Efforts by newsmen to wait behind for the outcome of the meeting was thwarted as security operatives asked journalists to go away, saying the meeting was a private one. Masari is a former speaker of the House of Representatives while El-Rufai is a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Both of them served in the PDP government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. The APC leaders arrived at Babangida’s Hill Top mansion at about 12.30 pm yesterday, shortly after a courtesy visit by the governing board of the National Examinations Council (NECO). Speaking during the NECO officials visit, the former head of state said he was still a firm believer of a two-party system. “I have always been and I will continue to be a strong believer of two-party system in the country,” Babangida said, soon after his investiture as a Fellow of the International Institute for Leadership and Governance by chairman of the NECO board Dr. Paddy K. Njoku. “I have said it severally just like the People’s Democratic Party itself that the coming on board of APC is a welcome development and with the registration of the party, we will now have vibrant political associations in the polity and as citizens you would have the choice to join any political party of your choice. “The parties should try to talk to us the ordinary people and tell us what they intend to do for us, for the country and the rest of them. There are still more parties in the country like the SDP for example, there is also the Labour party, All Progressives Grand Alliance among other issues. “But left to people like us whom God has not given the ability to predict correctly about the future, I think it is a good development,” he added. Babangida had recently held a meeting on the state of the nation with four PDP governors who had been reported to be considering defecting to the APC. The governors—Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano)—are among those angry with the leadership of the ruling party which enjoys the backing of President Jonathan. They had earlier held a meeting with former President Obasanjo in Abeokuta, and subsequently with President Jonathan. Key issues reported to be raised at those meetings included the Rivers political crisis, stalemate in the Nigerian Governors Forum and the disputes in PDP. Meanwhile, the Presidency issued a second reaction yesterday to the registration of APC. On Wednesday, presidential political adviser Ahmed Gulak spoke to Daily Trust, saying the coming of the new party would help deepen democracy. Yesterday, the president’s senior special assistant on public affairs Doyin Okupe said the registration of APC demonstrated “political liberalism” of President Jonathan. “This would not have happened under many Africa Presidents, especially when it is obvious that there were obvious hurdles and obstacles to that registration,” Okupe told journalists in Abuja, according to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He said also that APC may not last for long, because according to him, “its foundation is wrong, its combination is faulty and its ideologies are not clearly defined.” “These are people that were beaten individually and collectively before, we will defeat them randomly. But we are glad that at least, instead of fighting three or four parties, we can concentrate on one and get it done. “I can assure you that there is nobody in the Presidency that is worried. For us, it is a good thing, it is a great development. We will see how far they can go,” he added. On speculations that some governors were planning to leave the PDP for opposition parties, he said they cannot afford to leave the party. “Yes our party may have its problems, faults and inadequacies, but there is no alternative than to be inside. There are more than enough reasons for people to leave, but you know you don’t leave a winning platform politically; it amounts to committing political suicide,” he said. “These are empty boasts and things that do not hold water. None of these governors as you can see for yourself is prepared to move. What they are trying to do is to move around and ensure that they are heard and have some of their demands met. Nobody is going anywhere because PDP is still the real party to beat,” Okupe said. Rival APC spits fire The rival political association claiming the APC acronym, the African Peoples Congress, yesterday rejected what it called INEC’s “black-market registration” of the opposition’s coalition. Chairman of the rival APC, Mr. Onyinye Ikeagwuonu, told a news conference in Abuja that as long as their case was pending in court the ‘APC’ acronym should not be available to any group. “For (INEC chairman Attahiru) Jega and his co-travellers, the black market registration of the All Progressives Congress is a done deal but when the court rules in favour of the African People’s Congress, as we are very hopeful, Jega and his INEC would have led Nigerians into an avoidable political landmine and a monstrous political disaster that would reverberate in Nigeria’s political history for years to come,” he said. “One wonders on what ground the Jega-led INEC decided to register a group whose acronym is same as ours. What will happen to INEC and the merger parties when the court gives judgment in our favour and reinstates our right over the APC acronym?” Ikeagwuonu said the party had already began the process of nominating a candidate for the Anambra State governorship election scheduled for November. He said after this, “we will proceed to the Federal High Court Enugu to seek for a restraining order stopping INEC from accepting the name of any candidate with the APC acronym pending the judgement over who owns the APC acronym.” There was no immediate comment on this from INEC, but the electoral commission had said there was no court injunction stopping the registration of the All Progressives Congress.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 11:23:53 +0000
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