An
alleged proposal by the All Progressives Congress to present a
Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket is believed to have put the party in a
fresh dilemma.
There had been speculation that the APC
was preparing to present a former Head of State, Maj.Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari (retd.), and an erstwhile Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed
Tinubu, as its presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
It was, however, gathered in Abuja on
Thursday that the APC strategists and stakeholders had been holding a
series of formal and informal consultations over the issue.
Party sources, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity with our correspondent on Thursday, agreed that
the issue was the party’s “biggest headache as the 2015 polls draw
near...continued
”
One of them said, “Some have suggested a
Babatunde Fashola/ Adams Oshiomhole ticket but this was thrown out.
Others suggested a Rabiu Kwakwanso/Fashola ticket and it was turned
down, yet others suggested Aminu Tambuwual/Fashola ticket and it was
also rejected before the Buhari/Tinubu ticket came up.
“What some of our leaders don’t seem to
understand is that this is not 1993. Neither Buhari nor Tinubu is an
Abiola whose generosity transcended ethnic and religious lines on a
national scale.”
The source claimed that the issue was threatening to polarise the opposition party along ethno-religious lines.
Another APC member and a former Minister
of Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, had asked the party to perish any
thought of presenting a Muslim/Muslim ticket because it would hurt the
Christian community.
But another former minister, Mallam
Nasir el-Rufai, who is currently the APC’s Interim Deputy National
Secretary, insisted that the party would present acceptable candidates
irrespective of ethnic or religious considerations.
El-Rufai, in a statement on his Facebook account, said Nigerians should be looking for competence instead of issues of ethnicity or religious affiliations.
He said, “The APC presidential ticket:
Those speculating on this and advising me on all manner of persons and
religions should know my views.
“The APC will present an
integrity-competence ticket not religion. Politics and governance are
not to be mixed or dictated to by any religion.
“The APC will present to Nigerians the
best persons with the integrity, capacity and competence to create jobs,
fight corruption and rebuild our nation without discrimination.
“How these persons worship God is
private to them and does not matter to discerning Nigerians,
particularly young people that suffer most from bad governance,
unemployment and the ‘Jonathanian’ culture of impunity.”
The Interim National Publicity Secretary
of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, however, insisted on Thursday that the
race for the party’s presidential ticket was still open to eligible
members, in spite of speculation to the contrary.
Mohammed, in an interview with one of
our correspondents, said the party would not be distracted by
permutations over who would emerge as its candidates for the 2015
presidential election.
He noted that while permutations and
speculation were normal in times like these, the APC was focused on
convening transparent congresses to set up structures at all levels.
Stressing that the party’s doors were
still open to all Nigerians, he added that it was determined to present
Nigerians with a viable alternative to the Goodluck Jonathan-led Peoples
Democratic Party government at the centre.
He explained that congresses slated to
hold across the nation on Saturday (tomorrow) were to set up the
party’s structures at all levels – to pave the way for conventions where
elected officials would emerge.
Mohammed noted that the new APC leaders
would in turn prepare guidelines for the party’s primaries to elect its
candidates for state and federal elections.
The APC spokesman said it was only when
a new executive had been put in place that “the APC will formulate
guidelines for the primaries of those who would vie for elective offices
be it House of Assembly, Governors, National Assembly, President and
things like that.”
Mohammed added, “It is part of the
process to get a president that would represent one, it’s a process, we
are gradually getting there from not being a party, to being a party;
from not having membership; to membership, to having congresses and
conventions.
“The next step will be the primaries. There will be speculation but one must remain focused and not be distracted.”
While commenting on the decision by Mr.
Sam Nda-Isaiah to join the race for the APC presidential ticket,
Mohammed said it was a welcome development.
According to him, it is evident that the party’s platform is healthy, strong and viable.
“We should not constrict the space to
old generation politicians let new blood come. In politics like I always
say, one day is too long not to talk of one week, one month and a whole
year,” he said.
source...the punch