[OPINION BY BOLAJI ABDULLAHI] APC's failed promise on restructuring: Saraki was not the problem | TheCable
the activities of some fifth columnists within the party. He specifically mentioned Dr Bukola Saraki who was President of the Senate at the time. This statement is not only untrue, but it is also unfair.
As the national publicity secretary of the party at the time, I was the one who reported to the national chairman, Chief John Oyegun, that the party was being severely criticised across the country for not keeping its promise on restructuring and therefore, we needed to be seen to start taking actions on this particular cardinal principle of our party since it appeared no one in government was willing to do so.We discussed this extensively and agreed to set up a committee.
The next phase was to take the report to the various organs of the party for approval. But even at that initial stage, I observed that the problem of definition that we set out to solve still lingered. The South West elements within the party felt that anything short of regionalisation was not good enough and would amount to a cynical bastardisation of the original promise made in the manifesto. The report from the South-South favoured resource control, while the North was largely indifferent.
They told us that the president was quite excited by the report. This greatly raised our hopes; even though we were not happy that we did not have the opportunity of a photo-op with the president, which in itself, would have made waves across the country that the party was actually making good on its restructuring promise. The second-best option was an official statement from the presidency, acknowledging the party’s report and making a categorical commitment to its implementation.
Mallam El-Rufai knows that this is the truth because he was actually one of the few governors that were always ready to champion the interest of the party. But I understand that it is more convenient to blame Dr Saraki and some “fifth columnists” than to blame Mr President. But those of us who risked our lives to traverse the country on this assignment and saw what eventually happened, are very clear why our work did not gain the required traction.
Nigeria Latest News, Nigeria Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Cheap lies' -- Saraki tackles el-Rufai over restructuring comments | TheCableBukola Saraki, former senate president, has described recent comments by Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, about restructuring as “cheap lies”. While speaking in an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday,
Read more »
‘Intensely partisan’ -- APC campaign rejects Nextier poll forecasting Obi as preferred candidate | TheCable‘Intensely partisan’ — APC campaign rejects Nextier poll forecasting Obi as preferred candidate | TheCable
Read more »
BREAKING: Machina loses as supreme court affirms Lawan as Yobe APC senatorial candidate | TheCableThe supreme court has affirmed Ahmad Lawan, the senate president, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Yobe north. In a majority judgment delivered on Monday, the apex
Read more »
PDP accuses APC of hoarding new naira notes for vote-buying | TheCableThe Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) are hoarding the newly redesigned naira notes for vote-buying in the forthcoming elections.
Read more »
Tinubu is the next president of Nigeria, says Buhari at APC rally in Nasarawa | TheCablePresident Muhammadu Buhari says Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a “committed Nigerian”.
Read more »