In the aftermath ofAtiku Abubakar’sdefection from All Progressives Congress, national leader of the party Bola Tinubu has reiterated his stance that internal democracy must be entrenched as opposed to the idea of giving automatic tickets toaspirants.
Tinubu’s take came in the wake of comments by the Imo State GovernorRochas Okorocha that thegovernors had an important role to play in the emergence of the party’s candidates.In a statement by his media aide, Tunde Rahman, the former Lagos State governor clarified reports in the media that he’d said the APC would not givePresident Muhammadu Buharian automatic ticket for the 2019 presidential election.
Rahman noted that Okorocha had reacted to the statement credited to Tinubu, which was construed as a slight on the APC governors who had endorsed Buhari for re-election in 2019.However Rahman said Tinubu did not attack the APC governors in the interview he granted journalists in Akure.
“We note the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha’s statement. It is important that the record of what Asiwaju Tinubu said when approached by journalists during his last visit to Akure is accurate. Thus, I make this statement in the hope of clarifying a misinterpretation that seems to have taken hold in some quarters,”he said.
“I was at the interview session.
Asiwaju never said anything that could be interpreted as meaning or even implying that the governors are irrelevant or insignificant to the party’s nomination process.
“As a former governor and a leading statesman within the party, such words would never come from him.“Moreover, Asiwaju is a democrat who believes that the open and democratic processes of the APC, which led to the nomination of President Buhari in the first instance, have served the party well and have helped to distinguish the APC from the PDP and other parties where fairness and internal democracy are rare commodities.“Every individual has a right to endorse or supporta candidate of his choosing. What Asiwaju said atthat encounter and still canvasses is that the APCshould not mimic the PDP’s penchant for short-circuiting internal democracy by promoting the idea of an automatic ticket.
“The exercise of internal democracy and honouring the letter and spirit of party rules can only strengthen the party and enthuse its members.
“The APC’s all-inclusive philosophy was not devised today. It had been with the party since its creation.”It appears loyalties are already being tested with 2019 drawing near. Interesting times ahead.
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