The National Secretary of the Labour Party, Barr. Olukayode Ajulo has warned that the ongoing leadership tussle within the ranks of the All Progressives’ Congress, APC, may derail and distract the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration from delivering on its many promises to Nigerians.
Describing the in-fighting between certain power blocs within the APC as borne of selfish interests, Barr. Kayode Ajulo, who is also the Chairman of Egalitarian Mission for Africa warned that the ominous signs being given by the leadership of the APC appears to be a confirmation of the popularly held opinion that the APC was a party of “strange bed-fellows” which was not built to last and would not stand the test of time.
“The in-house squabbling within the APC is too early and too soon; it gives validity to the position of many stakeholders in the polity that it is nothing but an amalgamation of selfish interests who do not have the national interests at heart.
“By virtue of President Buhari’s electoral victory, Labour Party have the opposition status automatically conferred us party, particularly when PDP is bereft of what to do but national interests remains a more pressing priority and for Nigeria’s sake, statesmanship has to displace opposition politics and come to the fore. It is therefore necessary for us to address this ominous signs we perceive with the ranks of the APC, in the interest of the entire nation,” he said.
The National Secretary expressed dismay at the ill-timing of the squabbles of the APC, wondering if they truly desired the success of their erstwhile candidate who is now the “captain of the Nigerian ship”.
“Is this the time for such wrangling? Is this the time for power tussles? The continued tussle leads some of us to wonder whether indeed the APC are aware that their tussles would inevitably have dire consequences on the President Buhari administration’s ability to deliver on its many promises.
“There must be a point of politics, and a point of policies; it appears that the chieftains within the APC have a problem distinguishing between the two, and they are certainly oblivious of the fact that their prolonged power struggle at this point in Nigerian history is unwarranted,” Ajulo said.
The Legal luminary also expressed great indignation at the comment credited to the APC spokesman, Lai Mohammed, in which he stated that “President Buhari is not the leader of the APC”.
“Can you imagine such impudence? To me, it is certainly the height of recklessness to assert that the President is not the leader of the party on whose platform he was elected to his position.
“Is he (Mohammed) saying that Nigerians have been taken for a ride? Is he saying that the president has a don from which he must take orders? Is he saying that President Buhari has a leader? If that is the case, we demand on behalf of the 15 million Nigerians who voted him in, that they should disclose the identity of the true president of Nigeria immediately.
“If the president is not the leader of the party, Nigerians demand to know who the president is obliged to take orders from,” he said.
Faulting the party’s inclination to embrace the “winner takes all” position, he fingered that tendency as the underlying cause of the party’s woes.
“It is very strange and un-statesmanly that up till now, the APC is yet to reach out to the
leadership of other political parties who participated in the electoral process. One would have thought that in the spirit of good sportsmanship, the party would have initiated meetings with other stakeholders in the other parties to commence the great work of rebuilding Nigeria.
“It is a common proverb in the South-western part of the country that “one tree cannot constitute an entire forest”. We are beginning to think that the APC-led government is attempting the impossible and trying to single-handedly be the forest. It won’t work,” he said .
The National Secretary charged President Buhari to emulate the example of the Abraham Lincoln-led administration in the aftermath of the American civil war.
“We call on President Buhari to emulate the example laid by that icon of statesmanship and democratic governance- Abraham Lincoln of the United States of America. History has it that when the war ended, Lincoln had a meeting with all the stakeholders and promised to constitute a unity government. The much venerated American leader followed up on his talk with the walk, drafting erstwhile opponents into key positions for the good of the nation.
“President Buhari has, in his inaugural address and subsequent speeches, stressed that the job of rebuilding Nigeria is not his alone.
“We call him to walk the talk by inviting all leaders of the four major political parties who have members who were elected into offices for consultations and cooperation on how to navigate the stormy waters in which the nation is presently anchored, the turn out of events leading to the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and Rt. hon. Yakubu Dogara is a clear indication that APC cannot do it all alone,” he said.
The National Secretary also insisted that the president must also steer clear of all attempts being made by certain power blocs within the APC to “tele-guide” his choices and decisions as regards policies that would affect the millions of Nigerians under his watch.
“Nigerians oppose any and every attempt by any cabal to hijack for themselves, the president of over 170 million Nigerians. Only 15 millions Nigerians voted for, the remaining 165 million Nigerians must be carried along. We will not accept and cabal to hijacked our commonwealth to themselves alone. Nobody should be seen to be given the president orders in secret,” he said.
