The North Central Forum of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has vowed its commitment to the party, insisting that no matter what, it would not stop fighting for the good of the party, especially in the zone.
The forum’s renewed commitment to the party came as the party’s National Vice Chairman, North-Central, Muazu Bawa Rijau, alleged that some ‘faceless’ support groups are being sponsored to attack the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume.
Rijau, in a statement he jointly signed with the North-Central Zonal Secretary, Yakubu Adamu, on Saturday, had warned against any such action against the SGF,insisting that it would no longer be condoned.
The APC North-Central Forum, although not mentioned by Rijau, had in the past criticized the SGF over alleged lopsided appointments, and failure to carry the North-Central along.
The APC Forum had also alleged that the SGF was sponsoring cronies to attack the Benue State governor, Hyacinth Alia and expressed fears that the sour relationship between the duo could lead to the APC losing Benue State to the opposition.
Responding to Rijau’s allegation in a statement on Sunday, the forum said “nobody can stop us from fighting for the good of the APC in the North-Central and the nation as a whole.”
“The party belongs to the members and not just some few self-serving officials. We are not afraid, “it added.
In the statement by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, a member of the APC presidential campaign in the 2023 election, the APC North Central Forum noted that Rijau had not joined the APC when the group was registered as a recognized support group in the party.
The APC Forum, he said,had been championing the agitation for the North-Central to be allowed to produce the party’s national chairman in line with the zoning arrangement.
The agitation led the Forum to demand the removal or resignation of APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, and his replacement with somebody from the North-Central. The North-Central APC Forum eventually suspended the call for Ganduje’s removal.
“Rijau was not even a member of the APC when the North-Central APC Forum was registered as a support group of the party.
“When the North-Central APC Forum was fighting the national chairman Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, insisting that he should resign or be removed to pave way for somebody from the North-Central to take over, the vice chairman North-Central did not make any comment on the agitation.
“When there was an orchestrated move to strategically push the Benue State governor – the only Christian APC governor in North-Central Nigeria – Rijau never made any comment.
“And today that the North-Central APC Forum came up to save the party from chaos by insisting that whosoever, irrespective of how highly placed they are, that are maligning the governor of Benue State, that such should stop and that Mr President should take decisive action against such individuals, Rijau has come out to talk, “he said.
The statement stressed that the Forum, as a collective of “genuine and sincere” APC stakeholders, is fighting for the good of the North-Central and would not be intimidated into allowing “self-seeking political leaders to undermine the progress of the zone”.
The statement further read: “As the vice chairman North-Central, he should not take sides or be part of anything that could destabilize the APC in the zone. He should accommodate all interests and broker peace when there are disagreements.
“The North-Central APC Forum has never taken sides on any issue, rather we have been a voice of reason, calling for calm and unity in the interest of the party in the zone. Even our criticism of the actions of the SGF was not disrespectful, it was constructive.”
