A Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Muhammadu Buhari and member of All Progressives Congress Board of Trustee, Ismael Ahmed, in an interview monitored by Freelanews reporter on Channels Television, has declared that the party is a failure.
This was in reaction to the crises rocking the ruling party, APC, which the APC chieftain believed they were all self induced.
Freelanews recalls how it started with the suspension of the party’s national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, the disqualifications of the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, from the upcoming election to the impostor crisis within the party.
“I’m not surprised; I’m embarrassed by the way the people that we have saddled with the responsibility of running a political party have messed it up to this level.
“This party (APC) is six years in existence and five of which we have been in government. Nigerians had done their own part. They have given us overwhelming majority in all tiers of government; from the federal level, national assembly to most of the state governments.
“We have won in 2015 and a repeat of it in 2019, but in the six short years in its entirety, we, the younger people, who have contributed our sweats, little time and resources to help in building this party, that would outlive us but yet, we have saddled responsibilities to people that have bastardised the institution built with good intentions,” Ahmed reinforced,”No, I’m not surprised. I’m absolutely embarrassed with what is going on.”
The SSA expressed his disgust at the different court injunctions with everyone seeking redress against the party over one thing or the other.
“Everybody now goes to court suing the party or being sued by the party on these issues, claiming the constitution of the party and yet most of the solutions to our perennial problems are yet found in this constitution that is observed more in breach than in compliance.
“Now, the country has a problem which is a little combination of health crisis and security crisis, and yet we have a political party that Nigerians have entrusted with the responsibility to run their affairs, that is focusing on frivolities.
“We, myself included, have all failed and we need to make a change of course immediately. We have 8yr mandate of the first tranche, we have three years to go and yet we are focusing on pettiness that is bringing down the structure that has brought us into government.”
On whether the APC stalwart was disappointed across board or there was someone in particular he was so referred.
“I’m disappointed across board, myself inclusive as a member of the BoT. If you look into the constitution of the party, a lot of issues which ought to have been ratified by the BoT and it has never been inaugurated.
“And look at, the party is supposed to have convention every two years to ratify most of these issues. Have we done that? No!
“We’re supposed to be having NEC meeting once in every quarter. Have we done that? No!
“We have had NEC twice in years only. So what are we really doing?! I’m not blaming this or that; the whole gamut of leadership has failed!”
Ahmed claimed that most problems being faced by the party now arose from those that ‘jumped the queue’.
“Because you’re former this or former that, you try destroy the structure we have built on ground because we, as youths, don’t have the luxury of being former anything. We would not accept it because to you the party is just a platform as long as you have the means to buy it. We are going to salvage this party.”
Freelanews is the editorial byline of Freelanews.com, used for staff reports, news updates, press releases, and collaborative stories produced by the Freelanews Editorial Team.
