Cyril Mbah, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) party congresses scheduled to take place at the six area councils of Abuja on Saturday were postponed indefinitely as a result of court cases and mass defections from the ruling party to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Scores of APC members moved out of the party in the past two months led by some aspirants who lost the FCT primaries conducted between April and May this year.
The disputed primaries which produced candidates for the FCT area council elections expected to hold in February 2022, turned into a source of several litigations in each of the six area councils.
In Abaji, Hon. Angulu Loko sued the APC challenging the choice of Abubakar Umar Abdullahi, who came second in the keenly contested primary election while in Bwari, the choice of Alhaji Audi Haruna Shekwolo has been challenged by Alhaji Ibrahim Abdul on grounds of certificate forgery among other issues raised in court documents.
Our correspondent who went round the FCT to monitor the primaries on Saturday was told by disappointed party members that it was postponed indefinitely without any official reasons.
Meanwhile, the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate for the February 2022 chairmanship election in Kuje, Alhaji Hamidu Sarki Dobi Talban, who was openly disappointed over the shifted congress, appealed to party supporters and other aspirants to eschew violence before, during and after the council polls.
Hamidu remarked that the era when politics was regarded as a do-or-die affair has passed and he called on supporters to conduct themselves peacefully whenever the INEC lifts the ban on campaigns.
He confirmed that several APC members, including some ward chairmen, left the party in protest soon after the last FCT congress but added that those who left were promptly replaced to fill the vacuum which the sudden exit of the previous office holders had created.
The chairmanship candidate said he has consulted widely and also held stakeholders meetings to sensitise members on how to reposition the party and promote the success of APC in Kuje Area Council.
“The APC is still very strong in Kuje area council. It was only some minor mistakes that made us to lose the council in the last election. We have learnt from our mistakes and APC is back on its feet and better. By the grace of God, victory shall be ours in the February elections,” Hamidu said.
He insisted that APC lost Kuje to the PDP in the last election because the party ignored the zoning formulae established by the political fathers of the area which guaranteed the rotation of the chairmanship position among the three ethnic groups in the council.
“APC consciously or unconsciously decided to give the incumbent chairman then another chance for second tenure even though he was not favoured by all the three tribes and the zoning formulae. This was why we lost the council to the opposition.
“These issues have been addressed and I assure you that we would not make the same mistakes again. The opposition has more weaknesses and we are working on this to win the election. We have assured our members and supporters that their interests will always be protected and we mean to keep this promise,” Hamidu concluded.
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