FAR from the familiar way in which political parties begin their campaigns, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) will kick off its electioneering for the April's polls with a colloquium in Abuja on Wednesday.
Also, the Labour Party (LP) and the ACN may have parted ways as the working alliance between them may have collapsed.
In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, ACN said the decision to kick off the campaign with a colloquium, instead of the usual jamboree, was an indication that the party would make its campaign issues-based and ensure that all are involved in the rapid transformation of Nigeria, once ?it is voted into power at the centre.
It said the colloquium would make it possible for Nigerians from all walks of life to make their inputs into the party manifesto and agenda.?? ''These manifesto and agenda encompass our contract with Nigerians. Therefore we intend to use the colloquium not only to present our programme to make Nigeria a proud member of the comity of nations, but also to ensure that Nigerians own the programme,'' it said.
Explaining the format, ACN said Chief Audu Ogbe would kick off the session with a brief overview of the party's manifesto, after which speakers would talk on each topic to provoke a debate - through discussions - that would at the end enrich the issues. ??It listed the topics to be discussed at the colloquium as including issues of governance; human rights, and youth empowerment; energy availability: A condition for sustainable development; managing a democratic government: Perspective of a labour leader; the challenges of political parties: regulatory functions of INEC and the Electoral Act 2010, as well as water and sanitation: imperatives for national development.
''All the state governors elected on the platform of our party, other key leaders of the party and ordinary Nigerians will be involved in the colloquium, which will be transmitted live on AIT for the sake of Nigerians who may not be present in Abuja. We also intend to repeat the broadcast on other television stations for maximum coverage,'' ACN said.
The party said the need for national development was so urgent that any political party worth its salt must break from the business-as-usual style of doing things in the past and adopt a more result-oriented approach to issues.
It was learnt that LP was not happy that the ACN was making overtures to the Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko to dump LP for ACN.
It was alleged that the relationship finally broke down when the governor declined to dump the party that brought him into office.
It was learnt that Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole was at the head of the pressure group working for the LP to dissolve into ACN, a mission the ACN leadership believed would be accomplished once Mimiko declares for ACN.
The new scenario may now prompt the ACN to resolve to now present candidates in
all elections in Ondo State.
Party sources at LP said at the weekend that the decision of ACN to field a candidate to contest the Ekiti Central Senatorial seat where former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose is contesting is a direct consequence of the breakdown of the alliance.
It is believed that Fayose worked for the emergence of Kayode Fayemi during the re-run governorship election hoping to get ACN support in the senatorial contest.
Both LP and ACN had reportedly signed a working agreement on November23, 2006, in which it was agreed that Oshiomhole, the LP candidate should run on the platform of the ACN, while other appointments were to be shared between the two parties.
However, following the decision by Mimiko to remain in LP, the ACN leadership also decided that the Edo government should be in the ACN fully.
It was gathered that it was against this background that Oshiomhole reconstituted the local councils in the state with the appointment of 18 Chairmen and 192 councillors without any member of LP being considered.
It is also believed that the emergence of Sam Omede as the parallel Edo State
chairman of LP has the sympathy of Oshiomhole.
A source alleged that the LP believed that the parallel executive was a creation of Oshiomhole who sent his Commissioner for Energy and Water Resources, a former State Secretary of Labour Party, Didi Adodo, to commission their secretariat on his behalf.
Speaking on the development, Adodo said he commissioned the secretariat on
the directive of the governor. However, he admitted that there was a disagreement between the governor and the party in the state.
He explained that LP had also been sponsoring candidates in the areas where the governor also has candidates on the platform of ACN and there was no way the governor could have kept quiet.
The National Chairman of LP, Chief Dan Nwayanwu said that he would rather commit the developments in the party to God.
"May God help anyone who wants to create an imaginary faction in the Labour
Party, anywhere, including Edo State for whatever reason. God is greater than
man, that is all I will say," he said.
The Edo State Chairman of the party, John Ogbeide, explained that while it was true that both LP and ACN had been working together, things had since changed and that LP as an entity was fielding candidates for positions except governorship that would be due in 2012.
He said it was unfortunate that the LP could be at the receiving end in Edo but that he remained the authentic state chairman of the executive.
Source: ACN to kick off campaign with colloquium? (http://ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38564:acn-to-kick-off-campaign-with-colloquium&catid=1:national&Itemid=559)