Buhari: APC ticket not do-or-die

[PeoplesDaily]

By Lawrence Olaoye, Abuja and Femi Oyinlola, Kaduna

Former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress of Progressive Change (CPC) in the 2011 presidential election, Major-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), has described the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential ticket for the 2015 election as "not a do or die affair" for him, as he is prepared to accept the will of the people.

He made this assertion during a live interview programme on Liberty Radio monitored in Kaduna yesterday.

This is coming as the Deputy National Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Boss Mustapha, yesterday allayed fears that the new opposition merger, All Progressives Congress (APC), could be hijacked by influential members of the party; he insisted that such cannot happen in the new party.

Buhari further said that contrary to speculations, he would never dump his party if he did not emerge as its presidential candidate. Rather, the 2011 presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) is prepared to support anybody who wins the party's ticket in as much as the rule of the game is adhered to.

"It is not all about the person who gets the ticket but whoever emerges the party's candidate surely will receive our total support because our primary objective is to change the political landscape in the country for the betterment of the common man on the street," he stressed.

The APC chieftain also said that Nigeria, from the First Republic to date has not got any leadership because according to him, those who claim to be leaders in the real sense are the problem of the country.

"They are elected to lead but you and I know that they are just there to loot the treasury.

"Look at the way our natural resources are being stolen you will agree with me that it is only Nigeria that can survive such mass stealing and still remain as a county."

In a related development, Mustapha assured that no individual can hijack the APC, at the presentation of a book titled "Engendering Progressive Politics: Challenges of Reforming Nigerian Politics" authored by Salihu M. Lukman.

He explained that the processes leading to the formation of the party was well structured.

According to him, the APC has assumed its own life and that the process of its formation was not tied to any individual as committee mandated to midwife the party has members from all the merging parties.

The ACN chieftain maintained that the APC has come to stay also stressed that no one individual in the party is influential enough to single handedly determine it's affairs because it is formed with the philosophy of party supremacy at the back of the minds of its promoters.

Mustapha said, "it will be difficult for any individual to hijack the APC because it has taken a life of its own. This is because the people have taken their destinies in their hands."

He added that stakeholders in the party have sincerity of purpose just as he insisted that the APC is not formed to merely present a platform to democratically take over power from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but to provide a viable alternative platform for Nigerians to choose their leadership.

He said, "what I consider critical to the success of the merger is sincerity of purpose. The desire is not to replace PDP alone but to create an alternative platform for Nigerians to choose their leadership."

He lamented that truants who are professional politicians have taken over governance affirming that the opposition merger may set a bar on educational qualifications of those who may want to lead the party.

The author of the book in his comments counseled stakeholders in the opposition merger that the interim leaders of the APC should be well respected Nigerians whose integrity can hardly be faulted and would represent the best and most knowledgeable.

He added that, "APC should be rolled out with strong membership mobilization programme across the country. All Nigerians irrespective of differences of ethnicity, religion should be invited to join the party.

"In order to stimulate good interest by patriotic Nigerians, such a membership mobilization Programme should also come with short transition Programme which should end with the election of substantive leaders of the party."

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