Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the immediate past governor of Ekiti State, has counseled Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to present the party's platform to President Bola Tinubu and discuss the actual situation and input from different communities rather than relying solely on information from the Villa.Fayemi, who was also the chairman of the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF), made the statement yesterday in Abuja during a book presentation titled "APC and Transition Politics," which was written by Salihu Mohammed Lukman, the former National Vice Chairman (North West) of the ruling party.
Leading party figures such as Ganduje, past national chairmen Adams Oshiomhole and Bisi Akande, former vice president Yemi Osinbajo's representatives, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajuddeen Abbas, and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) attended the event.
Many Nigerians have occasionally criticized several of the Tinubu administration's actions, particularly the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy, which put them in hardship right away.
"I am glad that our chairman is here," Fayemi remarked. This is the group that shouldn't be left out of the policy-making process. It should be this party that presents its platform. It is our party's responsibility to inform the President that the input he is getting from the communities and constituencies outside him, not from inside the Villa where he is imprisoned.
Since we've all held public office, we are aware of how difficult it can be. Our chairman has stated that he has read the book, which pleases me. All NWC members as well as state and ward executives ought to be required to study it in order to start the process of reconstructing our organic party, which is something I think Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is devoted to.
Ganduje stated in his speech that in order to serve the interests of the general public, the APC needed to be reorganized and well-structured.
In his own words: "It's critical to record problems. As a political party, the APC is in power. It is an institution that needs to be reorganized and well-structured in order to serve two purposes: first, it should be used to handle the hiring of both elective and appointed officials; second, it should be used to handle the party's manifesto's implementation at all levels, from the local to the federal.
"And it's an establishment that needs to respond to public requests before being forwarded to the governing administration for execution. It is also a facility that will inform and educate the populace on the accomplishments of the governing administration.
Oshiomhole, for his part, pleaded with Ganduje to be cautious of the antics of governors, who often try to force their will on the party.
He asserted that he was removed from office because he refused to comply with their requests.
The former governor of Edo State, who was controversially removed from his position as national chair of the APC by an order from the FCT High Court in June 2020, attributed his hardship to his determination to uphold internal democracy inside the party.
He claimed that the governors at the time took offense at him after he conferred with them about the necessity of having a platform for the party primaries that would satisfy all APC stakeholders.
Oshiomhole remembered how, in a subdued allusion to President Bola Tinubu, the party's national leader at the time, they allegedly accused him of working for his "paymaster in Bourdillon."
As opposed to his case when he had former President Muhammadu Buhari, who was unconcerned about the circumstances at the time, the current senator representing Edo North said Ganduje would be fortunate to escape the authoritarian tendencies of the governors with President Tinubu as the leader of the party.
He said that as part of its attempts to solidify party supremacy and internal democracy, the APC had provided funding ranging from N10 to N800 million to each of the party's candidates so they may run for office in the 2019 election.
Even after being ousted from office for violating the party constitution, Lukman, the Director General of the Progressive Forum (PGF), did not use his radical demeanor to bring the governors to order. Oshiomhole expressed amazement at this.