Congresses: APC Should Have Learnt From PDP – Afegbua

The spokesperson for General Ibrahim Babangida, Mr Kassim Afegbua, has taken a swipe at the All Progressives Congresses (APC) following the congresses conducted by the party in some states.

Mr Afegbua stated this on Friday while appraising the congresses during his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He decried the manner in which the APC has handled some of its affairs, saying they should have taken a cue from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“For me, the crisis we are witnessing in the APC, as the outcome of the congresses, are premeditated in the sense that after seeing the lack of internal democracy in other political parties, especially the PDP prior to 2015, I thought the APC would have learnt their own bitter lessons.

“I have my reservations about the outcome of the congresses. It is not participatory enough; it is not inclusive enough, and that is why you see all manners of reported cases of violence.”

Afegbua also expressed his belief that the timing of the congresses is right in line with the provisions of the Constitution.

“The APC Constitution is very clear, the time for congresses is already known, and so having the congresses at this period, is just in line with the provisions of the constitution.

“The APC is just dancing to the tune of its constitution but of course you should expect that there would be crisis because people will not just accept the outcome of congresses just like that if the processes do not follow the laid down procedure as contained in the constitution of the party,” he stated.

Speaking further, Afegbua noted that the Party appears to have woken up from its slumber after it experienced some form of “political inertia”.

He said since it won the 2015 elections, the leadership appeared not to be proactive enough in engaging “the party organs and the machinery of the party to do the appropriate thing to strengthen it, coming out from the 2015 elections.

“So I think the APC is just waking up from its slumber, conscious of the fact that it has to confront election in 2019, they needed to have a stronger leadership, both at the national level and the state chapters in order to present a formidable party before the Nigerian electorates, come 2019”.

The Party is expected to hold its state congress on Saturday, May 18, 2018.

In the past two Saturdays, it has conducted the ward and local Government Congresses which in some states had to be cancelled and rescheduled after the exercise was marred by violence.

Many of the Party chieftains as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), have, however, said it will do all it can to ensure a smooth exercise tomorrow.