President Muhammadu Buhari says he would pay special attention to the elections of the state chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He stated this during a meeting with state chairmen of the party led by the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, on Friday at the State House in Abuja.
“I want you to revisit the Constitution of the party sooner than later,” the President was quoted as saying in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina.
He added, “Your election will soon hold, and I am going to take personal interest to make sure that the bottom-to-top is maintained and people are elected by their immediate and subsequent constituencies.”
President Buhari told the state chairmen that only members with a solid base from the grassroots to national level would represent the party in elective positions.
He, therefore, urged them to serve the party with all their might and see their “chairmanship” as part of national service.
The President explained that the ‘bottom-to-top approach’ would ensure that only popular party men and women represent the party’s interest at the national level.
He stressed, “In my own opinion, this is necessary so that Nigerians will know and understand that whoever sits in your states has the support of your respective constituencies from the state, to the local government, wards and polling units.
“In Abuja, we want to deal with people who have a solid base from where they come.”
In his remarks, Mr Oshiomhole said the National Working Committee of the party had decided to extend support on a monthly basis to all state chairmen to enable them run their respective offices effectively.
“Whatever support we (NWC) are giving them is a small token in relation to the huge responsibilities entrusted to them,” he noted.
The APC chairman thanked the President on his recent directive on board appointments, noting that party members were looking forward to filling some existing vacancies in government and contribute their quota to the vision of the ‘Next Level Government’.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the 36 State Party Chairmen of APC, Ali Bukar, congratulated the President on his victory in the February 23 presidential election which was also reaffirmed by the Supreme Court.
Bukar said the success of the Buhari administration in the economy, security and governance sectors must be sustained to ensure Nigerians enjoy the dividends of democracy.
