We had earlier in the day reported that the bloc had concluded plans to break away.
Buba Galadima, a close ally of
former Kano Governor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, emerged as national chairman of
the Reformed APC.
The nPDP had put its negotiations
with the presidency on hold after what it described as a government-sponsored
onslaught against Senate President Bukola Saraki, House of Representatives
Speaker Yakubu Dogara and others.
Below is the full text of rAPC
maiden address:
PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY
ALHAJI BUBA GALADIMA, NATIONAL CHAIRMAN, REFORMED – ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS
(R-APC) AT SHERATON HOTELS ABUJA ON 4TH JULY, 2018
1. We are here assembled to
address you on the state of our party, the APC, the state of the nation and the
future of our experiment in constitutional democracy, in Nigeria.
2. You will recall that in the
build up to the 2015 General elections, some political parties and groups came
together, and formed a brand new political party, the All Progressives
Congress, APC. This merger was based on the strong belief that Nigeria had come
of age, but was severely underperforming and unable to meet its potentials for
good governance. The Nigerian people entrusted power to the APC based on its promises
and potentials.
3. We are sad to report that
after more than three years of governance, our hopes have been betrayed, our
expectations completely dashed. The APC has run a rudderless, inept and
incompetent government that has failed to deliver good governance to the
Nigerian people. It has rather imposed dictatorship, impunity, abuse of power,
complete abdication of constitutional and statutory responsibilities,
infidelity to the rule of law and constitutionalism. It has failed to ensure
the security and welfare of our people and elevated nepotism to unacceptable
height. The APC has failed to deliver on its key promises to the nation. There
is no evidence of any political will to reverse the decline of our party, while
leaders who have created these circumstances continue to behave as if Nigerians
owe our party votes as a matter of right.
4. The APC government, has been a
monumental disaster, even worse than the government it replaced. The political
party that was a vehicle for enthroning the government was rendered powerless
by manipulations and complete lack of due process in its operations.
5. The last straw, was the
Congresses and Convention of the APC held recently. The Congresses were
intensely disputed as it was conducted with impunity, total disregard for due
process, disregard for the party Constitution and naked display of power and
practices that have no place in a party we all worked the very hard to put in
place.
6. There are countless cases in
courts all over the country challenging the legality of congresses and even the
National Convention itself. It is very likely that the judicial decisions on
these cases will result in massive chaos, confusion and uncertainties.The fate
of a party in this state with a few months to the elections is best left to the
imagination, but it is not a fate we believe our millions of members should be
abandoned to.There were parallel congresses in 24 States namely: Abia, Adamawa,
Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano,
Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto and
Zamfara.
These congresses in Wards, Local
Government Areas and States all over the federation produced different sets of
delegates. We therefore had an unfortunate situation where the party has been
seriously factionalised and divided in not just 24 States but the 36 States and
Abuja FCT.
7. The so-called National
Convention of the APC was even worse. The National Convention of the party was
ridiculed with constitutional infirmities that were so glaring and obvious that
no fair minded person can claim that a legitimate and lawful executive emerged
from that process. The Chairman of the organising Committee, Jigawa State
Governor, His Excellency, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, declared 18 seats
unopposed and uncontested, since only one valid candidate stood at the end of
the grossly manipulated nomination exercise for each of the offices. He
therefore proceeded to declare them duly elected in flagrant abuse and violence
to the Constitution of the APC.
Indeed, Article 20 of the APC
Constitution is very clear and explicit. It envisages a situation where if at
the close of nomination, only one person is nominated, the Convention must vote
“Yes” or “No”, for each candidate before he is declared duly elected. For the
avoidance of doubt, let us re-produce the article verbatim:
Article 20 (1) of the APC
Constitution states “Unless otherwise provided for: All party posts prescribed
or implied by this Constitution shall be filled by democratically conducted
elections at the respective National Convention or Congress subject, where
possible, to consensus, Provided that where a Candidate has emerged by
consensus for an elective position, a vote of “Yes” or “No” by ballot or voice
shall be called, to ensure that it was not an imposition which could breed
discontent and crisis”.
We all witnessed on live
television and at the venue, Eagles Square Abuja, that the Convention Chairman,
only put the “Yes” question to all the delegates, using words to the effect: Do
you affirm? Do you agree? There was no opportunity whatsoever given to the
delegates to say whether they are voting “No” for any candidate as the “No”
question was never put to them.
It may well be that it the
convention Chairman put the “No” Question, the voice vote for the “Noes”, may
have been more. We will never know, since it was never done, contrary to the
express provisions of the APC Constitution. It is therefore unquestionably
clear that the 18 officers of APC that was “Elected” through this process could
not have been duly elected. This constitutional vice infected the offices of:
1. Comrade Adams Oshiomhole –
National Chairman
2. Mai Mala Buni – National
Secretary
3. Alhaji Ibrahim Masari –
National Welfare Secretary
4. Tunde Bello – National
Financial Secretary
5. Babatunde Ogala – National
Legal Adviser
6. Bankole Oluwajana – National
Vice Chairman (South West)
7. Dr. Zakari Mohammed – Zonal
Secretary (North Central)
8. Abubakar Sadiq – Zonal
Secretary (North East)
9. Hassana Abdullahi – Zonal
Woman Leader (North Central)
10. Nelson Abba – Ex-officio
(North-Central)
11. Isa Azare – Ex-officio
(North-East)
12. Tukur Gusau – Zonal Secretary
(North West)
13. Nasiru Haladu – Ex-officio
(North-West)
14. Rachael Akpabio – Zonal Woman
Leader (South South)
15. Misbahu L. Didi –
Representative of the physically challenged
and others.
8. Even before these illegal
exercises that have alienated millions of members, there has been widespread
disenchantment with the manner the party has been run, and the conduct and
performance of our governments. The nPDP, a group that has made a major
contribution to the emergence of the APC administration has made strenuous
efforts to invite attention to inequities, injustice and poor management in our
party without any success.The nPDP had shown good faith and commitment to the
party, but it has been rewarded with indifference and even contempt.It is
obvious that the leadership of the APC has decided to shut out members of the
APC, as well as other members who have raised genuine grievances and a desire
to improve the responsiveness of the APC to the desire of members for a party
founded on democratic principles.
9. Under the circumstances,
patriotic elements and most of the original founders of the APC have found
themselves in the opposing side of this charade. Most of the delegates who
bought and paid for forms for the congresses and convention and were elected as
delegates have come together to take control and give legitimacy to APC to be
now known as and called REFORMED-APC (R-APC).
The R-APC as constituted have
officers in all the wards, 774 Local Governments, and all the 36 States of the
Federation including the FCT.
The R-APC also have National
Executive Committee, the National Working Committee and other organs of the
Party are properly constituted and functional.
10. Some of the National Officers
of the R-APC include:
1. Yobe State – Buba Galadima
(National Chairman)
2. Kano State – Bala Muhd
Gwagwarwa (National Deputy Chairman, North)
3. Abia State – Chief Theo Nkire
(National Deputy Chairman, South East)
4. Ondo State – Hon. Eko Olakunle
(National Vice Chairman South West)
5. Kaduna State – Hon. Hussaini
Dambo (National Vice Chairman North West)
6. Kogi State – Mahmud Mohammed
Abubakar – (National Vice Chairman, North Central)
7. Benue State – Hon. Godwin
Akaan (Deputy National Secretary)
8. Oyo State -Dr Fatai Atanda
(National Secretary)
9. Edo State – Kazeem Afegbua
(National Publicity Secretary)
10. Adamawa State – Daniel Bwala
(Financial Secretary)
11. Jigawa State – Abba Malami
Taura (Deputy National Auditor)
12. Kwara State – Hon. Kayode
Omotosho (National Treasurer)
13. Anambra State -Barr. Nicholas
Asuzu (National Youth Leader)
14. Rivers State – Barr. Baride
A. Gwezia (Legal Adviser)
15. Katsina State – Haj Aisha
Kaita (National Woman Leader)
16. Bauchi State – Mrs. Fatima
Adamu (National Welfare Secretary)
17. Ogun State -Alh. Isiak
Akinwumi (Deputy Financial Secretary)
18. Zamfara State – Alh. Bashir
Mai Mashi (Deputy National Treasurer)
19. Abuja – Hauwa Adam Mamuda
(Deputy Welfare Secretary)
20. Sokoto State – Hon. Shuaibu
Gwanda Gobir (Deputy National Publicity Secretary)
21. Katsina State – M. T. Liman
(National Organising Secretary)
22. Niger State – Dr Theo Sheshi
( Deputy National Organising Secretary.
11. Some of the State Chairmen
include:
1. Adamawa – Dimas Ezra
2. Anambra – Sir Toby Chukwudi
Okwuaya
3. Bauchi – Sani Shehu
4. Benue – Noah Mark Dickson
5. Jigawa – Hon. Nasiru Garba
Dantiye
6. Kaduna – Col. Gora (Rtd)
7. Kano – Umar Haruna Doguwa
8. Katsina – Sada Ilu
9. Kogi – Alh. Hadi Ametuo
10. Ogun – Alhaji Adeleke Adewale
Taofeek
11. Ondo – Hon. Otetubi Idowu
12. Oyo – Alh. Ali Alimi Isiaka
Adisa
13. Yobe – Mohammed Burgo Dalah
14. Zamfara – Alh. Nasiru Yakubu
15. Niger – Hon. Samaila Yusuf
Kontagora
16. FCT – Adaji Usman
The R-APC includes all the
progressive forces in APC, including most of the leading members of the defunct
nPDP, CPC, ANPP, ACN and others.
12. The R-APC, will work with
like-minded political parties and groups to offer Nigeria qualitative good governance
in 2019. Nigeria faces an existential threat arising from three years of near
destruction of this country and the exacerbation of our ethnic, religious and
divisive cleavages. We will in concert with others offer real change to
Nigeria. Not fake change. It is clear that our party needs a leadership that
will live by its founding ideals.We have therefore decided to legitimately lead
those members to work to rebuild our nation more firmly on genuine democratic
principles, to enshrine good governance and restore the faith of Nigerians in
the possibility of the existence of a prosperous, secure and peaceful nation
13. We call on all Nigerians, not
to despair as a rescue plan is in the works and will be unfolded soon.
14. I thank you all for listening.
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