Second republic federal lawmaker,
Dr. Junaid Mohammed, has said that while the All Progressives Congress, APC,
had the right to show keen interest in those aspiring to lead the National
Assembly, the dictatorial posture of its leaders was a turn-off.
Speaking with Sunday Telegraph,
Mohammed said the utterances of the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, on
the leadership tussle in the National Assembly portrayed him as someone who did
not understand party leadership.
According to Mohammed, while the
party had a right to demand the loyalty of its members elected into the
National Assembly, its leaders must learn not to make careless utterances on
the matter.
He said, “I admit that because of
what happened last time (2015), the APC wants to make sure it gets it right
this time. But it appears that the same carelessness with which they handled
the matter last time is also repeating itself.
“Last time some members of the
party felt that they had something called independence or autonomy of the
parliament so they can do what they like. But it would have made a lot of sense
of they had won the election as independent candidates. It is only then that
they can talk about independence of the legislature.
“However, Oshiomhole has carried
over his attitude as a labour unionist and enforcer of strikes into the running
of a political party and nobody has called him to order.
“If he thinks that it is only by
bullying members of party in the National Assembly that they would achieve
their goal then he must have a rethink. He should never have been the National
Chairman of the ruling party or any other party for that matter. We tend to
think people will change their character when they occupy certain positions of
authority but it doesn’t happen that way. It is not possible for leopard to change
its spots,” he said.
Mohammed did not also spare a
national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for inadvertently “playing
roles” that could hurt the ruling party in the long run.
He said that the fact that both
Senator Ahmed Lawan and Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila are perceived as Tinubu’s
candidates had already become a challenge for duo who are seeking to lead the
incoming National Assembly.
Junaid Mohammed said, “It is an
open secret that Tinubu had a presidential ambition in 2023 and whatever he
does now is perceived as designed to boost his own chances in the future.
“But how many votes can Lawan
mobilise for him in Yobe and the North and how many votes can Gbajabiamila
deliver for him in Lagos and the South West? But I don’t see how fixing certain
people in certain places in the National Assembly can advance his political
career. It will not and he needs to very careful,” he said.
Mohammed urged the ruling party
to put their house in order by persuading their members to support their
preferred candidates on the basis of merit rather than through coercion or
godfatherism.
He warned that if the APC goes
about it recklessly they may create another opportunity for the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) to cash in on their mistakes.
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Asiwaju has made it clear that the party support these individuals so that the country can have a better democratic process and that more dividends of democracy can be delivered to the people. Why are these people trying to force asiwaju into declaring presidential ambition at this time when the whole party are working hard to bring better times to the nation? Na by force?
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