APC LG congress: Scheming, tension, manipulation characterised conduct in Gombe
By Scheming, manipulation and tension were visible during the conduct of the Local Government Congresses of the All Progressive Congress (APC) which was held all through Saturday and early Sunday morning in Gombe state as desperate party bigwigs tried to hijack the process.
Our Correspondent gathered that prominent among the complaints were allegations that some highly placed party men were planning to plant their stooges against the wishes of the greater majority of the party faithful in order to have an edge during the 2019 general elections.
Further investigations by our correspondent revealed that the party in all the 11 local government areas has pitched members against each other especially those loyal to President Mohammadu Buhari and those perceived to be against the 2019 reelection bid of the President.
In few of the venues visited by our Correspondent, it was observed that there were heavy disagreements amongst the delegates and officials and in some cases and it took the intervention of heavily armed security men and Congress committee officials to settle the disputes.
However, it was observed that the disputes are between those struggling for recognition, those seeking elections and those struggling to be relevant in the next political dispensation both in the state and at the Federal level.
It was also alleged that list of would-be party executives had already been signed, sealed and was awaiting a mere delivery to the National Secretariat of the party an action that is said to have put party supporters in a spoil for war as many of them have been schemed out.
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A source who spoke to Journalists revealed that few hours to the commencement of the exercise, a compilation of party executive members, mostly those holding positions in the 11 local government areas had been concluded and those whose list has not scaled through have vowed to dump the party and join forces with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which is power in the state and wait for them in 2019 general election.
But while speaking to newsmen before the commencement of the exercise, the Chairman of the Congress Committee, Suleiman Kawu Sumaila, dismissed the insinuation of tension, imposition or fabrication of results.
According to him, “There is no tension in any of the local government but I know elections will take place in some of the local government areas because there are people that bought forms to contest for various positions.”
While maintaining that materials were distributed to all the 11 local government areas, he vowed that nobody will force him into doing what is contrary to the party’s guidelines, stressing that elections will hold according to laid down procedures.
He said, “We have distributed all the materials, we have posted all the electoral officials to their various areas, and I am sure everything will be conducted peacefully’.
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