By Mu’azu Abubakar Albarkawa, Kaduna
Information circulating within the state indicates that a week ahead of the Party congress, the All Progressive Congress (APC) party leadership, in league with the state government, has handpicked 5 delegates from every ward of the 23
local Governments in the state. Thus, the number of delegates, now effectively ware used for the government preferred candidate, will be 1275 delegates.
Sources close to the state government and the state party secretariat alleged that the government has concluded arrangements to undermine Internal party democracy to favour its preferred candidate for the gubernatorial primary election. They further alleged that, at the head of the collectives running the hoax, is the Secretary to the State Government ( SSG), Balarabe Abbas.
What is more curious about the likely crisis that will erupt if this information is legit, is the allegation that this alleged undemocratic move had got the approval of the National Chairman and National Organising Secretary of the party in Abuja and, that a substantial amount has been disbursed to support the scheme.
Another source has independently drew attention to a speculation that even members of the primary election appeal committee are being handpicked from the office of Governor Nasiru El-Rufa’i and that they are all leading members of the Senator Uba Sani campaign directorate, the Governor’s preferred candidate.
It was further alleged that in a meeting at the SSG’s office, the party leadership had unilaterally decided to jettison the statutory scheme of delegates selection replacing it with a scheme in which the process of selecting delegates is now placed under the caprices of some collectives within the state government and state party leadership.
A source privy to the scheme explained that the whole scheme is to ensure that the candidate that will emerge at the primary election is one who will effectively cover up the Governor’s trails especially his footprints in the colossal amount of debt he took on behalf of the state which, according to the source, he mismanaged and squandered. The source further alleged that part of this loan is now set aside to be used in manipulating the election and dispelling any opposition against the dangerous scheme. A leading member of the collectives designing this scheme is already bursting about this.
But given the widespread disapproval of the government preferred candidate by a greater section of the state party stakeholders, and considering the extent to which the general electorate are opposed to the harsh policies of Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i, any candidate that could be seen as picked by the Governor will surely mean an easy sail to capturing power by the PDP in the state.
In view of the likely consequences of this undemocratic move, we call on the national party leadership of our great party, the APC to, as a matter of urgency, intervene to avert the crisis that this move will cause the party and it’s success in the general election.
