August 06, (THEWILL) – Sequel to the just-concluded ward congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba, a local chieftain of the party, Mr. Ezekiel Irmiya Afukonyo, has alleged that some external forces are gearing towards destabilising the party chapter.
Afukonyo, who stated this at a Press Conference in Wukari on Thursday, also, said that the battle for the soul of APC has been heightened because the party is now the “only hope for the future.”
The APC kingpin is the Board Chairman of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital and a four-time governorship aspirant.
He accused a serving Senator from the state of infiltrating some APC members and trying to use them to hijack the structure of the party during the last ward congresses.
In his words: “In the APC, it is true that we have personal interests but we don’t allow that to becloud our sense of purpose.
“In Southern Taraba here, for instance, Chief David Sabo Kente and I are the major aspirants for the governorship ticket but we didn’t let that stop us from joining hands to tackle some external forces who wanted to come through the backdoor and highjack the party structure at the last ward congresses.”
Afukunyo, who pointed that APC is big enough to accommodate everyone who wishes to join, said all the persons need do is come through the door as tens of thousands have been doing and they will be welcomed rather than staying in another political party and scheming to take over the structure they have not contributed anything to build.
He also frowned at the poor approach to politics of youth in the state, and he advised them to get constructively engaged in politics rather than allowing themselves to be used as thugs and dumped after election.
THEWILL recalled that the APC congress, which was rocked by skirmishes in many parts of Southern Taraba, became fierce in many areas over the speculated attempts to install a Taraba PDP and the Member representing Ibi-Wukari Federal Constituency, Mr Danjuma Usman Sidi, as part of the ward excos.
Alhaji Adamu Sanusi, an APC stalwart from Wukari revealed that it was unfortunate that in preparation to his possible decamping to the All Progressives Congress (APC), loyalists of the Taraba Senator within the APC were struggling hard to hijack the structure of the party in the Southern Zone.
Adamu, however, stated that the stakeholders from the zone, particularly Chief David Sabo Kente, resisted the move.
He said: “During the ward congress some of the Senator’s loyalists, including a Member of the House of Representatives who just joined the party, opposed that the ward leadership should emerge through consensus in an attempt to install new members of the party at the ward level, these people who are working for the Senator want to grab the control of the party from those already in the party but it failed.”
From the Congresses, Senator Yusuf A Yusuf took control of the Central Zone, Chief David Sabo Kente and other stakeholders held on to the Southern Zone while in Northern Taraba, the Minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman, lost to two former acting governors from the Zone, Alhaji Sani Danladi and Alhaji Garba Umar, despite his insistence to go for a contest as against the consensus agreed by majority of the stakeholders from the zone.
About the Author
