June 13, (THEWILL) – Leaders of the All Progressives Congress in Plateau State under the aegis of ‘APC Bigwigs’, have called on those who contested the last gubernatorial primary, but were unsuccessful, to put aside any grievance arising from the contest and join hands with the party’s flagbearer, Nentawe Yilwatda, if the party is to be victorious in the general elections.
Speaking with newsmen on Monday on behalf of the Bigwigs in Jos, after paying a solidarity visit to Yilwatda, Saleh Mandung Zazzaga, said the emergence of Yilwatda as the winner of the primary does not mean the other aspirants were not equally qualified to be the party’s flagbearer, he said it is just one person required to be a flagbearer of any political party at a time.
Zazzaga, therefore, urged all former aspirants to put their grievances before, during and after the primary election behind them, so that they can close ranks and work for the success and survival of the party to which they all belong.
According to him, there is no political party that is crisis-free, particularly after primary elections, when those who do not win become aggrieved. He noted that true party men quickly resolve their differences and put aside their grievances for the common good of the party.
He stressed the need to restrategise against the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the state that is doing everything possible to win the governorship seat.
“I want to also use this opportunity to call on all the party members, loyalists and supporters alike, who must have been aggrieved one way or the other, to put behind them whatever must have angered them, so that we can work for the success of the party. Our party remains a progressive party by structure and nature, which carries all and sundry along. It remains a formidable party where people successfully build their political careers and flourish. It is also the party for the masses, regardless of one’s ethno-religious background”, he noted.
“Again”, he said, “for the aspirants who were not victorious at the primaries in all other positions, they should understand that it is not the end of their political career, because a loser today can become a winner tomorrow. A clear example is that of our President, Muhammadu Buhari, who contested for the President of the country three times, but lost. But he never gave up and then contested again and won the fourth time, and he is now rounding up his second tenure.”
He advised that “all our party members and aspirants who did not win at the primaries should not give up hope or lose faith in the party, as the party strongly appreciates their participation and remains committed to their future aspirations. It would be unwise now for any of them to contemplate defecting to another party, as they may not flourish in other parties as they have done in the APC.”
He further explained that “this owes to the simple logic that other political parties already have their dedicated members and loyalists and anyone joining them newly would be seen as a newcomer and treated as such. This implies that the hope of our members is much in the APC than in any other party they may contemplate joining or work underground for; by doing anti-party.”
He, however, urged Yilwatda to quickly put a reconciliation team in place and reach out to all the aspirants who contested with him, whether aggrieved or not, and pursue sincere reconciliation and enlist their support to win the election.
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