The All-Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee appears divided on how to approach the open indictment of its Muslim-Muslim ticket by some of its chieftains.
Former Secretary to Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara and a former Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, at a gathering in Abuja last Friday under the auspices of APC Northern Christian Leaders’ Summit had vowed to work against the single faith ticket of the APC which has Senators Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as Presidential candidate and running mate respectively.
Lawal in his paper, “Our Case against Muslim-Muslim ticket,” described the single faith ticket as a continuation of domination of Christians, particularly in the Northern region.
The ex-SGF who maintained that the single faith ticket of the APC was not accidental but a deliberate agenda to subjugate Nigerians of the Christian faith further called to question the present NWC of the party which he noted was skewed against Christians.
He asked Nigerians across ethnic divides who are Christians to use their voter cards to reject the duo of Senators Tinubu and Shettima at the forthcoming February 25, 2023 poll.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Dogara spoke in similar vein in his own paper entitled, “Righteousness Exalts a Nation, but Sin a reproach to any People.”
Both the former SGF and former Speaker of House of Representatives who incidentally are from Adamawa and Bauchi, the same North East geopolitical zone as Senator Shettima later paid a visit to the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike at his country home in the south-south state.
National Vice Chairman, North West, Honourable Isaac Kekemeke described the actions of both Engineer Babachir Lawal and Yakubu Dogara as anti-party activities that should not be treated with kid gloves. He called for their sanctions.
He said: “For me, anyone who claims to be a member of the party, to begin to criticise the party openly, chastise the party presidential candidate, condemn the decision of the party leaders who have endorsed the choice of Vice-president candidate, is the highest manifestation of gross indiscipline and anti-party. We can’t continue like this in the APC.
“Dogara and Lawal must be called to order and disciplined. Their actions is an embarrassment to the party; what it means is that they are never with this party from the word go.
“They aren’t bigger than any other member of the party. I call for their discipline, if they refuse to desist from their effrontery. They can resign from the party. It is either they stop this open indictment of the party or they are disciplined.”
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka who also spoke with Nigerian Tribune however said the party would seek reconciliation with Lawal, Dogara and their colleagues who were organisers of the Northern Christian Leaders Summit. Morka, who is from Delta State in the south-south, however, declined comment on the visit to Governor Wike in Port Harcourt by Lawal and Dogara.
He said: “I don’t want to comment on their meeting with Governor Wike, we don›t know why they travelled to Rivers State to engage Governor Wike.