APC chairmanship aspirants under security scrutiny

ABOUT 26 days to its convention, chairmanship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are reportedly under security scrutiny ahead of the elective event. 

Their background checks are said to be part of moves by vested interests in the convention to have complete dossiers on the contestants for the coveted office. 

The authorities, sources hinted the Nigerian Tribune at the weekend, have reportedly commissioned the report on the dossiers of the contestants to clear the air on information doing the rounds concerning a few of the contestants. 

There were reports that a former Minister of State for Solid Mineral Development, Bala Bwari, may join the chairmanship race, just as some party leaders are said to pushing strongly for a serving senator as next chairman. 

The entry of the minister will bring the number of contenders to 11, comprising former governors, ministers and serving senators. 

The source said that contrary to a belief that the president was not that keen on his involvement in the contest, he was said to have initiated moves to get a clear insight into the background of the contestants. 

“The president, from what we know, commissioned a report, which will give him an insight into the best candidate that will be acceptable to the majority of party leaders. 

“It also involves security agencies, and this is where the issue of political baggage comes in. So, there is immense pressure on him to take a more active role in party affairs at the national level, rather than allowing sitting governors and ex-governors to have their way,” the source stated. 

According to him, the president is keen on having a national chairman who can give the APC a new perspective among its members, while some governors elected on its platform are also said to be averse to aspirants perceived to have deep relationship with presidential hopefuls becoming new national chairman. 

“The other issue he (President Buhari) is being pressured on is to rule out aspirants with pending corruption cases. Some of the governors are not prepared to back any aspirant with clear links to presidential hopefuls and that’s where an aspirant (names withheld) had issues because of the belief that he has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a presidential aspirant (names withheld),” the source added. 

On the allegation of selling out levelled against some forces in the APC that initially vehemently opposed the APC interim national leadership, the source said there was no iota of truth in the alleged compromise. 

The source said, “No, there is no issue of compromise at all. The members of the group knew they were not going anywhere. They had no clout and were accused of having been meeting some candidates to extract some form of commitment which has always been the end goal. 

“But, they have been blacklisted by the APC national secretariat. No one wants to be seen openly with them. Some of the members are actively involved in the campaign organisation of one of the aspirants. 

“Some of them are in his media team. In fact, one of them was responsible for releasing a video of a private meeting with another aspirant but it’s not clear whether it was intentionally done to damage the candidate’s aspiration. 

“It was later discovered that he is an active member of the aspirant’s media team. They also want to plant their people in campaign teams of other candidates to retain some form of relevance. 

“So how about linking the APC group to one of the aspirants? One of their key members is in the media team and working with the director general of the campaign council,” he claimed. 

Meanwhile, as party chieftains prepare for the February APC convention, a group, South-south Emerging Leaders’ Forum (SELF), has said the election of national officers of the ruling party would be an acid test of the corruption crusade of the Buhari administration. 

The SELF in a statement said it was worried that the process would be a contest between aspirants with deep pockets while integrity and capacity would be pushed to the background. National coordinator of the Forum Mr. Preye Wilson, in the statement also challenged the party stakeholders, particularly from the North, to ensure that only aspirants who pass the integrity test receive their backing for the APC presidential ticket. 

The legal practitioner said the forum had taken it upon itself to help President Buhari identify credible national chairmanship candidate among the 11 aspirants jostling to lead the APC. 

The statement read in part: “As a forum, we are mindful of what becomes the anti-corruption fight of Buhari’s administration after the President might have left in 2023. We are also mindful of legacies our amiable president will leave behind in terms of a successor and those who lead the ruling party. 

“It is a known fact that corruption is contagious and it spreads like a virus that must be avoided. It spreads faster than cancer. If a corrupt or any indicted person is allowed to lead the ruling party, one wonder how it will be easy to lead anti-corruption campaign henceforth. 

“It is a fact that all the contenders are qualified to be APC national chairman in terms of their political experiences, but integrity should be the yardstick and not how long one has been in politics or positions such individuals have held in the past. 

“We have, however, painstakingly studied the records of all the prominent eleven aspirants that are jostling for the position of APC national chairman and we can only beat our chests for the Senator representing Niger East at the Red Chamber, Muhammed Sani Musa. 

“We, therefore, challenge other reputable organisations like ours to cross-check this fact and also do their separate duediligence in terms of corruption records of all those currently seeking endorsement to lead the APC.” 

In another development, the national leader of the APC, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu paid a visit to one of the chairmanship aspirants, Senator Sani Musa (APC Niger East), on Saturday at in his Maitama, Abuja residence, assuring the contestant that the contribution he made to the party would not go in vain. 

“The sacrifices of distinguished Senator Mohammed Sani Musa for the All Progressives Congress in 2014/2015 will not go in vain. The leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress are fully aware, Inshallah, he will be rewarded. 

“Sani Musa is a qualified national chairmanship aspirant with a blueprint for New Vision of the party in New Direction for electoral victory,” he said. 

In his response, Senator Musa, chairman of the Senate Committee on General Services, thanked Tinubu for the solidarity visit, stating that if elected APC chairman, he would steer the party in the right direction of winning the 2023 general election overwhelmingly.