News reaching ViewPointNigeria suggests that the All Progressives Congress (APC) party stakeholders in Plateau state have rejected a purported plan by the hierarchy of the North central zone of the party to impose Senator John Shagaya as Interim Chairman of APC in the state and ex-Minister of state for Information and Communication, Alhaji Salisu Nakande as its Secretary.

Some members of the party in the state led by its state Chairman, Engr. Lekshak Bulus Damen told newsmen in Jos that contrary to the already agreed position of stakeholders that election should be held to fix positions into the leadership of the party in the state upon which electoral Committee was inaugurated two weeks ago, the Zonal Vice chairman of the party, General Abdulahi Ahmed Aboki has informed them that Brigadier-General Shagaya would be the state interim chairman of the party.

News reaching ViewPointNigeria suggests that the All Progressives Congress (APC) party stakeholders in Plateau state have rejected a purported plan by the hierarchy of the North central zone of the party to impose Senator John Shagaya as Interim Chairman of APC in the state and ex-Minister of state for Information and Communication, Alhaji Salisu Nakande as its Secretary.

Some members of the party in the state led by its state Chairman, Engr. Lekshak Bulus Damen told newsmen in Jos that contrary to the already agreed position of stakeholders that election should be held to fix positions into the leadership of the party in the state upon which electoral Committee was inaugurated two weeks ago, the Zonal Vice chairman of the party, General Abdulahi Ahmed Aboki has informed them that Brigadier-General Shagaya would be the state interim chairman of the party.

According to him, there was no record to show that the same Shagaya was a card carrying member of any of the three political parties in the state that collapsed into the newly formed APC in the state.

He said the APC stakeholders had earlier in their previous meetings zoned the party positions in the state so that the state chairman would come from the central zone while the position of the secretary goes to Plateau North and the Treasurer to the Southern senatorial district where Senator Shagaya hails from in the state.

Damen warned, “We will reject imposition of people into political positions in Plateau state. Whoever feels he is popular should come forward to contest his popularity in an elections, saying APC as a political party should not toe the line of the Peoples Democratic Party in imposing candidates on its members.

The chairman of the G45 Plateau stakeholders of APC called on the party leadership of the party in Abuja to nip in the bud what the North central leadership of the party is trying to do in Plateau state as any attempt to impose any one on APC would be resisted.

In a related development, Kaduna state stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), have said that they would not tolerate any form of imposition of interim leaders on the party in the state without due consultation and consensus agreement by the leadership of the three legacy parties (CPC, ACN and ANPP).

To this end, the stakeholders have called on the national leadership of the party to intervene and save the party from an imminent leadership crisis which is capable of undermining the gains already achieved by the party in the state.

According to media reports, it said that former INEC secretary, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed and his sister-in-law, Hauwa Baba Ahmed had been asked to pilot the affairs of the party as Chairman and Treasurer respectively, a decision the stakeholders viewed as self-imposed and capable of causing disaffection among the members of the party in the state.

Spokesperson of the stakeholders and one time Commissioner of Education in Kaduna State under the auspices of Concerned APC stakeholders, Maitamaki Tom Maiyashi said that they were worried over the situation, adding that the situation that led to the mass failure of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the 2011 presidential election was beginning to rear its ugly head in Kaduna if not handled with caution.

He said the registration of the APC following the merger of the three parties gave Nigerians a ray of hope and altered the political computation in the country towards 2015, pointing out that, “Our hope might soon be dashed, unfortunately, given the emerging circuits currently playing out in Kaduna state”.

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Plateau APC members vow to resist plan to impose John Shagaya as interim chairman