From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Bauchi State critical stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) have decried the outright exclusion of the state in the zoning arrangement ahead of the party’s national convention.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, the entire stakeholders unanimously rejected the decision of a section of the stakeholders of the party from the North-East geo-political zone to micro-zone the position of Deputy National Chairman of the party to Borno State.
Rising from an emergency meeting held in Abuja said the APC chieftains denied being part of the decision to cede the seat of the Deputy National Chairman to Borno State.
The aggrieved APC stalwarts further argued that Borno state would not have been placed far ahead of Bauchi state renowned as the traditional base of the APC in the North- East in both the 2015 and 2019 general elections.
They also wondered why Borno state which boasts more than enough of government patronage under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration could be placed ahead of Bauchi state which carve a niche as a traditional base of the APC after Kano state since the 2015 general election.
The statement signed by former State governors, Mohammed A. Abubakar and Malam Isa Yuguda among 27 others, the stakeholders urged the party to reinforce APC’s position in Bauchi State to enable it to reclaim the state in the forthcoming general election.
“We, the undersigned critical stakeholders of APC in Bauchi state comprising former governors of the state, former Deputy Governors of the state, three serving Senators, former Speaker of House of Representatives and eight of his colleagues in the Green Chamber and 17 House of Assembly members are vehemently opposed to the arrangement on sharing of seats for the National Working Committee (NWC) in the North East geopolitical zone of the country.
“The decision to micro-zone the office of the Deputy National Chairman to Borno State was arrived at by a section of party stalwarts from the North East geopolitical zone without the input of critical stakeholders of the party in Bauchi state.
“That there was no way Borno state would be placed far ahead of Bauchi state renowned as the traditional base of the APC in the North- East part of the country in both the 2015 and 2019 general elections.
“That it is unfair and unjust to sideline us from the scheme of things since Borno state boast more than enough of government patronage under than the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration than Bauchi state that had carved a niche as a traditional base of the APC after Kano state since the 2015 general election.
“We thereby enjoin the APC leadership to as a matter of urgency reconsider the skewed party seats sharing arrangement and treat Bauchi State in a fair and just manner before the national convention of the party on Saturday.
“There is the need to reinforce APC’s position in Bauchi State to enable the party to reclaim the state in the forthcoming general election. Bauchi state has the highest votes in the North-east after Kano state and has  consistently delivered the highest votes to the APC after Kano State, and this should not be toyed with,” the statement read.