APC LG Congress: aggrieved members from Jalingo stage protest 

Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo

Spokesperson of the group Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed Hamza told journalists that they had opted against the concensus arrangement at the Stakeholders meeting held with the local government Congresses committee and were asked to wait at the party office where the election would be conducted but none of the officials showed up.

“We are here as critical stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress APC in Jalingo local government area to protest against what transpired during the local government Congresses on Saturday. During the meeting held with the committee, we insisted that we preferred open election to the concensus arrangement. We were then asked to proceed to the party office and wait for the officials who will come and conduct the Congress. To our greatest surprise, none of them showed up till now as we speak.

“You need to understand that there are people who paid for the forms to contest various positions at this Congress. What happens to them? They did not subscribe to the concensus arrangement and yet we’re tricked out of the meeting and abandoned.

“The APC is an all inclusive party and encourages collective participation. We would not sit back and allow one or two people to highjack the party for their selfish interests. That is exactly what will kill the party. As such, we have already prepared our petition and will proceed to the appeal committee as soon as it is appointed. This travesty can not be allowed to stand” Hamza said.

Meanwhile, the member representing Wukari Ibi federal constituency Mr. Danjuma Shiddi has dispersed allegations that he did not participate in last Saturday’s local government Congresses because of his grouse against the insistence of some stakeholders to go ahead with concensus arrangement while most of them preferred open election.

In a press statement issued on Sunday night,  Shiddi said that contrary to what he had said earlier in the heat of the moment, he went ahead to participate in the Congresses following wide consultation with party faithfuls.

“Against the backdrop of the press release I issued yesterday that I would not participate in the APC Local Government Congress, I hereby publicly withdraw that statement made in the heat of the moment.

“After due consultations with majority of the APC stakeholders in Southern Taraba, my teeming supporters and the valuable people of Southern Taraba, my team and I heed to the call of the people to proceed and actively participate in the congress, which we did and even remained resolute but calm even in the midst of the ward congress results flying around, despite these results not being authenticated by the APC National Headquarters.

“In this unprecedented and immensely challenging times, I would continue to carry you all along in my political and developmental activities” Shiddi said.