From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Ahead of the proposed National Convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), aspirants on party’s platform for the 2018 APC primaries under the auspices of APC Aspirants Forum, have endorsed former Zamfara state governor, Abdulaziz Yari as the next National Chairman of the party.
National Coordinator of the forum, Bashir Muhammed Yusuf, who made the endorsement argued that the former Zamfara governor has all it takes to lead the ruling party into winning the 2023 general elections, judging by his experience as a party man.
Yusif further maintained that it was an open secret that the party needs a genuine party man with a firm grip of political party management and with a stint of the relationship between party leadership the executive arm of government.
He however warned that the Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Committee must be able to deliver a credible leadership that will be able to reposition the party
“The moment the APC is unable to produce a reliable, knowledgeable and hardworking executive, the situation the party found itself during the 2019 primaries may occur again.
“The 2019 experience was a sad moment which genuine APC member would not want to see repeat itself as we work towards retaining our party’s position National, States and local governments positions.
“Now, looking at the usual form of Nigerian’s National leadership, one may not need to ask where the APC party chairman is expected to emerged. As the presidency is currently housed in the North, it is obvious that the next party’s presidential flag bearer will definitely come from the South. Sequentially, the party’s chairmanship will rotate to the North, thus swapping positions.
“In view of the above, there there’s no point going round scouting for who the next chairman of the APC will be but to beam our searchlight on AbdulAziz Yari, former Governor of Zamfara State if we truly need to repositioned our party and bring it back to its winning ways.
“We believe that as a former National Assembly member, our members in the National Assembly will see him as their own and who of course knows what they want from their former colleague.
“With Yari as a two-term Governor, be rest assured our Governors will equally considers him as their own knowing fully that Governors are the leaders of the party in their various states and he was in that position too.
“Yari was not only a Governor of Zamfara state alone during his tenure, his leadership qualities, matched with his knowledge on party issues made him Chairman of the Governors forum.
“Governor Yari is a highly detribalized person which is well known amongst his circle. With the nature of our current sectional agitations, we need him to come play the card well for every zone, section and states to feel comfortable as they will be carried along.
“Yari is down to earth, a grassroots politician which truly made him have edge over whoever is nursing the idea of clinching the party’s most exalted position. Yari has always being in opposition party even during the PDP buy out, he stuck with ANPP and was made the Zamfara state Secretary General of the party in which his hard work made Yarima the first elected executive governor of Zamfara state
“It was this hard work that gained him recognition as he was able to handle the Zamfara ANPP party members that made him the State chairman of the ANPP. And as the chairman of ANPP, he ensurwd Yarima was comfortably re-elected for his second term,” the forum noted.

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