Convention: Northern APC Christians To Demand For Key Positions
Kusoro Jeremiah
Ahead of the maiden national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), different interest groups within the party have begun scrambling for space and influence.
To this effect, a meeting of the party’s Christian leaders was called at the residence of Senate Majority Leader, George Akume last week in Abuja.
Even though he was not present at the meeting as he had to hurriedly travel to Kano to pay a condolence visit occasioned by the passing away of Emir of Kano, Alhaji (Dr) Ado Bayero, several key Christian leaders of the party were in attendance.
It was gathered that those in attendance voiced their worries over the continued branding of APC by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other detractors of the party as “an Islamic party” and other similar deliberate falsehoods.
The leaders then resolved that there must be a deliberate attempt by the party to correct this negative impression by zoning certain key offices to northern Christians during the coming national convention to restrain their members in the party, who are already getting agitated.
They therefore resolved to meet the national leadership of the party with a number of requests, a senior member of the group disclosed.
He said, “There are 20 working committee members of which at least 10 will go to the north. Northern Christians therefore request the following: In the event of a southern Muslim emerging as chairman, northern Christians shall request for national secretary (north-east), national treasurer (north-central), one vice chairman (north-central), national welfare secretary and national legal adviser.
“Conversely, if the national chairman is going to be a southern Christian, then the northern Christians request deputy national chairman – north (north-east), national treasurer (north-central), one vice chairman, national welfare secretary, national legal adviser
and deputy national secretary”.
The source said northern Christian leader of the party feared that if the mistake made in the composition of the interim executive committee was made again, the party risked losing most of its members to other parties.