Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mohammed Bello Musdapher, has rejected the outcome of the party’s North-East zonal congress, declaring that the process lacked consensus and fell short of internal democratic standards.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Sunday, Musdapher, who contested for the position of National Vice Chairman North-East, insisted that the process that produced the eventual candidate was flawed and did not reflect a true agreement among aspirants.
“A I’m trying to say here is that there was certainly not, there was no consensus. There was no consensus.” He argues that consensus requires full agreement among aspirants, not imposition or exclusion from the process.
Musdapher dismissed suggestions that his position was driven by personal disappointment, despite expressing dissatisfaction with the outcome of the exercise.
“Certainly not. I’m not happy with the outcome and I have not lost out and I am not one of the people the president is referring to. Instead, what really transpired, first I contested the office of the national vice chairman northeast, otherwise known as zonal chairman of our great party, the APC.”
He explained that although he fulfilled all requirements during the screening process, he was informed that another candidate had already been preferred.
“We went for the screening and I was told by the officers in charge, after submitting all the documents… I was told by the officers that they are sorry, I have fulfilled all the requirements and they have promised me that I am going to be part of their report, but I am not the person that they have been given as an anointed candidate from Abuja.”
According to him, the situation created confusion among party officials, as there were competing interests influencing the selection process.
“I know what makes my own case very interesting is that apart from the Abuja anointed candidate, I was again told that they were in a serious quagmire, in a situation, in a predicament, they don’t know where to go for. There was another candidate who was a preferred candidate of the governor’s, you know, of the northeast.”
Mustapha maintained that the absence of a proper consensus process invalidated the outcome, stressing that aspirants were not invited to deliberate or agree on a single candidate.
“Now, we were not even called for the consensus. If you listen to me carefully… consensus means meeting of minds of the aspirants. The aspirants need to come together. Choose one of them who agree on a particular aspirant to go for it… It means there is no dissenting, one single dissenting voice.”
Clarifying the scope of his grievance, Musdapher stated that his complaint was specifically against the zonal congress rather than the national convention.
He further revealed that he has begun taking steps to challenge the outcome and reclaim what he believes is rightfully his position.
“And I’m taking all the necessary, you know, steps towards, you know, making sure that I got back my seat. Because this seat belongs to me based on the agreements in the past.”
Musdapher also anchored his claim on prior arrangements within the party, citing an understanding reached among stakeholders in 2022 regarding zoning and rotation of positions within the North-East.
“All I’m trying to tell you is that based on the agreement in the past, in 2022… there was an agreement by the stakeholders of the party from the zone, and even involving two then-sitting governors…”
He argued that the principle of rotation and prior agreements should have guided the selection process, rather than what he described as imposition.
The APC chieftain’s remarks come in the wake of President Bola Tinubu’s emphasis on party unity and collective purpose at the APC’s 8th National Convention, where he urged members to prioritise the party’s future over personal interests.
However, Musdapher’s claims signify internal tensions within the party, particularly over the conduct of its internal processes and adherence to agreed mechanisms for selecting party officials.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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