Obono-obla Tells APC What To Look For As Search For New Nat'l Chairman Intensifies

Former Special Assistant on Prosecution to the President, Chief Okoi Obono-obla has said that the next All Progressives Congress, APC National Chairman must not be a money monger that will sell the party tickets to highest bidder in 2023.

Obono-obla in a statement made available to newsmen said that the next national Chairman of the party must be a complete democrat who will respect and implement the party's constitution to the fullest.

He narrated that "APC was founded on 31 July 2013. It was the day the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, issued it with a certificate of registration to operate as Political Party. The period between submission of documentations to INEC and waiting for a decision by INEC were moments of great apprehension and anxiety, because a political association is known as African Progressives Congress, APC, with the same acronym, that quickly submitted its request for registration with INEC. The fear was palpable that INEC would take advantage of APC having the same acronym with African Progressives Congress to deny APC registration.

Moreso, it was widely believed that African Progressives Congress had the backing of some powerful people in the then federal government, working in cahoot and behind the scene to scuttled the registration of APC especially as it formation was greeted with so much hostility by then governing PDP. African Peoples Congress didn't help matters either.

It quickly filed a suit in the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking a restraining order against All Progressives Congress using the acronym APC and against INEC recognizing APC!!

However, a huge sign of relief was heaved by the promoters of APC when on 31 July 2013, INEC called a press conference to announce the birth of APC".

While noting that APC will be eight years old by July 31st, he added that "APC had made history as the first political party in the history of Nigeria to come into being through a merger of hitherto existing political parties and negotiation. APC scored another historic first when it became the first opposition political party to win the presidential election in the annals of Nigerian constitutional history"

On the next national convention of the party, he said that "it is well settled that in the next few months, the preparation for the next transition programs will herald the beginning of the next constitutional order in the country (the current constitutional order will expire on the 29 May 2023).

It is going to be a testy moment for APC. The APC has grown exponentially to become the biggest party. It is the Governing Party at the Federal level and in 21 States of the Federation. It is also in control of the National Assembly. It is, therefore, the party to beat in the next election (take or leave it).

Trust, Nigerian politicians will struggle and jostle for the party's soul by contending and competing tendencies, wings, and power blocs within the party because the stakes are very high. So APC needs to have as the next national Chairman a very intelligent, knowledgeable, competent, and smart politician as its next National Chairman"

He maintained that the next Chairman "will navigate through all the political miners that the competing groups within the party will be strewn around to have their way. Such a highly explosive political scenario needs a cool-headed, calm, collected, mature, but firm person. We don't need a money monger or a hustler to be at the helm of affairs. We don't need somebody that will sell party tickets to the highest bidder.

We need a Democrat that will respect the Party constitutions and the dictates of democracy and provide a level playing field for everybody to aspire to get the Party ticket for the next election. We need a confident national Chairman who will rein in the powerful and influential governor's caucus of the party and whip it into line. A National Chairman that complements the effort of the president to usher in a peaceful and smooth transition program".