APC woos Ex-Senate president, other opposition Leaders in PDP to join ruling Party
Regional elders and political figures who are currently affiliated with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other opposition parties have been urged by the North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum to change their allegiance and join the APC.
The Forum stressed in a statement issued on Monday that the North-Central zone can only really safeguard its interests under the direction of President Bola Tinubu and the APC government.
Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the chairman of the Forum and a member of the APC’s 2023 presidential campaign committee, signed the statement, which detailed the party’s appeal to prominent regional politicians and urged them to join forces under the APC banner.
Among those specifically addressed were prominent North-Central leaders, including former Senate President David Mark, ex-Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang, former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, ex-Senate President and former Kwara Governor Bukola Saraki, and former Benue Governors Gabriel Suswam and Samuel Ortom. The Forum also named former PDP National Chairman Professor Iyorchia Ayu as one of the key figures being courted to join the APC fold.
The statement highlighted the stark contrast between the era of neglect and marginalization the region experienced during the PDP’s time in power, and the benefits now being reaped by North-Central residents under President Tinubu’s governance.
The APC Forum pointed to the administration’s inclusive policies and commitment to advancing the region’s interests, urging these influential leaders to align with the ruling party to ensure continued progress.
“We urge them to consider the development of the region before party interest.
“We are advising former Senate Presidents Bukola Saraki and David Mark, former governors Babangida Aliyu, Jonah Jang, Gabriel Suswam, and Samuel Ortom, as well as the former national chairman of the PDP, Professor Iyorchia Ayu, and other elders and leaders of the North-Central to come to the APC because that is the party that loves the people of the region.
“They should consider APC because that is the party that is good to the North-Central. The people of the North-Central are receiving the dividends of democracy under the APC government led by President Bola Tinubu, and that is why we were the first to endorse him for a second term.
“These North-Central elders and political leaders should put party aside and put the interest of the zone first by joining the APC. We urge them to give Mr. President the moral support to continue transforming the fortunes of the zone.”
The APC Forum highlighted that key road networks in the North-Central, which were neglected during the PDP administration, are now receiving significant attention from the Federal Government.
Among the roads being upgraded and repaired are the Jos-Akwanga, Makurdi-Oturkpo-Otukpa, Makurdi-Ankpa, Jos-Saminaka/Kaduna, and Minna-Bida roads. Other critical projects include the Ejule-Otukpa, Ganawuri-Manchok, Lokoja-Abuja, Lapai-Agaie-Bida, Birnin-Gwari-Bokani-Mokwa, and Minna-Zungeru-Tegina-Kontagora roads. These infrastructural developments are seen as part of the APC government’s commitment to improving the region’s connectivity and addressing long-standing infrastructural gaps.
“There were little or no federal projects in the North-Central during the PDP government. Major federal roads across the North-Central were neglected and in a dilapidated state for several years without any intervention by the Federal Government,” the statement noted.
The Forum further emphasised the APC’s suitability for the North-Central by pointing to the recent creation of the North-Central Development Commission (NCDC), made possible by the President’s signing of the enactment bill.
“The President’s action showed that he is a listening President. He listened to the cries of the North-Central APC Forum, which had agitated for the creation of a Development Commission for the region, as had been done for the other geo-political zones—for the sake of equity and justice,” the statement observed, adding that the Commission would ensure the accelerated development of the region.
North-Central APC stakeholders have highlighted the region’s significant representation in the current APC-led Federal Government, with several prominent positions, including key ministerial portfolios, granted to leaders from the area.
The statement outlined the following ministries headed by ministers from the North-Central: the Ministry of Justice, led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, from Kwara; the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, headed by Mohammed Idris from Niger State; the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, led by Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda from Plateau; the Ministry of Women Affairs, headed by Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim from Nasarawa; the Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, led by Zephaniah Bitrus Jisalo from the Federal Capital Territory; and the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, headed by Prof. Joseph Utsev from Benue.
These appointments, the Forum emphasised, reflect the APC’s commitment to giving the North-Central a central role in shaping national policies.
“Added to these is the high-profile position of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), given to the North-Central, with Senator George Akume of Benue State holding the office,” the statement said.
The Forum added that the Tinubu-led APC government has made considerable progress in tackling insecurity in the North-Central.
“The current level of insecurity in the North-Central is less than what was obtainable during previous administrations. Before now, it was difficult for our people, who are mostly farmers, to go to their farms because of insecurity. But now, due to the leadership provided by Mr. President, who has given marching orders to the Armed Forces and other security agencies, the people can now go to their farms to cultivate and harvest their crops,” the Forum said.
The Forum, in its call for North-Central political leaders and elders in the opposition to join the APC, pointed out that the PDP leadership had marginalized the party’s key figures from the region.
“North-Central elders like Saraki, Iyorchia Ayu, David Mark, Jonah Jang, Suswam, Ortom, and Babangida Aliyu have been sidelined by the current leadership of the PDP.
“We are not happy that these eminent personalities of the North-Central are being sidelined in their party, the PDP, and that is another reason why we want them to find a home in the APC.
“They are welcome to join the APC anytime. We assure them that they will feel valued and appreciated in the APC, unlike what they are going through in the PDP, which does not even have a future due to the problems in the party.”
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