A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’abba, has
resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr Na’abba, from Kano State, was speaker between 1999 and 2003.
He announced his resignation in a letter addressed to the APC Chairman of his Sharada Ward of Kano Municipal Local Government.
“This is to notify you of my resolve to resign from the All
Progressives Congress (APC), effective today 5th December 2018,” he
wrote.
“My decision to resign from the party follows the cavalier
manner in which both the Federal Government, States controlled by the
APC and the APC itself are being run, as a result of which anybody who
has eyes to see only sees doom and not prosperity for our dear country.”
The politician based his decision on the manner congresses and primary elections were conducted in the party.
He said there was clearly no doubt in his mind, and the minds of
visionary Nigerians, that the APC administration is characterised by
“lack of consultation, crass incompetence, lack of vision, arrogance,
and dangerous fixation.”
He made reference to defections in the National Assembly as a sign of the failure of the APC.
“It is a measure of the incompetence of the APC government that after
all is said and done, it has lost a Senate President and a Speaker of
the House Of Representatives and many others for reasons that border on
meanness, lack of simple management skills and capacities and a great
measure of arrogance.”
“It is also a measure of the incompetence
of the party that there is almost no state in the Federation where there
is no conflict .”
“While it is generally accepted that no human
organisation can be rancour-free, it is disheartening that these
conflicts in the party are inflicted by its leaders, some of whom can be
said to be poorer in human qualities than the poorest of men.”
He alleged that governors and some party leaders have hijacked the
party, doing with it as they wish. He accused them of the imposition of
party leaders and subversion of internal democracy and inclusive
governance.
“In their endeavour to perpetuate themselves on the
system, they not only snatched away the political rights of the people
but also blocked all avenues with which and within which they would be
held to account.”
“Because under these conditions no person can
be politically mobile except he becomes a sycophant, it becomes
necessary for me to speak up.”
“This I did many times, unfortunately only to be met with complicit silence.”
He said the malcontent within the party portends a grave danger to the
stability and even existence of Nigeria adding that the situation is not
helped by a president under whose watch all these negative traits are
recurring.
“He instead prefers to give the country a lethargic
and insular leadership informed by grudges, hatred and a general lack of
understanding of what democracy and compassion are all about.
“All these masqueraded as war on corruption.”
Although the former speaker did not state the party he is defecting to, he is expected to join the main opposition party, PDP.
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Politics