In a move to douse tensions within the All Progressives Congress (APC), National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu on Monday engaged APC states’ Chairmen to brief them on his stewardship and soon-to-be-formed cabinet of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Speaking at the opening session of the parley which came a few days after he met state governors, Adamu also sought political patronage from President Bola Tinubu for party stakeholders.
While he noted that all APC members cannot get appointments to serve in government, Adamu said in the next two months, the true picture of board vacancies would emerge.
He said; “Every APC member has an inherent right to hope to get some patronage and we cannot all get one here. We cannot all be ministers of government. We cannot all end up as board members, directors of parastatals and MDAs across the country. But we do expect some patronage from the government that we are forming.
“The President has just started and he is doing his extensive consultations before coming up with his nominees for Ministers. The nomination of the Ministers will come first. They will go through their screening until they are pronounced after they have been submitted before Mr. President and Mr President will formally appoint his Ministers and swear them in.
“Only after doing that will he disclose each of them to the country to know which Minister is going to which ministry and how many ministries we are going to have. After that is done, the Ministers assume office and make a comprehensive report from all the MDAs under them before we can know what vacancies exist for Chief Executives, directors and part-time directors. These are some of the exercises that will take place within the next two months. It cannot happen by next week but certainly, that is what we should be expecting.
“It is our hope and prayers that Mr President will come along with us in that regard and strengthen the relationship of the party in the states and the national level will enjoy some level of patronage in the new government”, Adamu added.
Speaking on behalf of the Forum of APC State Chairmen, Secretary of the Forum and Chairman, Cross River State APC, Alphonsus Oga restated the confidence of the Forum in the Adamu-led NWC.
He said; “This is a moment where rumours and blackmail can thrive, but as a party, there is only one APC, and we came again in solidarity to say we are strongly behind our National Chairman and the NWC”.
On the issue of federal appointments, Oga said the state chapters of the party were asked to consult with their respective governors or relevant stakeholders in non-APC states to recommend nominees to the president.
“Whatever you might have heard about board membership, those letters were addressed to state chairmen, and every state chairman is loyal to his State governor and where there is no governor, they are loyal to the stakeholders. There is no such crisis, in fact, we must commend Mr President for keeping to his promise of saying that State chairmen should be captains of these ships and I can assure you that letters were addressed to us”, he stated.
