'It is dictatorial' - Dr Abati fires after reports emerged President Tinubu handpicked Ganduje as new APC Chair

The photo used to illustrate the story

Popular journalist and Arise TV morning show host, Dr. Reuben Abati believes that it is undemocratic for President Bola Tinubu to hand-pick individuals who lead the political party and the National Assembly.

Dr. Abati made the comment on Thursday, July 20 following reports that former Kano Governor Umar Ganduje has been tipped to become the interim chairman pending the party's national convention later this year.

According to him, it is dictatorial for the President to meddle in matters of such while stressing that the "pattern, a trend that we have seen in Nigerian politics that whoever becomes president dictates who the principal officers in the National Assembly must not be."

Recall, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje was yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and three governors who are members of the APC.

Barring any last-minute changes, the former governor will be named as interim national chairman of the ruling party, pending the conduct of the convention of the party later in the year, Daily Trust reports.

He said: "If you look at the United States or the UK, the National Party chairmen do not behave like how our behave over here because there is a different political party structure in the same democracy that we want to emulate."

"Political parties are supposed to be agents for the consolidation of democracy - to serve as a bridge between society and the people. But here, people see it as an opportunity for personal relevance and that is why we always run into trouble."

"The second issue is that we are witnessing a situation, a pattern, a trend that we have seen in Nigerian politics that whoever becomes president dictates who the principal officers in the National Assembly must not be."

"Every time what you hear this time around is that its President Tinubu who has dictated that these are people who are to be principal officers. That is dictatorship and we must call it out."