We can’t allow ‘strongmen’ to hijack APC - Governor Buni declares

Mai Mala Buni, the governor of Yobe state and chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) caretaker/extraordinary convention planning committee, has declared that his leadership would not allow any “strong man” to hijack the party.

Daily Trust reports that Buni also said the caretaker committee was more interested in seeking solutions to the challenges facing the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Legit.ng gathered that he stated this during an interactive session with journalists on Friday, December 18, in Abuja with the theme: “Contestation a veritable process in deepening democratic norms, values and culture: The APC story.”

Buni who was represented by the secretary of the caretaker committee, John Akpanudoedehe, said disputes in political party settings occurred due to a lack of internal democracy.

He said:

“No man was born a slave, so resistance to oppressive tendencies is inherent in every human being. When pushed to the wall, he/she will fight back and oftentimes the party will be distracted and this leads to avoidable loss of elections.“These skewed selection processes could occur due to the politics of godfatherism; where a certain strong man is allowed his way in return for patronage to the party or leaders of the party. The conventional system of one strong man in politics is no longer fashionable in the APC under me.”Speaking at the event, the Senate president, Ahmed Lawan, admitted that there were challenges in the party, but said leaders were not distracted or overwhelmed by the challenges.