We’ll give you a free hand, but you’ll carry your cross, Adamu tells APC governors

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday reaffirmed the authority of its governors to lead the state chapters.

However, the party also warned that while the chief executives are free to run the activities of the chapters, they will be held responsible, if problems arise in the chapters.

The National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who hosted the governors at the party national secretariat in Abuja, said the party will uphold the principle of personal responsibility.

The governors were led to the meeting with the National Working Committee (NWC) by the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma.

The Chairman told the governors that their activities, actions and programmes should be guided by the party’s manifesto, urging them to adhere strictly to the party constitution and ensure the delivery of campaign promises.

He said: “For us, anything that we will want to say to you is adherence to the manifesto as much as you can. We have a general framework for the governance of the country and you represent those who fly the flag of the party. It is expected that whatever you do, you will have in mind the manifesto that the party gives the country.

“You as the Chief Executive Officers of the states must key into this manifesto. But there are peculiarities. There are priorities you must have set and you are bound to do as much as you can to meet the expectations of those who voted for us.”

“Adamu observed that the governors have come on board at a very difficult period characterized by the lifting of fuel subsidy, adding that the removal posed a challenge to governors at the state level.

He added: “From national politics, you are the shock absorbers in the various states of the federation. You live with the people. You wake up with the people and you work with them. The expectation is that you could have a better appreciation of their pains as citizens of this country. So, a lot of expectations will be on you as governors of the federating units of this great country.

“As far as the party is concerned, we will give you every cooperation you need. If you have any problem, turn to us and we will give you the best advice we can. But whatever we do with you, you are the one wearing the shoes and know where it pinches.”

The chairman, however, said the governors are lucky to have a listening president like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who has come with the same urge and passion for service delivery.


However, Adamu said: “Whatever you do, do not forget that you will bear your cross. You will bear your cross. We will not as a party stand in your way for a good programme. If someone does so, please draw our attention so that we will stop it.”

Uzodimma assured the party leadership of the forum’s resolve to cooperate with the party by keeping faith with its manifesto.

He said: “I want to assure you that the APC governors understand very clearly that the government each of us is presiding over belongs to the party and we know both at the federal and sub-national level, the government belongs to APC, it is APC-led government.

“Under my watch, we will be very close to the party. The purpose of the forum is to add impetus to the activities of the party and the government. We are only going to act as salesmen that will market the policies and programmes of the government.”

He added: “APC is the only party we’ve got in Nigeria. The governors of APC seem to be the most active in Nigeria. So, my assurance is that we are just constructive partners to work with the party and our loyalty to the party is absolute.”

The governors were led to the meeting by the new PGF Chairman, Senator Hope Uzodinma (Imo). Others in attendance were Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Mohammed Bago (Niger), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Nasir Idris (Kebbi) and Dapo Abiodun (Ogun).