With Senate President from Yobe, Taraba should produce APC National Secretary'- Groups insists

 ‎
The Coalition of APC Support Groups in the North East has called on the leadership of the All Progressive Congress APC to be fair in its decision on state which will provide the next National Secretary of the party, urging leaders of the party to stop cheating Taraba State.

According to the group, it would be unfair to zone the position of the party's National Secretary to Yobe State despite the deficit of positions in other APC loyal states from the North-East zone.

The group said with the emergence of Senator Ahmed Lawan from Yobe State as Senate President, Taraba State should be allowed to produce the next National Secretary of the APC.

The Coalition Coordinator  Abdulhamid Yazeed  in a statement on Wednesday said, "We are appealing to the NWC of APC to rescind it's decision that Yobe should bring replacement for the former National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni who was elected governor of Yobe State, Senate President  Senator Ahmed Lawan should "pacify Borno and Yobe to concede the office of the National Secretary to  Taraba state in appreciation of the supports it has  gotten from Taraba state."

The APC group also noted that it is going to be injustice should Yobe state produce the National Secretary after clinching the Senate President zoned to the North East.

"Yobe state has just produce the Senate President with overwhelming supports from all the North Eastern  states  and Taraba does not have an APC governor at the moment. Taraba do not have any representative in the Buhari government and in  the APC leadership despite its support for the party. It is also on record, that President Muhammadu Buhari enjoys an overwhelming followership in Taraba State. Ever since Mr. President joined partisan politics and contested the 2003 presidential election, the Taraba State electorate has massively voted for him in a consistent pattern, up to the 2019 general elections. In the last election we gave the President 48 percent of the total votes cast but  Taraba State APC is grossly marginalized even in the party.

"We are worried about the non inclusion of Taraba state in the political arrangement of the APC. Currently, Taraba state does not have any representative in the National Working Committee of the APC as has been the case from the party’s inception, due cognizance should be accorded to Taraba State for office of the national secretary now.
"In particular, we passionately appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Leader of our great party, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Senate President Ahmed Lawan and all other  APC top echelon, to kindly consider the candidature of  Barrister Mohammed Bello Mustapha from Taraba State on the basis of not only his personality, capabilities and sterling pedigree but fairness and equity our party is known for."

Furthermore, the group bemoaned what it described as marginalization of Taraba state in terms of federal appointments to reflect federal character as enshrined in the nation's constitution.

"Even in governance, Taraba state has been grossly marginalized, the state for Nine months does not have a minister in the last Federal Executive Council, the state does not have Chief Executive of any Federal Government agencies  since the APC takes over in 2015." the group added.

"We strongly believe in the capacity and disposition of Mr. President and the APC hierarchy, to uphold the tenets of fairness and equity, therefore we wholly ascribe the unusual exclusion of Taraba State from the constitution of the previous federal administration, as an oversight which should be corrected immediately.''