Chieftains of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Congress for Progress Change (CPC) have faulted the privileges accorded five governors who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The APC national headquarters had told newsmen on Sunday that the five defecting governors of Kano, Adamawa, Sokoto, Kwara and Rivers were being given the privilege to nominate the chairman and five officers each for the state chapters of the party.

This may give them control of the APC, something the foundation leaders in those states have been opposition. Speaking to our Source  in Yola, Abdurrazaq Namdas, who was the running mate to the CAN gubernatorial candidate in the last election, Marcus Gundiri, said the issue of privileges raised by the APC spokesman applies only to Rivers and Kwara.

“The national secretariat told us that the concession does not apply to Kano, Adamawa and Sokoto because the legacy parties are well rooted in these states and that informs the decision of the national secretariat to set up a committee to reconcile the warring parties. Leadership emerges through election, not one person allowed to hand pick the chairman or members of exco,” he said.

“What we want is for the stakeholders in Adamawa, including the governor to sit down and resolve among ourselves who will be the leader. Nyako as governor is already a leader in Adamawa but not of APC. Since he is not contesting for any office, it will be better for him to work with all the parties involved,” he said.

Also, an associate of CPC gubernatorial candidate, General Buba Marwa, Alhaji Musa Kamale, said there was no justification for conceding the state chairmanship position of the party to any of the defecting governors.
“As far as we are concerned Nyako is not yet in APC because he has not followed due process, he has not consulted the legacy party members who surrendered their membership and registration through convention of the parties and resolved to become APC,” he said.
Also, former Kano governor Ibrahim Shekarau said he would not accept any arrangement on power sharing with Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, until all “grey areas” are sorted out.
Speaking through Alhaji Ghali Sadiq, Shekarau said Kwankwaso’s defection to APC is a welcome development but he has decided with his supporters to resist any attempt by anybody to hijack the structure of the party.
“We agree that Kwankwaso’s coming to APC is a welcome development because he is a governor and he is coming in with people and that is what APC wants in order to unseat the PDP.
“However, we are the people that come together to form this party. Therefore, we have made sacrifices for the sake of our state and our people. There is therefore no way that anyone can just come overnight and hijack the party.

“We have to sit with them (Kwankwaso’s group) with the national reconciliation committee and iron out all the grey areas. We have to agree on who becomes what, including allowing our members to be part of the present state executive.”
In Kwara, a faction of the APC loyal to the 2011 governorship candidate of the defunct ACN, Mr. Mohammed Dele Belgore, also kicked against the decision to give privileges to the defecting governors.
Speaking with newsmen  yesterday, an APC chieftain loyal to Belgore, Dr. Saad Omoiya, warned that people might be forced to dump the APC.

“The leadership of APC, by that action they have demonstrated that it is not a party but personally owned grouping, that they are only looking for supporters and cronies to follow them, not a political party,” he said. But a former Chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Alhaji Sulaiman Buhari did not see anything wrong in that decision, saying it is binding on every member since it was the decision of the national leadership.