KOGI APC: Those fighting Tinubu are ‘ghosts’

The rumble in Kogi All Progressives Congress (APC) over rumoured choice of Bola Tinubu’s crony, James Faleke, as a Minister in President Muhammadu Buhari’s proposed new cabinet is deepening.

On Tuesday, it was reported that leaders of APC in Kogi State had issued a stern warning to the Presidency, advising it to shelf any thoughts of considering Faleke as a Minister or risk having the party dismembered. The stance of the party elders was conveyed via a statement jointly signed by Alhaji Suleiman Ejibunu and Chief Richard Asaje.

It said, amongst others, “If at all Faleke and his godfather, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, deserve any, not the ministerial slot of Kogi State to avoid serious crisis in the Kogi APC…We are also unequivocally resolute to stop Tinubu’s expansion into Kogi State or any state in the North-Central; we are determined to push out all his cohorts from Kogi come 2018/2019.”

On Wednesday, however, Tinubu and his camp received a major boost as the leadership of the Kogi State chapter of APC denied being parties to any decision that would obstruct the emergence of Faleke as a Minister if, indeed, he was to be so considered by Buhari. It described Tinubu’s traducers as ‘ghost’ members.

Read also: Imo PDP Reps to dump party for APC, meet Gov Okorocha

In a statement signed by all the members of its State Executive Council led by its Chairman, Haddy A. Ametuo, the party said, “From our records at all levels in the state, these self-styled leaders – Alhaji Suleman Ejibunu and Chief Richard Asaje – are ‘ghost’ members of our great party. They, therefore, have no ‘locus standi’ to speak for the party at any level.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has the constitutional power to choose whosoever he deems fit as his cabinet member, without consulting anyone or group. So, if he decides to choose Faleke as his ministerial nominee, we strongly support his choice. Faleke has been a strong financier and pillar of our party in the state since inception.”

The statement added, “We respect the power of the President to freely choose whoever he wants to serve in his cabinet. We also respect the national leadership of Tinubu whose support and influence traverses the national structures of the party. We, the members of Kogi State executive of the APC, strongly condemn the purported publication by these ‘ghost members of APC.”

Tinubu’s towering political structure, especially in the Southwest, has often put him at loggerheads with opponents who want to reshape the power equation in areas where he is seemingly in control. His supporters feel that he had not been adequately compensated for his contributions in the ouster of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which held the reigns of power for sixteen years.

Faleke, an indigene of Kogi State, represents Lagos State in the National Assembly and may fill the vacuum left by the exit of former Minister of Labour , James Ocholli who died in a road accident last year if he gets Buhari’s nod.

 

 

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