The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is a party that is in need of a leader who inspires hope. It is no longer news that George Akume, minister of special duties and former governor of Benue state, is a frontliner in contest for the national chairmanship of the party. Regarded by many as a square peg in a square hole. He is today, the best man for the job.
Not many politicians contesting for this plum position have the resume as rich has the former governor of Benue state. No wonder, even though he has not publicly declared his intention to contest for this position, many are of the view that the APC, which is in dire need of repositioning, needs Akume as the best man for the job.
It is evident that Akume would run a vibrant campaign for this position when he accepts to contest and would also run a smart and vibrant administration when voted as the chairman of the APC, because for those who know him, he is a smart and vibrant politician.
Akume possesses the top qualities required to be the next chairman of the party. The leadership qualities he would bring with him as chairman of the APC are many and inexhaustible. But there are those that are germaine in leading the APC to victory as the party forges ahead.
Akume understands the messages encapsuled in the constitution and ideology of the party. He as national chairman knows that his job does not include forming any policy thrust for the party, he would gardly be a liability for this. He would hardly even be seen ruminating publicly about public policy. Akume would as chairman only be seen echoing the position of the president, who is the leader of the party. This would be a complete departure from the past where party chairmen are in conflict with the president over policy issues.
Akume as the APC chair will deliver to the party the demonstrative mastery of machine politics and proving in the process effective as a fixer-footsoldier to the party.
Akume did not jump just quickly to national politics. He has been there since 1999 as first, the executive governor of Benue state from the state civil service where he was a permanent secretary. He left after eight years as governor, he won his elections to become a two-term senator.
There are growing calls for the APC to look, moving forward, on the issue of character, charisma, experience and most importantly charm in its choice of its new national chairman. If and when George Akume decides to contest to be the next national chairman, I think he fits the bill perfectly because he possesses all the attributes mentioned above. The APC has finally rolled out the date for its national convention to elect and put in place national officers to steer the affairs of Africa’s largest party. These officers are members of the party’s national working committee, the highest decision making arm of the party after the national convention and national executive committee.
Also, it is expected that words would come out from the party on where the officers of the various offices would come from, but many believe that as a party formed on the foundation of equity and justice, the zoning formular would be obeyed.
Given the consensus that the expected successor to President Muhammadu Buhari should come from the South, it is natural that the national chairman of the party comes from the North, with particular emphasis on the North central zone.
Aside zoning, APC leaders and supporters are uncertain about what to look out for in electing a new national chairman.There are those who believe that experience in administration should count; that any aspirant to the office of the national chairman should have the proven record of a great administrator of men and resources.
Such an aspirant, this school of thought believes, must have held a noteworthy political office, like that of a governor or its equivalent. George Akume has the requisite experience as a former governor of Benue state. He is also imbued with fresh ideas which is a radical departure from the past approach and a pragmatic and systematic approach to the future type of leadership.
Chief George Akume when he becomes the national chairman has the mein to be a bridge between the centrifugal and centripetal forces between the old and new brigades in the party. Akume as an amiable person would bridge the interplay between these forces for the good of the party. The party this time around does not need a gritty person as national chairman but an amiable aggrandiser of persons rather than an aggravator as chairman and Akume fits the bill.
If what we need at this point in time is an amiable, cool headed, experienced and hardworking national chairman to heal the wounds in the party, Akume is the man and way to go.
It is important for the APC as a party to continue its winning ways across the county. The party must re-oil its winning machine through ideas and leadership vision. The ideals of the founding fathers, if it must be fulfilled and realised through leadership, then George Akume is the answer.
Political parties all over the world are regarded as verritable tools to provide leaderships at all levels of government. The APC is in dire need of improvements in its leadership recruitment processes and the whole world is watching starting from this convention the type of leadership through ideas that will be elected to steer the party to victory. Akume is known as a winner. He is not a neophyte in the political contestations. APC,needs a winner and George Akume is the man.
Unlike politicians who prefer desperate schemes, Akume is known as a man who prefers fence mending resolutions to all members of the APC. He sees members of the party as a family and the leaders as parents. To Akume, the party is always supreme and everyone must be given the platform and never excluded as enshrined in its constitution – a platform to achieve their political dreams.
If we must as a duty keep and nurture the APC as a political party, not for its sake but ours as members, we must make sure by fighting to make the seed of this great party planted and nurtured by its founding fathers yeild the needed fruits. George Akume is a pure democrat who would allow the democratic tenets to reign supreme in the decision making process.That is why the APC needs him now as party chairman at the national level.
Today, there are many roadblocks to the reformation and nurturation of democratic tenets in the APC. We need a chairman in the mould of Akume to fix the rot in the party nationally. It is a fact that there is a growing discontentment among members because of alleged injustices in the past. The party must have a direction or succinctly put the old, negative, corrupt and inept direction of the PDP, must not be brought into the party and so, the APC needs a stabiliser and George Akume is the man.
Adams writes from Abuja
