APC: I stand better chance ahead other chairmanship aspirants – Mustapha

  

A top All Progressives Congress(APC)national chairman ship aspirant, Mallam Salihu Mustapha, has said the Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/ Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) was on course in its given assignment.

He said contrary to expectations in certain quarters, there was no uncertainty in the direction of the party under Buni’s watch.

Mustapha said this at an interactive session with journalists recently in Lagos.

He said: “There should be no blame game at this stage in our party. Honestly, there should be no blame game.  Don’t forget the caretaker committee has the mandate to stabilise the party, and that Governor Buni is doing creditably well. I think we should give it to him.  This is not the time to be pointing accusing fingers. We must come together to ensure the committee realises its set objective of stabilising the party.

“Yes, the committee is on course. No uncertainty in party direction. We are on the right course and we must not allow this collective effort to be derailed. The prayer is that we(referring to his chances)  come out victorious so we, as a party, under my watch In shaa Allah,  can deliver dividends of democracy to Nigeria beyond the tenure of the present administration.”

On what he hopes to do differently if he emerges as the party’s chair, Mustapha, who was the deputy national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change(CPC) led by Buhari,  said “what I will do differently is looking at the future via what is obtainable now.

“It is against this background that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made a 25-year-old man its national youth leader. So, if making a woman the national chairman is a strategy for a party to win election, why not?”

Assuring of  a brighter chance over all fellow top contenders, the youthful politician said “my youthful age is an added advantage.  Any  party that wants to win in 2023 has to factor in the young generation because 75 per cent of the votes belong to the youths.

“The ENDSARS has revealed some lessons. The message the ENDSARS was trying to pass before it was hijacked and mismanaged was that the youth should be effectively be part in the scheme of things. So, for me, having seen it all, I will perfectly fit into ensuring a kind of synergy between the old and the youth.”

While priding himself as having the endorsement of  party stakeholders, Mustapha also  said he looked forward to being  the chairman for all.

 “I want to be the chairman for all, and those contesting with me will be the first people I would approach after the election for them to buy into my programmes,” he said.

The APC chieftain also identified the imposition of candidates on political parties as a major source of conflict in the nation’s polity, saying this comes with a consequence.

“We have seen several cases of imposition of unpopular candidates within our polity. You, as  will suffer within and the party will also suffer outside because the ultimate of any political contest is to win election after which you settle down to good governance,” Mustapha further added.

The former governorship aspirant in Kwara state also promised to bring about a leadership  that would ensure equity and justice in the party and hold governors accountable to their manifestoes.