A frontline national chairmanship aspirant of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Mallam Saliu Mustapha, has promised to promote equity within the party if given opportunity to lead, saying when popular candidates emerge based on their merit, winning an election will be easy.
Mustapha, a business mogul, philanthropist and consummate politician, said under him as the next national chairman, APC will become an open book and not a cabal to itself, adding that the idea of running a man show will become a thing of the past.
The Kwara born politician, who belief in purposeful and progressive leadership vis-a-vis dedication to public service, recently emerged new Turaki of Ilorin Emirate.
Speaking Tuesday in Abuja at an interactive session with Journalists, the former deputy national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) also said there is need to arrive at a zoning formular to reduce acrimony within the ruling party.
“I am bringing a lot on board. I want to see a party that promotes equity, fairness and justice. If we are able to allow popular candidates to emerge and when popular candidates emerge based on their merit, then we don’t suffer the fear of election rigging.
“The problem with placing unpopular candidates over unpopular is that you start thinking of how to rig the general election. And when you rig the general election with a bad product, the end result is bad governance or bad representation.
“I want to bring on board a party that will promotes internal discipline, that will be held to account for their manifesto and their promises, where you have fairness, equity and justice.
“I will ensure popular candidates emerge based on their merit. I will make APC an open book and not a cabal to itself. This idea of one man show does not go well,” Mustapha said.
When asked to speak on his chances against other chairmanship aspirants, Mustapha said: “I believe I have the experience. I believe age is on my side. More importantly, I believe I have the goodwill and the administrative skills. Political party administration is not an executive administrative work.
“As a political party administrator, the most important thing is for you to be able to accommodate everybody, for you to be able to give the listening ears and to be able to temper justice because you must have at the back of your mind, that being a chairman of a party is not where it ends. The most important thing is for your party to be victorious and for you to deliver the dividends or the promises of your manifesto.
“So, like I said, I want to come on board to do things differently. Yes, APC has done well, but I believe there is room for improvement.”
Speaking on how to keep APC united, the founder of the Saliu Mustapha foundation said if given the opportunity to become the next national chairman, “APC will not be a cabal to itself. It will be an open book. And when you have an open book, then there is no room for a lot of dissenting minds or voices.
“So there is a lot I will do to keep APC as one. My goodwill, my experience, my way of administration, which will be teamwork. This idea of one man show does not go well. That is why, I always tell people sometimes, a political party administrator is somebody who gives people the listening ear, as chairman of a party, you must listen to what people want to say. Which I believe I have this in me.”
When asked to comment on his relationship with his governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq in Kwara, the former governorship aspirant in Kwara described the relationship as cordial.
“I share a very cordial relationship with the Governor of Kwara, Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman. If you cast your mind back, I was also an aspirant for the governorship seat of Kwara. Due to some irregularities in the party then, I was disqualified. I did not go to court because I felt we are one and the same.
“I was looking at the bigger days. It was based on our friendly understanding that made me not go to court and we still share the same as I am talking to you. During my turbaning, he was not only there in person, he escorted me throughout the traditional rites.”
