Former Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) might cease to exist after the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
Okorocha, a senator representing Imo west, disclosed this on Saturday at the Kano government house on a visit to the governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje.
He said the party will remain if steps are being put in place to strengthen the leadership of the APC.
“A political party should be a group of people who share common political interests and beliefs. People who pursue a common goal or common objective for the good of the common man,” Okorocha said in quotes.
“That will be my understanding of a political party, but any political party that is full of internal crisis is no longer a political party in the real sense of the word.
“This idea of crisis and commotion shows that the said party does not have a common ideology. If the ideology is one and you believe in one thing, there should not be reason for disagreement at that level. You might have a minor disagreement, but when it comes to the issue of do-or-die, it is no longer a political party.
“I have said this earlier, APC is a party that we hurriedly put together when we were governors because we felt that the government at that time was not living up to expectations and we wanted to make sure that we brought about change at that time.
“That is why we came together and formed the All Progressive Congress, and we ensured that the party got power in 2015. That was how it was then and we achieved that.
“Right now, I think we should continue with the same pace that we started with in 2015 election but that doesn’t seem to be the case. President Muhammadu Buhari gave character to APC. He brought his integrity to bear on the party. He made the party what it is in the northern part of the country and the masses of the North who saw him as a true leader, and we all rode on that to achieve that victory, but after the credibility of Buhari into this party, there seems to be no alternative in the same manner that will drive this party to 2023 victory.
“This is why I expressed my concern that if we are not very careful, APC might go with Buhari in 2023, and that will be a very unfortunate situation for the founding fathers of APC. The party needs to show purposeful leadership, show character.”
Furthermore, Okorocha spoke about the feud between governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, and national chairman of the APC, Adam Oshimhole.
He said in quotes: “So, let us see what we can do in this country to redefine what we mean by internal democracy. This why people have options, this is why we don’t believe in one party system. We must have different political parties and identify the one that is in line with your vision, the one that is line with his political believe.
“So, until we have such a political party that is more like a family in their belief, then we are still growing our democracy. Talking about what is happening in Edo state, it is unfortunate but a true political party cannot work against itself.
“So, I want to advise them to reconcile and resolve their differences. The truth is that a party that is divided can never stand.”
Okay.ng recalls that thugs on Saturday, November 2, attacked the convoy of Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki; Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu; and Chairman, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Aderemi Makanjuola at the residence of the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, in Iyamho, Edo State.
Obaseki after the incident reacted saying that it was shameful for such an attack to take place at the residence of the National Chairman of the ruling party in the state.
