Former military Head of State and a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari, said on Tuesday that he has not ruled out his chances of running for the 2015 Presidential election, insisting that such a decision would be tied to the decision of the party.
“My decision will be tied to the constitution of the APC; if the party chooses me as its candidate, I will contest, if they do not consider me, I will not contest but I will still support the party.
“My decision to run for 2015 will solely be the party’s decision,” he said.
Buhari, who was Presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the last general election spoke while receiving members of the Democratic Emancipation Movement (DEM) who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Kaduna.
Speaking on the journey leading to emergence of APC, Buhari said: “I thought about this merger since 2007. This is because I found out that none of the opposition parties can challenge PDP successfully.
“But if we come together with those that have representation at the National Assembly and the Houses of Assembly and go back to sensitise our constituents, even if the PDP wants to rig they would find it impossible to do so.
“I discovered that by being so divided, we made ourselves very vulnerable. So, the best way to survive and for this country to stabilise, we just have to come together and I believe along the line we made necessary sacrifices,” he added.
Speaking on the registration of the APC, Buhari attributed the feat to the impartial role played by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the events leading to the eventual approval of the party.
Indeed, he praised the commission’s leadership to high heavens over the achievement.
He said the main focus of the APC at the moment would be to mobilise Nigerians towards pushing the ruling PDP out of power in 2015.
“To be honest, we have to thank INEC, because when we thought we have applied according to the 2010 Electoral Act, INEC drew our attention to the section that said there must be a headquarters at the federal capital that is good enough to be called the headquarters of a national party, then our constitution, our manifesto, the harmonisation of the main three parties.
“We thought that the initial nine signatories were enough to manage the party in the interim between registration and convention, but INEC advised us and told us that we need to get between at least 25 to 35 people to come out from the whole geo-political zones to sign.
“If the INEC wanted to be wicked, they could have kept mute and just send us a letter that our application was not complete, they could have done that.
“But for them to send us an observation which was later corrected, I believe they have been very impartial and we thank them for that,” Buhari said.
According to him, “The tension had already come and gone; people now think that they have viable alternative. These feelings and belief are aboard across the country, not only in the North or in the South West.
“There is a good feeling about the party in all the political zones of the country.
“Our next important step is the mobilisation of constituencies to make sure that elections are conducted according to law.
“In 2003, 2007, 2011, a lot of disgraceful things happened during those election years. We are trying now to put the structure of APC on the ground from the ward level to the national, with the hope of giving Nigerians hope and capturing power.
“Those that are going to be in charge of the party from now to the convention are the people that are very committed to the party’s stabilisation and political strength of the country.
“We have started working hard to ensure that we avoid problems.”
Buhari attributed the registration of APC and others to efforts of late Gani Fawehinmi, saying “it was late Gani Fawehinmi who took the letter I wrote and went to Supreme Court to stop the ruling party from denying other parties registration.
“We all thank Gani Fawehinmi for his foresight to challenge the matter at the Supreme Court,” he said.
Buhari said APC was determined to give Nigerians a new lease life and hope.
Speaking earlier, leader of the Democratic Emancipation Movement, Matamaki Tom Maiyashi, said Nigerians are aware of several efforts aimed at sabotaging the registration of APC.
Meanwhile, APC said on Tuesday that it was not bothered about the identity of its Presidential flag-bearer in 2015, adding that the office of the Presidency was not its priority for now.
Interim National Chairman of the party, Bisi Akande, said this at the inauguration of the national interim management of APC in Abuja on Tuesday.
When asked of the position of the party on the Presidency, Akande said: “We have been listening to people talking about the Presidency. We have not reached that stage, until after our national convention which is around November or December.
“By then, we shall be talking about the Presidency. The only exception is Anambra State. We are holding congresses.”
Akande, at the briefing where other national officers were present, also announced that the new party would embark on membership drive to register new members nationwide.
He said the party would use five members for each of the 8,000 wards nationwide for the registration drive.
“I am sure by October or November, we should have completed the exercise,” he said.
On ideology of the APC, Akande said: “We have a manifesto but which needs a lot of fine-tuning and by the time we do, it would not be difficult for Nigerians to know where we belong but by the attitudes of our 11 Governors, you should have seen where we belong as a party.”
In a related development, Ekiti State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Makanjuola Ogundipe, on Tuesday described APC as being “dead on arrival”, adding that “APC is just a new baby who cannot stand the heat of this election.”
According to Ogundipe, “ACN (Action Congress of Nigeria) only changed its name to APC because the members and leaders are ashamed of their past.”
The PDP chieftain spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, on Tuesday following a peace meeting between the warring factions of the party in Ekiti State brokered by its national secretariat.
Ogundipe encouraged party members to show interest in the 2014 governorship race, just as he advised them to always concur with whatever position taken by the leadership in order not to erode the party’s supremacy.
With the successful brokering of peace, all the suspended members, including former Governor of the state, Ayodele Fasyose, have now been brought back into the party’s fold.
In an enlarged meeting of stakeholders at the popular Ojujoda Hotel in Ado-Ekiti, a four-man national PDP delegation led by Umar Damagum expressed joy that all aggrieved members have resolved to work together in the overall interest of the party.
Although Damagun did not address the controversial issue of consensus arrangement in choosing party candidate for the coming governorship election which almost tore the party apart in the state, he said all warring groups attended the meeting.
He said that points to the fact that they were determined to embrace peace.
“I am happy and confident that we are more than resolved after this meeting in Ekiti PDP to take what belongs to us in 2014, and when the time comes, the leadership of our party will do what is right,” Damagun added.
The PDP chieftain said his coming was a confirmation that the suspension placed on some of the members as well as officials of the party in Ekiti have been quashed.
While Fayose and his cronies, like PDP state Secretary, Tope
Aluko, Publicity Secretary, Kola Oluwawole, and Women Leader, Busola Oyebode, were suspended for anti-party activities, the group also in a counter move suspended the chairman for alleged bribery and highhandedness.
Damagum, who addressed newsmen after the parley, expressed happiness on the progress made, saying the party will wax stronger to confront the APC in the impending governorship battle in Ekiti State.