There is crisis in APC, says deputy spokesman

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Timi Frank, says a festering crisis, brewing in the ruling party has the potential of destroying it.

Frank said this at a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday, where he claimed that there were internal disputes in the APC despite the attempts of its leaders to project an image of cohesion.

He explained that he had warned of a crisis in the Bayelsa State chapter of the APC before and after the governorship election in the state, adding that his warning was not taken seriously.

APC data Centre

He said, “I spoke about my state in Bayelsa, people ignored me. I’m speaking again; it would happen soon at the national level that these things we are hiding have started already.

“If anybody should tell you there’s no division even at the national level, they’re telling lies. I can tell you there are issues; there are very critical issues.

“The issue of the Senate President is still lingering; nobody is saying anything at the national level, but I tell you, any Nigerian that knows will tell you very clearly that with the body language of our party as of today, if we are not careful, we are going to lose our popularity.

“It will be a very big disgrace that we have hands that are not competent at the centre to harmonise the aggrieved persons and make us to move forward.

“So, there is crisis in the party. We have too many divisions right now within the party.  So, I won’t be scared to speak; that is my personal opinion and I’ve spoken again and I will continue to speak out.”

But the National Secretary of the party, Mai Mala Buni, in a statement late on Thursday dismissed Frank’s assertions, stated that the allegations were “bogus” and should be disregarded.

Buni added, “The bogus and misleading allegations are unnecessary distractions to the party’s resolve to fully support the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to deliver on the motley promises made by our great party to the electorate.

“The APC national leadership remains united and solidly committed to the task of bringing cohesion to the party at all levels.

“Recently, the APC held its National Caucus and National Executive Committee meetings where positive and far-reaching decisions were collectively taken by the party’s leadership to drive the party forward.”

The statement further read, “The party will not deny anybody or interest the right to seek justice where he feels this has been denied him. However, we sincerely appeal that we all play by the rules in our engagements and be guided in our utterances.

“The public is advised not to misinterpret or confuse Mr. Timi Frank’s personal opinion to be the official position of the party or the true reflection of what is happening inside the party.

“For the umpteenth time, only the APC National Chairman and the National Secretary are authorised to officially speak for the party.”

There is crisis in APC, says deputy spokesman

Oyegun, Timi Frank clash over spokesman"s position

ABUJA – National chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Oyegun and Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Timi Frank have locked horns over who speaks for the party as the National Publicity Secretary of the party upon the exit of Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

APC National Chairman, Odigie Oyegun

While Oyegun stated that the mantle has fallen on him and the National Secretary of the party, Mai Buni, Frank insisted that he was constitutionally authorized to step into the shoes of his former principal, Lai Mohammed who is now the Minister of Information.

Oyegun during a press briefing on the state of the party and other contemporary issues in the polity was pressed by Journalists to specifically state who speaks for the party at the moment.

The question followed difficulties encountered by Journalists when making enquiries from the party.

Speaking, Oyegun stated that it was either himself or the national secretary that had the right to officially speak for the party.

He said “It was a great loss of Lai Mohammed to the Executive but he’s still within the system. He was truly very special and unique but as we speak, the National Secretary of the party has largely on temporary basis taking up the job of communication to the press and myself (as the Chairman) is always available to any enquiry.

“I will start by saying who does not speak for the party, the person you are talking about does not speak for the party. Secondly, if there are any issues that need clarification for now, pending when we have a substantive publicity secretary, the national secretary will do so for the party and also when I speak, i speak for the party. It is as simple as that”.

But reacting in another press briefing, Frank insisted that he was the National publicity secretary under Acting capacity.

He said outside of him, any other person in the party issuing statement was doing so under personal capacity.

“Our party constitution is very clear, anybody that does not understand the party constitution within the party or anybody that is still thinking who is the acting spokesperson or acting spokesperson.

“Today I am the spokesperson of the party, I’m the acting spokesperson of the party I can tell you without fear or favour that when the substantive person in the office of the national chairman or the national secretary or anybody that is not there, the deputy takes over automatically.

“This is the principle of the party constitution we have this also existing today in the PDP, you could see that when Muazu was not there Secondus today is acting for the party, so there is no difference, Lai Mohammad Is not there so automatically I’m the acting spokesperson of this party, so I can tell you without fear or favour.

“Any other person issuing a statement is doing that maybe on a personal capacity but constitutionally I am the acting spokesperson of the party. It’s not something I need to lobby for, it is something meant to be the trend and I stand by it.”, he said.

Speaking on party’s chances of winning the Bayelsa Governorship election, Frank said that brighter chances await the party if the stakeholders can buckle up and overcome their past mistakes.

He stated that the party lost some local governments as a result of internal strives in the party.

“I think this was the beginning of the battle. The battle is not yet over and we are waiting for INEC to give us a new date by the grace of God, that local government is a very big one and has a lot of votes.

“We must have lost in the other 6 local governments as at now but we are still hopeful that if we come together as a party, I can tell you clearly that the only reason why even lost the local governments we have lost, before today I have made it very clear that there are internal crisis in Bayelsa.

“Till today, our governorship candidate after the primaries has not spoken to me, up till today. There are so many people aggrieved in the party. But again there are so many who do not have the guts to speak out and that is why we have lost in those areas we have lost.

“If we came together as one if we have united ourselves before the election and every member happy, what happened in Bayelsa would not have happened.

“We are still hopeful that if we go back, I pray that candidate himself would correct whatever loopholes or mistake he must have done you know to put our party in this situation.

Now that we are expecting a local government that has a huge vote, if we do very well within this very short period to correct our wrongs I believe that we can still get victory”, he said.

Oyegun, Timi Frank clash over spokesman"s position

Atone for your mistakes, return looted funds, APC tells PDP

The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday asked the People Democratic Party (PDP) to atone for its mistakes of the last 16 years by returning public funds allegedly looted by its members .

APC data Centre

The APC said this is the is the only way Nigerians will believe that the party is serious about rebranding.

Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Timi Frank said in a statement last night that anything short of PDP atoning for its mistakes and returning the looted funds will amount to playing the ostrich.

Frank described the PDP as a sinking party that cannot be redeemed and which will soon disappear from the nation’s political space.

He said that the opposition party’s remarks on the composition of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet was a clear sign of the frustrations of a political party headed for extinction.

The PDP had criticised the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari as not being inspirational, adding that Nigerians should not expect any changes, but the APC said while the PDP may chose to see nothing good in the new cabinet, a close look at the cabinet would show a deviation of the past where political frivolities took precedence over national interest as was the case during the ‘devastating’ years of PDP’s reign.

Frank said : “a careful look at PMB’s cabinet will reveal a well-marshalled and highly articulated reorganisation of ministries that have competent hands put in place to ensure delivery of set goals and objective of the APC -led government in line with the change mantra of the government.

“What we have in place is a deviation from the past where the PDP -led government constituted a government of convenience, not minding the devastating effects and  if the Nigerian people were better off.

“The change in cabinet style will reflect in the execution of government policies for which in few months to come Nigerians will begin to feel the impacts and appreciate the change promised them by our Party and President.

“For a party which only placed the resources of our nation for the past 16 years  in the hands of select individuals, who entrenched poverty and reduced the quality and standards of our lives, begging Nigerians must not be enough. The must have the courage to return all our looted funds. Only then can Nigerians take them serious.

“The President has manifested through his cabinet that he is serious at revamping the Nigerian economy and ensuring that the wasted years of the PDP must never be allowed to continue. What he needs is the nation’s collective and full support and  not the distractions of rebirth- seeking party”.

Atone for your mistakes, return looted funds, APC tells PDP

Those calling for Saraki"s resignation are myopic - APC

ABUJA – Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Comrade Timi Frank, on Sunday, described those calling on the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, to resign as ignorant and myopic.

Bukola Saraki

Frank spoke on the heels of a call for resignation by a body known as “Northern Ethnic Nationalities Unity Congress (NENUC)”, led by one Bako Benjamin

In a statement in Abuja, Frank said that the purported resignation threat on the account of unproven allegations, does not hold water, saying that the masterminds were suffering from acute kwashiorkor in terms of knowledge.

He stated that the body does not exist and “therefore cannot purportedly speak on behalf of northern youths as “you cannot put something on nothing”, even as he called the convener a shadowy figure.

He said: “At best, NENUC is an impostor organisation hurriedly packaged to do a dirty job the behest of Saraki’s traducers, with the sole aim of assailing his towering image.

“Where were they when Saraki was governor? Where were they when he was chairman of the Nigeria Gogernor’s Forum (NGF)? Where were they when he blew the whistle on the fuel subsidy scam in the 7th Senate? Where were they when he contested and was elected Senate President?

“Let failed politicians not seek to make political capital from this set up against Saraki called asset declaration trial.”

“Their claim to have mobilized Nigerians to protest, should Saraki not heed their call to resign in three days, shows their level of desperation to deliver on the smear contract they have been awarded.

“Their ignorance of the law, that a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, is also most profound.

“Is the judiciary no longer the last hope of the people? Saraki had faulted the charges against him as being politically motivated. He had also gone to the Federal High Court to seek redress.

“But those who are eager to get him out will do everything to stop the wheel of justice in this case, hence the warrant of arrest issued by the Code of Conduct Tribunal and the spurious calls for his resignation.

“Why the hurry to try Saraki, when it is apparent that the Chairman of CCT, Danlandi Umar, himself swimming in a pool of corruption allegations, would rather disobey the orders of a superior court of record that ordered that all parties to the case should appear before it,” he stated.

The Deputy Publicity Secretary further accused the group of attempting to trample on the rights of the senate president, calling Nigerians o disregard the body.

“The position of NENUC, even though does not represent the views of the people of North, are reminiscent of our dark past for which we pray never to return or experience in the annals of this country.

“Let this amorphous association and its backers know that we are in a democracy and not under a dictatorship as they would have wished.

“They have threatened to protest which I doubt because it is diversionary, but should they attempt it, they will meet Nigerians on the streets who will match them words for words and action for action,” he said.

Those calling for Saraki"s resignation are myopic - APC