APC invites Atiku over call for restructuring

Former Vice Presi­dent Atiku Abubakar may be on a collision course with the leadership of the ruling All Progres­sives Congress over his crit­ical position on various pub­lic issues.

He was subsequently in­vited by the party’s leader­ship to explain himself on his public statements on re­structuring of the nation – which the party found wor­risome.

Indeed, Abubakar on Monday visited the Nation­al Secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and met with the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and members of the Na­tional Working Committee (NWC).

The closed-door meeting was attended by the Gov­ernor of Adamawa State, Muhammad Umar Jubril­la and his aides.

Abubakar, however, declined to speak on the meeting which lasted for over 20 minutes, but The AUTHORITY learnt that it was prompted by the former Vice President’s recent call for the restructuring of Nigeria.

At the presentation of a book, “We Are All Bia­frans” written by a journal­ist, Chido Onumah, in Abu­ja on May 31, 2015, Abubakar said: “When I was invited to chair this occasion, I imme­diately understood that the ti­tle of the book is a metaphor for the legitimate feelings of marginalisation by diverse segments of Nigerians that cut across the country.
“Agitations by many right-thinking Nigerians call for a restructuring and renewal of our federation to make it less centralised, less suffocat­ing and less dictatorial in the affairs of our country’s con­stituent units and localities.
“As some of you may know, I have for a long time advocated the need to re­structure our federation. Our current structure and the practices have been a major impediment to the econom­ic and political development of our country.
“In short, it has not served Nigeria well, and at the risk of reproach, it has not served my part of the country, the North, well. The call for re­structuring is even more rel­evant today in the light of the governance and economic challenges facing us. And the rising tide of agitations, some militant and violent, require a reset in our relationships as a united nation,” he had said.
He specifically said that “President Muhammadu Bu­hari has refused to learn from past administrations.”
An APC source, who spoke on Atiku Abubakar’s meeting with the party lead­ership on condition of ano­nymity, claimed that the par­ty expressed concern over the story attributed to the former vice president on the restruc­turing of Nigeria.
He said the APC leader­ship expressed their dissatis­faction as well as that of the Presidency with the public outburst and his position on restructuring.
The party, it was gath­ered, told Atiku that he should have suggested the is­sue to the party or the Pres­idency as a piece of advice and not to speak to the me­dia about it.
Also, the APC allegedly told him that as a presiden­tial hopeful, anything he says will be taken seriously by Ni­gerians, especially the oppo­sition political parties.
The source further ex­plained that the APC ex­pressed worry that since Atiku canvassed for the re­structuring of the country, many prominent Nigerians have toed his line which the Presidency is not comforta­ble with.


source: authorityngr.com