Nasarawa Stakeholders Call On Al-Makura To Vie For National APC Chairmanship
Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have issued a clarion call for Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura to vie for the position of National Chairman of their party.
They made this call during a press conference organised by the Progressives for Umaru Tanko Al-Makura 2021 which held at the Lafia City Hall, Shendam Road Lafia, Nasarawa State.
Presenting the press statement chief convener of the group and former Member representing Wamba at the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Honourable Makpa Malla said considering the forthcoming special national convention of the APC which is expected to produce substantive members of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party, it was important that they came out early enough to make their position known.
He said their group came about as a result of various calls on social media and other sections of the media for Senator Al-Makura to present himself to be elected to lead APC at the national level.
Hon. Makpa Malla said they believe strongly in Senator Al-Makura because of his “factual, verifiable records of sound leadership across board and his inclusive style of managing human resources.
“This is without prejudice also to the other candidates that may be aspiring for the same position of the National Chairman of the party from Nasarawa State.
“For those of us that are keen observers and watchers and students of the life and the strides and the actions and the achievements of Alhaji Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, you will recall that Alhaji Umaru Tanko Al-Makura is not a greenhorn in the political space. He is not a neophyte. He is not a newcomer. He has been around for a very long time.”
The statement went further to mention positions that have been occupied by Al-Makura right from Nigeria’s Second Republic when he was yet a young man.
It also spoke about how in 2011, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura was the only Governor to emerge from the now defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a new political party at the time, defeating the incumbent PDP government in Nasarawa State.
According to the statement, this is a testimony of the political weight of Senator Al-Makura which also gave the CPC a stronger position during the merger of the parties that formed the APC in 2013.
It now stated that considering all the achievements of Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, he is the perfect person to rebuild a more united and prosperous party.
Prior to the reading of the press statement, there were goodwill messages from other stalwarts of the APC who were present.
In his welcome address, Secretary of the Nasarawa State APC caretaker committee, Alhaji Aliyu Bello said their move became necessary because there are a lot of calls from other states for Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura to contest for national chairmanship during the next convention of the party. According to him, Nasarawa State should not be left behind.
He called on all party members present to ensure they spread the message all around to ensure success.
Also speaking, a former Secretary to the Nasarawa State Government (SSG), Mr Timothy Anjide said it was no longer about Senator Al-Makura wanting to be National Chairman. He said it was about the APC in Nasarawa State, pushing their best forward to occupy the coveted position as according to him, they were not even seeking for Senator Al-Makura’s consent.
He then called on all party faithful to devote themselves to what he described as a tough road ahead with sincere and vigorous campaigns.
Others who spoke at the event lent their voices to appeal to the immediate past Governor of Nasarawa State to accept their call describing him as the best person to champion the next phase in the life of the APC.
The meeting was attended by a good number of Nasarawa State APC stalwarts including former members of the State House of Assembly, former members of the State Executive Council, some former and serving members of the various Local Government Councils in the State including the current Chairmen of Lafia and Nassarawa Eggon LGCs.
You will recall that there have been calls from various personalities including the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, Engineer Abdullahi Sule for the All Progressives Congress in the spirit of fairness to allow the next National Chairman of the party to come from the CPC block that formed the party with Senator Al-Makura being a frontrunner for the position.
