By Austin Ajayi, Yola
We lost Adamawa state to PDP because of former governor Bindow’s Marginalisation of Christians In the Party which later lead to the misfortunes at 2019 Polls.
A group under the aggies of he Christian Forum of the All Progressives Congress in Adamawa state said the state chapter of the party, was insensitive and failed to reflect the numerous cultural and religious diversity within the state in the party’s programs.
This nonchalant attitude lead to the party’s collapse at the 2019 general elections and its dismal outing at the subsequent local governments elections in the state.
The stakeholders forum said, the party structure under Bindow’s leadership was lacking inclusiveness at all levels of the party and was discriminating against Christians at various levels of the party structure.
The Christian APC stakeholders made this known in press statement issued to newsmen, Tuesday in Yola, Adamawa state.
The All Progressives Congress stakeholders were concerned that a mischievous and deliberate attempt to silence and relegate key stakeholders from some cultural and religious background in the party by denying them the opportunity to contest on its platform as candidates was a weakness that cost the party the 2019 general elections and the local government election.
The forum arising from its meeting in Yola, said “the present structure of the party which was negatively set against Christians and other interest within the party”, a situation they said needs the immediate rejigging to reflect an all-inclusive APC structure to set the party on a genuine path to reconciliation with all aggrieved members of the APC..
The Christian stakeholders forum which held its meeting to review the state of affairs in the party in view of the outcome of the 2019 general elections submits that, “The participation of Christians in the affairs of APC was very minimal, which eventually eroded a larger chunk of the party’s support base at grassroot levels and imploded the party’s fortunes especially in communities where religious and cultural diversities are critical.
“The restricted participation of other stakeholders was most evidenced by the outcome of the State House of Assembly elections in 2019.
“While the APC has only one chirstian in its eleven honourable Members at the state house of assembly, its rival party fielded about ten Christian candidates in its thirteen members.”
“The present structure and composition of the Executive Committee of the APC in Adamawa State from the Ward to the State level, are skewed against other stakeholders in the Party.
“The above cited gaps, contributed to the lack of penetration, growth and development of the APC.
It added that, “Further evidence of deliberate marginalisation was demonstrated in the composition of the APC Reconciliation Committee where only five Christians were part of the forty stakeholders from the state invited for the emergency meeting of the APC, held in Abuja on 12th September, 2019.
“The subsequent APC reconciliation meeting held at the Lelewal Hotel on 20th September, 2019, followed a similar pattern of the marginalisation of the party’s diversity.”
The Christian stakeholders forum strongly maintained that, “Besides the internal squabbles in the APC, the failure to capture other diversities in the party contributed to its defeat in both the general elections and the Local Government elections in the state.”
