We must cooperate with state governors to move APC forward, he says
By Joe Nwankwo
Ahead of February 26th National Convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), frontline national chairmanship aspirant, Sen. Mohammed Sani Musa, has boasted to revolutionize the party to make it a model for other political parties in the country, if elected.
Speaking exclusively to The AUTHORITY Sen. Musa said his intention to lead the APC was borne out of the desire to make APC the “gold standard” of all political parties in Africa.
“My vision is to see a political party structure that is institutionalized in the APC, and not only that but to provide the parameters for other parties learn and copy,” he said.
He said that he intends to do things differently and in accordance with the dictates of the constitution and to run political parties as corporate entities by following the letters of the constitution and guidelines of the party.
“There is nothing spectacular about party administration; the experience you have in leading successfully an organization is the same you need to lead a political party
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“It all depends on the qualities you have. You cannot tell me that because you are running APC that means you cannot run another entity, state government or a country? “It is all about the qualities you have. What we are talking about is the innovations that would be able to develop the party and restructure the internal workings of the party or entity that you are leading.
“Managing a political party is not different from being a politician that contested an election and won, defeating an incumbent senator. “It is just about how you are structured what you have upstairs, what are you bringing to the table? “I believe I have the visionary ideas of a realist that can come to the APC and make it a party that is anchored on the tenets of democracy”.
The Senate Services Committee Chairman further stated that “what I would do differently is to initiate a kind of new order in the APC. “The first thing I would do as National Chairman is to bring the party to constitutionality by making sure all we do are within the tenets of the party’s rules, guidelines, full implementation of the party’s manifesto and other conventions or treaties agreed. “I will make APC a participatory one that carries every stakeholder along. “I will try to inculcate in the party an affirmative action for women and a leadership training programme for the youths.
“APC will have a leadership that will allow and give everyone in the different organs of the party their right of place. “If I can work hard to provide something that aid our political development and in a country of over 200million people. Why will I not be proud to say that I have done it, and I can definitely lead a political party with 40 million followers”.
“If today I am elected as the National Chairman and a leader of the party, I should not look at you and say you are mine or that you are not mine because we have all subscribed to be members of the APC as our political party and we should be able to abide by whatever terms that binds us together, that is one, political parties are supposed to groom leaders, but are they really grooming leaders in our parties today? “Most political parties today instead of grooming leaders will wait until the election period and then they groom thugs and they thereby make our youths irrelevant. I want to make the Nigerian youths to own the Nigerian politics.“I have always spoken about lack of internal democracy in our political parties, when I started this interview I told you guys that one of my cardinal objectives is to restore internal democracy in APC”.
On his relationship with state governors he pointed out “the governors are a very strategic organ of the party, we need all to build the party together.
“The governors needs the party as much as the party needs the governors. “So we must work together as they are a very strategic organ of the party that cannot be done without”.*Read details of his views on the interview section of the paper.
