Don’t Sideline Any Leader in Delta, Keyamo Warns APC

Don’t Sideline Any Leader in Delta, Keyamo Warns APC

• Wants party to balance interests in state

Minister of State for Labour, Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN has cautioned against the sidelining of any major leader or interest in the ongoing All Progressives Congress, (APC) registration and revalidation of members in Delta State. He called on the Chairman of APC Registration/Revalidation Committee and his members to take necessary steps to balance all the delicate interests within the party in Delta State.

Keyamo who stated this in a note to the Chairman of the APC Registration/Revalidation Committee which was made available to newsmen in Asaba complained that the entire materials meant for any local government area in the State were handed over to two coordinators solely nominated by a particular political leader in the State.

The no nonsense Minister warned that if the process is skewed to favour a particular person or leader, he would not hesitate to mobilize all other like-minded leaders in the State to reject the efforts of the Committee and call for its total disbandment.

Keyamo stated: “As you are set to distribute your materials to the LGA coordinators on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, you must bear in mind the need to balance all the delicate interests within the APC in Delta State in such a way that you don’t put the entire materials meant for any LGA in the hands of two coordinators solely nominated by a particular political leader in the State, including myself. “That will be unfair, unjust and unacceptable and will be a recipe for chaos in the State. My sources tell me that this is exactly what you plan to do. You need to stop. The evolution of APC in Delta State is unique to the extent that a clear Party leader has not emerged under whom everyone has agreed to congregate.

“At least, no such decision has been taken by stakeholders in Delta State. I can say this confidently because I am a founding member and a leader of the Party in the State. The fact that the stakeholders have not been able to do this is a testament to the different tendencies that exist within the Party in the State. Whilst we all respect and defer to positions of authority that some of us have been privileged to assume at the national level, political leadership back home is a different ball game.

“As a result of this, all party faithful throng after different leaders in the State. It is therefore imperative that these different leaders and their supporters have easy access to these materials for registration. This will not happen if you put the materials in any LGA only in the hands of a particular tendency within the party.

Keyamo continued: “Since we are not using the party structures to drive the process, then you must fall back on these leaders and their nominees to drive the process. Even as Minister representing the entire State in the Federal Cabinet, I am not asking for any undue advantage: I am only asking for fairness and equity to be administered to everyone.

“You are therefore advised to first identify the leaders like you have done in the last few days. Ensure that no one leader has two nominees in any particular LGA. Also, ensure that there is no such disparity between the numbers of nominees the leaders nominate for the exercise in all the LGAs.

“I know that you, like all the members of the Committee, were nominated to serve by certain leaders. I also nominated for a member. It is an open secret. No need to play the ostrich. However, we understand that unwholesome pressure has been mounted on you to sideline all other members of the Committee in the discharge of your assignment. “Perhaps this led to the abrupt resignation of the erstwhile Secretary. However, may I respectfully remind you that regardless of who nominated you, it is time to serve the party and not individual interests. If you skew the process to favour a particular person/leader, I will be mobilizing all other leaders of like minds in the State to reject your  Committee and call for its total disbandment”, he warned.