By Rauf Oyewole
The All Progressives Congress (APC) youth group has rejected the party’s congress of Zaki local government area of Bauchi State, claiming alleged violation of internal democracy.
Comr. Mustapha Dalailu, the leader of the group while speaking with journalists in Bauchi on Sunday expressed grievances over alleged exclusion of key stakeholders, including youths from important party decisions.
According to him, there is a significant lack of youth involvement in the party’s decision-making processes. “It is unrealistic to expect that leaders who are 50, 60,or even 70 years old could effectively strategise and implement grassroots campaigns that appeal to younger voters. The exclusion of youthful perspectives and energies has led to a lack of innovative campaign strategies, which is crucial in today’s political arena.”
Speaking on the congress, Dalailu said that the congress guidelines stipulates that gatherings should take place at the party secretariat, “yet decisions were made at the Chairman of the stakeholders residence in Bauchi. This blatant disregard for protocol raises serious questions about the legitimacy of the process.”
He further stated that “none of the key chairmanship aspirants were present at the congress or consensus processes.
This lack of participation from recognised candidates undermines the credibility of the decisions made which so call consensus,” he said.
He said that the local politicians have been disconnected while the political leaders have failed to represent their interests. “There is no concrete evidence of progress made by the leaders in convincing members to remain committed to the APC, leading to a disconnect that is damaging our electoral viability.
“We urge them to consider the implications of a leadership that disregards its members, particularly the youth. We strongly believe that collective action could facilitate a positive change that will restore the integrity of our party. We implore members and citizens of Zaki Local Government to unite with us against the leadership that has systematically downplayed our constituency’s potential from 1991 to date,” he said.