With fresh momentum, Buhari urges party members to work for victory in 2019

[dropcap]P[/dropcap]resident Muhammadu Buhari has said he is aware of criticism of his administration’s slow pace of work, particularly, the delay in appointments to boards of parastatals, noting however that, that has been ratified.

“I am very much aware of opinions and criticisms about the pace of government. In particular, the delay in appointments to boards of parastatals. Many boards have been inaugurated so far, he said at the opening of the national caucus of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, at the presidential villa, Abuja ahead of Tuesday’s National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting, to find solutions to lingering crisis within the party.

“Now that INEC has come out with the timetable for elections in 2019, the Party should prepare itself for congresses at a. Wards, b. Local Governments, c. States and d. Centre.

Pressing to stoke enthusiasm among APC members and transform candidates in the forthcoming polls into an overwhelming victory against opposition said the coming election was a test for what the ruling party stands for, with grave stakes for the country in an age of division.

“We should strictly follow the constitution of the Party in undertaking these party elections. We should ensure internal democracy and avoid short cuts and illegal maneuvers which have characterized the opposition party with the consequences that they are now divided.

“The APC has a history of conducting free and fair primaries whenever consensus about any candidacy is not reached. Regardless of the outcomes of the primary processes, it is imperative that we all work together to ensure the victory of our party, the president concluded

The ruling party may be as divided across the nation as it is in Abuja with the rift threatening the Buhari agenda.

The failure to get them together and bring members across the finish line highlighted how the internal fracturing has yet to heal.

That could spell trouble for the party in power, as it gears up for several battles in the months ahead, according to some politicians.

“ In Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Ekiti, Rivers, Imo, Ogun, the APC has many fault lines,” said a party chieftain with rancorous fights with state governors over 2019.

“They run in multiple directions and any one of them could cause an earthquake, he said.