The youths of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have risen in defence of the Governor Mai-Mala Buni-led Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) which has been allegedly dissolved by Progressive Youth Movement.
The Progressive Youth Movement (PYM) had last Monday announced the sacking of the Buni-led Committee and named a new National Caretaker Committee chaired by Mustapha Audu, son of former Kogi State Governor, Abubakar Audu.
But countering the PYM, the Leadership of APC registered youth groups in Nigeria and the Diaspora at the weekend said there were no factions and crises in the party, disclosing that the illegal group has been reported to the Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies.
This was just as the States and Zonal APC Youth Leaders at an emergency meeting in Abuja resolved to write a petition to the DSS, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to bring to book those imposters who are trying to cause breach of public peace.
The APC Youth Leaders in a communique’ read by the North-Central Youth Leader, Terver Aginde, said they will not tolerate any further attack by some mischief makers on President Muhamadu Buhari as they consider
any attack on the CECPC as attack on the President and the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
While addressing journalists in Abuja, Director-General of the Coalition of Progressive Youth Groups in Nigeria and the Diaspora (COPY-ND), Aminu Abdullahi-Isyaku said the actions and declarations by the disowned PYM was a part of a grand plot by their sponsors to destabilise the APC National Caretaker Committee under the leadership of Governor Buni and also disrespect President Buhari’s support for the Party’s leadership.
“Our message is simple: The APC is a party of rules and due process and is too critical to the Nigerian Youth, that cannot be distracted by a mere press briefing and reckless announcement of new leadership arbitrarily by a sponsored group that is alien to our coalition and to the Party.
“We are here today to address the press and our loyal party youth members here and those with us virtually in their respective states in Nigeria and in the Diaspora chapters of the party, in reaction to the recent reckless and fruitless announcements of daylight hijacking, by an unrecognized group, so called Progressive Youth Movement (PYM), against the legally constituted APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee under the leadership of Governor Mai Mala Buni.
“We want to set the record straight and calm the anxiety of APC youths, and declare that there are no faction or leadership crises in the All Progressives Congress. We are the ruling party and we have one Caretaker Party leadership in place, led by Governor Mai Mala Buni as appointed unanimously by the National Executive Committee of the Party.
“We are a volunteer coalition that is driven by the concern that we have for the need to correct the negative impression created by the careless actions of the so called PYM, that Nigerian youths in politics are desperate and disrespectful to constituted authorities,” the group’s director-general said.
Abdullahi-Isyaku further said: “Accordingly, we have painstakingly analysed the political events in the last few days in the youth constituency of the party and wish to state without ambiguity, that the COPY-ND is not part of this grand plot to distablise the party under the leadership of Governor Mal Mala Buni, and also to disrespect President Muhammadu Buhari’s support for the party’s leadership that he led to put in place.
“Therefore, the so called new leadership announced by this sponsored desperate youth group – PYM does not represent the views of the teeming youths that form the foundation and remain the assets of our great party.
