Nseobong Okon-Ekong
Ahead of the February 26 National Convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja, stakeholders in the ruling party have zeroed in on the Senator from Niger East District, Senator Sani Musa, to lead the party for the next four years.
Senator Musa, who is a leading contender for the national chairmanship seat of the APC, has been having a flurry of endorsements and backings from the leaders and stakeholders of the party since he declared his ambition for the position.
Over the weekend, the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, paid a visit to Musa, who is the Chairman, Senate Services Committee, in his Maitama, Abuja residence, assuring the chairmanship aspirant that the contribution he made to the APC since 2015 would not go in vain.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a former deputy governor from a North-west state, who is also a statutory delegate to the February convention, disclosed that Senator Musa is the likely consensus candidate for the national chairmanship position.
While stressing that the lawmaker possesses the requisite experience and commitment to provide leadership that will lead the ruling party to a massive victory in the 2023 polls, he also identified his capacity to effectively relate and bring everyone on board in the party.
He said, “The decision to queue behind the senator was thoroughly scrutinised by stakeholders in the party especially since there are handfuls of former governors whose influence in the party cannot be shoved aside.
But we discovered that Senator Musa, with his pedigree and antecedent, can completely re-engineer the internal structures and workings of the party using the tools of persuasion and negotiation.
“He is a party man inside out and we have an election to prosecute in the next 12 months or thereabout. He has no baggage and he will create a new voice and direction to APC and by extension enhance the legacy of President Muhammadu Buhari administration.”
While stressing the need for a rancour-free convention for the party, he said the APC cannot afford to bring onboard any controversial candidate as its national chairman, adding Senator Musa is a highly organised, dedicated, passionate and hardworking person with proven integrity in all the places he has served in both public and private sector from 1986 to date.
Speaking on his candidature recently, Musa said: “My interest in the chairmanship of our great party, the APC, is another call to national service, just like my current position as a senator. You must bear in mind that if I become the chairman of the APC, I can leverage my experience here in the Senate to push the manifesto of the party to the National Assembly more efficiently.
“It will also place me in a vantage position to deliver reconciliatory leadership, which the party needs now to navigate out of its present challenges.”
