Onimisi Alao, Yola
The Christian Forum, a group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, has said the party failed to win the state governorship seat in the last general election because it failed to integrate the diversities within it.
The forum faulted the state chapter of the party over its “insensitivity and failure to reflect the numerous cultural and religious diversities” within it, maintaining that such failure in turn caused the failure of the party in the February/March general elections and the council election that took place across the state in December 2019.
Members of The Christian Forum who include former SGF Babachir David Lawal, the Director General of Modi Halilu Campaign Organisation in the 2019 governorship election and Chairman of the APC Christian Forum, Medan Fwa, among other APC members from the 21 local government areas of the state, articulated their position in a statement after a meeting in the Adamawa State capital, Yola.
In the statement signed by Medan Fwa, the Forum maintained that the fault lines remain and the APC structure “is lacking in inclusiveness at all levels and is guilty of discriminating against Christians.”
They said the party’s “insensitivity to both cultural and religious diversity in the state was responsible for the internal conflict in the party heading into the 2019 elections,” and that the present composition of the state exco from the Ward to the State level, are skewed against other stakeholders in the party.
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“Further evidence of deliberate marginalisation was demonstrated in the composition of the APC Reconciliation Committee where only five Christians were part of the 40 stakeholders from the state invited for the emergency meeting of the APC held in Abuja on 12th September, 2019,” the Forum said.
Responding to the allegations by the Forum, the party leadership said Wednesday that the party’s loss of Adamawa State last year was not over religion.
The state party spokesman, Mohammed Abdullahi, said in the statement, “The 2019 election was not about religion but interest. Based on interest, Christians rejected Chief Emmanuel Bello, a core Christian (and candidate of SDP) and voted for Alhaji Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (of PDP).
“Similarly, seven APC Christian candidates for House of Assembly from Numan, Demsa, Lamurde, Guyuk, Gombi, Michika and Madagali were not voted for during the 2019 election, a further justification that the election wasn’t about religion but interest.”
The APC leadership added however that it was not against necessary reconciliation that could position the party for exploits in future elections.
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