The recently held Sokoto retreat of the Kano chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was unique in so many ways. Unlike previous retreats which was the exclusive preserve of top technocrats and government officials in the state, this particular one was all inclusive as it accommodated grassroots politicians from across board.
The retreat which was the first of its kind which took place at Giginya Coral Hotel, Sokoto from October 27-29, was attended by over 600 party officials across the 44 local councils of Kano State.
Among dignitaries in attendance were Kano State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, his Sokoto State counterpart, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal who hosted the historic event, the national chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie- Oyegun as well as the party executive members from Kano state led by its Chairman Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas,
The Kano State deputy governor, Professor Hafiz Abubakar, members of the Kano State and National Assembly as well as other party officials from the ward, Local Government and the state levels were also on ground to grace the retreat aimed at institutionalising capacity-building through effective management of party administration.
Other party dignitaries who graced the event were the vice chairman North-west, the vice chairman South-south, Prince Hillard Eta, Alh. Kawu Sumaila, the Senior Special Adviser to President on National Assembly Matters, the National Organizing Secretary of the party, Mr Osita Izunaso, the National Women leader, Hajia Ramatu Tijjani, and the party Youth Leader, Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo-Waziri among others.
In all, a total of twelve (12) papers were presented by reputable academics and prominent APC party leaders. Their presentations covered areas such as party leadership, the role of political party in policy making, duties and responsibilities of party officials, internal and external party communication networks, and political party financing, political party leadership in economic recession and the role of political party in balancing between policies and aspirations of the electorate.
After exposing participants to the art of modern political party management skills, they were resolute on the need to depart from the past way of doing things with the resolve to privately finance the construction of the proposed Kano APC State Secretariat complex building through the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT).
One of the most telling aspect of the event was the remarks by Odigie-Oyegun who expressed his deep gratitude to the state chapter of the party for the noble initiative even as he called on party officials at all levels to support the policies of the federal government and abide by the constitution of the party.
A much more striking lesson from the retreat came from its convener, His Excellency Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who stated in unambiguous terms the need to bring the diverse party officials of the APC and its various organs together to reflect on the activities of the party with a view to developing the skills of participants in the management of the affairs of the party.
For Ganduje, an exponent of internal democracy, it will be disgraceful and unacceptable for party officials to keep running cap in hand to collect handouts to be able to move around the country to make ends meet.
At the end of the two days event, decisions were taken that could impact positively on the party, Kano State and Nigeria as a whole.
Participants were unanimous in their support for President Buhari’s resolve to tackle the problems of insecurity, corruption and the economic downturn besetting the polity just as they overwhelmingly passed a vote of confidence on Ganduje as the leader of the party and reiterated their confidence on the existing party leadership under Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas.
A huge takeaway from the retreat was the resolve to prevent abuse of executive, legislative and public offices through greater accountability, transparency in the scheme of affairs in the corridors of power.
In the Kano chapter of the party just like in other states of the federation, there are bound to be disagreements within the ranks of the party and participants were conscious of that fact during the retreat. This was why the members hammered on the need by party officials to always maintain harmonious relationship with the government in the state to continue to be responsive to popular demands.
Conscious of the need to sustain the 100 percentiles winning streak of the party in Kano, the participants also stressed that political party discipline should be kept at the high and lowest levels of the party’s structure in order to promote unity and preserve loyalty among its members, aside the fact that party officials at all levels should be familiar with the party’s constitution and comply with its provisions in their conduct of party activities.
The retreat observed the need to increase the capacity of political party officials to meet the challenges of managing political party affairs in a state with high population across the 44 Local Government Areas and 484 wards, maintain a disciplined and cohesive party organization with strict adherence to internal democracy.
It stressed the need to sensitize members of the APC in the state to adhere to the party’s constitution in their daily affairs, consolidate inclusiveness between the party officials and the chief executive of the state on the one hand, as well as between the party members and their officials on the other hand for the smooth running of the state and party and the need for regular interaction between the government and the people of Kano State.
In addition, it was resolved that political party officials should foster both horizontal and vertical communication networks among members and party’s organization at various levels to ensure effective internal democracy. It was further resolved that the party should undertake continuous party registration of members, hold regular meetings of the executives with members and keep records of all its activities as well as develop mechanisms of safeguarding its integrity uniqueness, coherence and prudence in its use of resources.
Participants underscored the role of finance in strengthening the party and resolved to see fund raising as a critical activity in beefing up the resources of the local chapter for effective democracy. Furthermore, it was resolved that the party should pay attention to the development of a strategic plan with clear vision and mission to guide its activities and mobilizational capacities and that the party should maintain its cordial relationship with state and national legislative members .
The need by the party to understand the role that research, documentation and publication plays as a resource base for party activities was also underscored by participants during the retreat. For better understanding of the work of political party officers, it was agreed that there was the need to translate the constitution of the APC into Hausa language just as women leaders at all levels of party structure need to be engaged in the mobilization drive of the party in order to promote women participation and support.
- Yakassai is Director-General, Media and Communications to the Kano State governor.
