Nantewe Yilwatda, the All Progressives Congress’ national chairman, has assured legacy members of the party that political defectors will not be allowed to take over leadership structures.

He gave the assurance while speaking with newsmen after a closed-door meeting with the party’s Federal Capital Territory stakeholders on Tuesday in Abuja.

He drew a clear distinction between those who were in the party from the beginning and those who just joined it, saying the interests of both would be protected without allowing one to subsume the other.

“It is a home that we built. If the house were not built, nobody would come, so nobody should come as a warrior and take over,” he said.

He added, however, that the solution lay in a deliberate power-sharing formula that guaranteed inclusion across both blocs.

“We must have everybody included. There will be a sharing formula that will ensure that all members of the legacy group and defectors are properly carried along,” Mr Yilwatda said.

Regarding the APC FCT party structure, Mr Yilwatda outlined a five-dimensional sharing formula that included gender inclusion, with women in substantive executive positions rather than merely as women leaders.

Others, he said, included geopolitical representation across all six zones of the country, the inclusion of FCT’s indigenous tribes, and youth engagement.

The APC chairman confirmed a committee chaired by the minister of special duties and inter-governmental affairs, Zephaniah Jisalo, describing its members as bona fide APC members.

He noted that the committee had conducted zoning for the FCT APC and that its work had been followed to the letter.

He further noted that so far, no APC member had complained of being cheated or deprived in any way, adding that the party’s constitution would be strictly enforced in its coming congresses.

He added that defectors seeking executive positions must produce resignation letters accepted by their former party chairmen.

“If you are in opposition, you must give a resignation letter and show evidence of resignation and acceptance of your resignation by your former party chairman,” he said.

He reiterated the constitutional rule on tenure, saying if a member had spent consecutively eight years in one office, he must step down or, at best, change office.

The APC chairman used the occasion to articulate what he described as his core political philosophy, saying inclusion was a non-negotiable organisational principle.

“We must accommodate all tribes, including the geopolitical resource. I am chairing this party because of inclusion. If there is no inclusion, I can’t be here because my tribe is only found in two local governments of this country. I am a minority,” he said.

He noted that women were great mobilisers who should not be used only during election periods, saying they should be included on the list of experts. 

(NAN)