ANPP to screen aspirants ahead Saturday convention

THE All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) yesterday raised a 12-member panel to screen its presidential and governorship aspirants for the 2011 general elections.

The development came as a presidential aspirant of the party, Chief Harry Ayoade Akande appealed to the national delegates to the convention to guard against any attempt by any aspirant to make a mess of the electoral exercise through excessive spending and buying of votes.

Akande spoke as Alhaji Bashir Tofa who is angling for the presidency on the platform of the ANPP ruled out the possibility of canvassing for delegates’ votes with money.

It was learnt that the ANPP committee, which is headed by the first civilian governor of Zamfara State and now a Senator, Sani Ahmed, has the National Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lawan Shettima Ali as the secretary, and it is expected to take a look at the relevant qualifications of all the aspirants to the presidency and the governorship positions in the country.

Inaugurating the committee yesterday, the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu reminded the members drawn from the six geo-political zones of the country, that their assignment is an important one, since it was designed to produce the very best persons for the country in the forthcoming elections.
According to him, the assignment of the committee is the one that would show Nigerians that the party is serious to lead other political parties to instill internal democracy. He urged members to ensure that in carrying out its duties, it should reflect the motto of the party, which is justice. “ We are very serious about it, because we want ANPP to continue to make history, we want to continue to be the first to do things that we desire in the country that would uplift the people from the near morass, things that will help democracy to endure in our great country.”

Sani, while responding said the committee would do its best in coming out with the best materials for the party. He also pledged that the committee members would restrict their activities to the constitution of Nigeria.
Akande, in a statement by his Media Officer, Mr. Olusola Ayawanle was quoted to have made the appeal in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State yesterday at a rally organised by his supporters from the South-South geo-political zone to express their solidarity and commitment to his bid of becoming the ANPP presidential flag bearer in the general elections.

The aspirant who is expected to submit the completed expression of interest form to the party’s national secretariat in Abuja at 11.am today, said such financial recklessness and indiscipline will deliver no good to the nation since those who cannot afford to buy votes from the delegates would be denied the opportunity to help the nation out of its many challenges.

According to him, there are brilliant and sincere Nigerians with noble and genuine ideology to transform the nation rapidly but being made irrelevant in the political circle by the so-called money bags who have no clear cut vision on how to make Nigeria a better country.

“Some aspirants are spending horrible amount of money to buy over the delegates and attributing cheap endorsement to brighten their chances at the polls. It was equally reported that they are ready to give each delegates hundreds of thousands of naira during the primary to emerge the party’s presidential flag bearer.
“This is just an expression of greed for power, mismanagement of inadequate resources and insensitivity to accountable and prudent public administration,” he said.

-Guardian

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