The National Chairman of Reformed All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Buba Galadima, announced the new party executive at a press conference held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja, on Wednesday.
The group has Dr. Fatai Atanda from Oyo State as the National Secretary and Kazeem Afegbua from Edo State as the National Publicity Secretary. Galadima is a former ally of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Galadima explained that the decision to form the R-APC was informed by the realisation that more than three years after the formation of the APC and its promise to positively change Nigeria, the party had deviated from its core objectives and institutionalised the same vices the previous administration was punished at the polls for.
He also noted that the recently concluded congress of the APC and its outcome were invalid because they violated the letter and spirit of the APC constitution.
He said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC had over the last three years demonstrated incompetence and elevated nepotism to the level of statecraft.
Galadima also said the administration had demonstrated intolerance for any form of dissent.
This, he said, was demonstrated in the various attempts to muscle aggrieved party members of the nPDP bloc for making their grievances public.
According to him, the R-APC remains the authentic party hence there is no need to seek fresh recognition from the Independent National Electoral Commission. He challenged anyone who had a different opinion to seek legal interpretation.
Reading from a prepared text, he said, “…The APC has run a rudderless, inept and incompetent government that has failed to deliver good governance to the Nigerian people. It has rather imposed dictatorship, impunity, abuse of power, complete abdication of constitutional and statutory responsibilities, infidelity to the rule of law and constitutionalism. It has failed to ensure the security and welfare of our people and elevated nepotism to an unacceptable height.
“The APC has failed to deliver on its key promises to the nation. There is no evidence of any political will to reverse the decline of our party, while leaders who have created these circumstances continue to behave as if Nigerians owe our party votes as a matter of right.
“The APC government has been a monumental disaster, even worse than the government it replaced. The political party that was a vehicle for enthroning the government was rendered powerless by manipulations and complete lack of due process in its operations.”
He noted that the last straw that broke the APC’s camel back was the congresses and the convention of the party held recently, where there were parallel congresses in 24 states.
The R-APC also condemned the recently concluded national convention of the APC which produced Adams Oshiomhole as the national chairman.
Galadima said, “The so-called National Convention of the APC was even worse. The National Convention of the party was ridiculed with constitutional infirmities that were so glaring and obvious that no fair-minded person can claim that a legitimate and lawful executive emerged from that process.
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“The Chairman of the Organising Committee, Jigawa State Governor, His Excellency, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, declared 18 seats unopposed and uncontested, since only one valid candidate stood at the end of the grossly manipulated exercise for each of the offices. He therefore proceeded to declare them duly elected in flagrant abuse and violence to the constitution of the APC.”
Galadima added, “Under the circumstances, patriotic elements and most of the original founders of the APC have found themselves in the opposing side of this charade. Most of the delegates who bought and paid for forms for the congresses and convention and were elected as delegates have come together to take control and give legitimacy to the APC to be now known as and called Reformed-APC (R-APC).”
