The intrigues and political manoeuvring that will shape the 2019 general elections have begun to unfold with revelations that some serving ministers and governors on the platform of the two major political parties are deeply involved in the formation and funding of the much touted mega party; Action Democratic Party, ADP, which this week began its registration process.
It was gathered that, beside the serving ministers and governors, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, his father, Chief Alani Bankole and a minister of state for Agriculture under President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Awodele Najeem Adewale have been named among notable promoters of the emerging party from the Southwest zone.
One of the top leaders of the yet to be registered party from the North who pleaded anonymity, told Saturday Sun on Thursday that “our support base cuts across party lines and cadres” when prodded to name some of the ministers involved in the party, said “it would be suicidal to mention their names now. But they are people not happy within the system but should they be dropped in the imminent cabinet shake-up, Nigerians will surely know them.”
On the governors in secret romance with the party, the source gave the same excuse “for fear of persecution.”
Further investigations by Saturday Sun however, revealed that a prominent All Progressives Congress, APC governor in the Northwest and another Peoples Democratic Party, PDP governor from the South-South are among the chief promoters of the party, aside their colleagues in the two major political parties.
Most of the big personalities involved in the new party, who are chieftains of the ruling APC, it was learnt are still playing hide-and-seek with the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, in order to avoid any backlash.
However, operatives of some security agencies who are fully aware of the clandestine moves, have continued to trail the “big actors involved, especially the movement of money to fund the new party and may move against them anytime soon.”
According to a security source, “ we are on the trail of the party’s sponsors still hibernating in APC and others. When we start asking for the source of the funds they are moving around, we hope they won’t start shouting political persecution, that is if the party’s registration even scales through.”
Nonetheless, those saddled with the responsibility of organizing the party are pushing fast by setting up physical and administrative structures for the party across the country. On Tuesday this week, it was gathered that its protem national officers had relocated to Abuja to prepare for the party’s registration and national convention. This followed the zoning of positions in its National Working Committee, NWC and that of the National Executive Committee to the various geo-political zones of the country.
According to the new party, the National Chairmanship position has been zoned to the North Central; South west gets Deputy National Chairman; South East, National Secretary; National Organising Secretary goes to the North West, South East gets National Legal Adviser, while the South South gets National Treasurer.
The new party also made provision for two zones to produce the position of Deputy National Chairmen as it was during the early days of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, just as it created a novel office, National Diaspora Adviser.
According to the breakdown, North Central has the National Welfare Secretary; National Vice Chairman; Vice National Organising Secretary; Deputy National Woman Leader; Assistant National Secretary; Deputy National Treasurer; National Vice woman leader; National Vice Youth Leader and ex-official. The North West aside the position of National Organising Secretary, has the positions of National Woman leader; National Vice Chairman; Vice Publicity Secretary; Deputy National Secretary; Deputy National Youth Leader; Deputy National Welfare Secretary; National Vice Woman Leader and Ex-Officio.
The allocation also shows that the North East has the positions of Deputy National Chairman; National Vice Chairman; National Auditor; Deputy National Financial Secretary; National Vice Woman Leader; National Vice Youth leader and Ex- Officio.
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