Joshua MacIver, the Deputy Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 gubernatorial poll in Bayelsa State, has admonished his party men that they cannot “afford to under-rate anyone.”
In a statement emanating from his campaign office situated on 59 Imiringi Road, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, MacIver while congratulating all members of the APC, in Bayelsa State, on the success of the just concluded State Congress averred: “As we move towards delivering President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Second Term Project, I want to call on us as a party to take note of certain factors which may hinder or cut short our victory.
“First, before His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, joined the APC in the state, there were clearly two political blocs that made up the party, with the approximate population ratios of the blocs standing at 95% to 5%.
“After the entrance of His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, only the smaller bloc is being carried along in the affairs of the party, leaving the greater percentage to their fate, and this situation has the potential to build anger and dissatisfaction in our dear party.”
According to him, “the consequence of this has been the high level defection we have witnessed in the party recently and we believe more may likely follow, if we do not put our house in order. If we do not pull together as a party, we may witness a situation where we will lose key stakeholders, especially after the State and National Assembly Primaries as well the Gubernatorial Primaries.”
On a final note, he submitted: “While it is very clear that we are the party to beat in the 2027 elections and that our loyalty to Mr. President is non-negotiable, we must make haste to say that we cannot afford to create situations or loopholes in our unity which will be exploited by other political interests in the state. We cannot afford to under-rate anyone.
“Our core interest remains the re-election of Mr. President, a project to which we have committed our all. We also pledge our total loyalty to the party as we have no alternative to the APC.
“However, our concern is that we must, as a party, look inwards and ensure that we do not create loopholes that can impede our common goal.”
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