By Emmanuel Mogbede
Abuja, Sept. 7, 20120 Alhaji Ismaeel Ahmed, All Progressives Congress (APC), Youth Representative at its National Caretaker Extra Ordinary Convention Committee, says building a strong foundation for the party at the grassroots is critical to its relevance beyond 2023.
He said this on Monday in Abuja at the partys headquarters while meeting with the partys youth leaders from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to Ahmed, the meeting is to brief the youth leaders on what the committee has being doing since its inauguration and to get a feedback from them.
He maintained that the responsibility to make things happen and make the party relevant, especially at the grassroots was with its youth.
“Let us bond together even though we may have our difference, in the interest of the party.
“The year 2023 will be all comers’ fight because we will not have President Muhammadu Buhari to give us votes.
“We have to start working from now to ensure our relevance and continued electoral victory beyond 2023,’’ he said.
Ahmed appreciated those at the meeting, saying that their presence even at short notice was a demonstration of their zeal and commitment to the development of the party.
“As a caretaker committee with a very short life span we are here to make amends and help restructure and rebuild the party.
“And the first and perhaps, most important point of start is to have a meeting with all of you as the working room of the party.
“As you all know, our journey is over six years; many would say that this party has done very well for itself in this short a period,” he said.
He said that the party had done well because it had captured the most coveted political seat of the country which was that of the president.
The youth leader noted that the party had also established leadership in the two chambers of the country’s National Assembly and had maintained majority of governors in the country.
Ahmed stressed that the party had done fairly well but that there was need for its youth to do more to ensure its relevance.
“In this period that we have sailed, we have experienced some mistakes, some failures and even internal maladministration.
“This has led to bickering, in-fighting and distrust among our members, it also led to our party at some point having a divided and shaken leadership.
“But providence was with us as much as cautious wisdom too,” he said.
He said that the National Caretaker Committee was for this reason set up by the party`s National Executive Committee (NEC), after it dissolved the National Working Committee (NEC).
Ahmed stressed that the essence was to address the various challenges that confronted the party and to put it on the right track ahead of the 2023 general elections.
