Kwara primary election: Mustapha calls on party leaders to be mindful of comments
Malam Saliu Mustapha, the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2023 Kwara Central Senatorial district Candidate has appealed to leaders of the party in the district to mind their utterances in public.
He made the appeal in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, saying that this was necessary to avoid derailing the modest gains already made by the party at state and at the national level
Mustapha who is also the Turaki of Ilorin emirate said the primaries that produced him was free, fair and credible, adding that its results reflected the wishes of the party stakeholders and members in the district.
“While I assert that the outcome of our primaries represents the democratic choice of the largest majority of party members who freely exercised their franchise.
“I appeal to leaders of our party to leave a legacy of good sportsmanship.
“We should also avoid comments that do not unite the party and its members, notwithstanding our personal feelings
“Again, the outcome of any democratic contest is not as important as how the contenders and leaders manage the outcome, this is especially true of shadow elections,” Mustapha said.
He, however, added that there were ongoing efforts to reconcile aggrieved parties in the state ahead of 2023 general elections and the campaigns slated to commence on Sep. 28. .
“On our part, we will continue to reach out and build consensus within the rank and file of our party.
“Constant personal attacks on anyone, especially party leaders, do not serve any good purpose.
“As leaders, we are better defined by how we handle electoral set-backs than how we revel in victory,” he said.
He gave an assurance that the party’s structure would continues to work towards uniting everyone behind a common agenda to secure a landslide victory for the party at all levels in the forthcoming general elections.
Mustapha particularly appealed to all leaders of the party to avoid comments that were untrue and unfair to delegates who made their choices.
According to him, such comments also hurt the party’s leaders whose silence and calm in the face of constant attacks is more about playing the bigger person.
He added that their silence was about uniting the party than about being guilty of any accusations.
“At all times, real leaders must show restraint in their outbursts,” Mustapha stressed