President Muhammadu Buhari may have given assurances to Northern Governors on the platform of ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday afternoon that there “shall be no imposition.” But it appears the much-feared implosion is already loading…waiting to happen.
With just hours to the convention of the party, there is apparent confusion in the house, even as fire-fighting measures have been activated.
Already, there are talks of the Northern Governors planning a meeting with the Senator Abdulahi-led National Working Committee (NWC) to insist on their position for a southern presidential candidate to emerge.
In the NWC, there is deep division after the Adamu trump-card of naming Dr. Ahmad Lawan, the Senate President as consensus candidate, met with a backlash that saw President Buhari, suspected to have prodded Adamu into announcing Lawan, make a swift, tactical withdrawal.
One member of the NWC, Mohammad Suleiman Argungu, the National Organising Secretary, has already gone public to disown Adamu, admitting that though the National Chairman announced Lawan to the NWC meeting as the anointed consensus candidate, it was just an information he shared with them, and not the position of the NWC.
Below is Argungu’s interview with journalists:
Argungu declined to answer journalists question whether the NWC was divided.
Recall the National Vice Chairman of the North-West zone of the party, Salihu Lukman, has been at daggers-drawn with Adamu since he emerged as leader of the party, warning him against taking unilateral decisions.
The South-West National Vice Chairman, Kekemeke, also joined Lukman to issue a statement last week cautioning Adamu on his dictatorial tendencies.
The drama has a funny dimension to it. When journalists sought a clarification from the National Publicity Secretary, Barrister Felix Morka, on the publication by some media houses that Lawan had been picked as consensus candidate of the party, in an official WhatsApp Group chat room, there was no response from either the party’s Morka, or Chairman Adamu’s spokesman, Muhammad Nata’ala Keffi.
But shortly after President Buhari disowned the position Adamu attributed to him, Adamu’s spokesman located his fingers and typed on the platform, fours later, “It is fake”.
Less than 30 minutes later, he deleted the post.
It was gathered that frantic efforts are on to save the party from “making a fool of itself” at the convention ground on Tuesday.
“If Adamu eats the humble pie, the party can be saved; if not, that dreaded implosion will happen; and it will be, “to thy tents, O Israel”. We are watching and waiting,” a source said last night.
With the unfolding drama, one of its presidential aspirants, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, joined the fray insisting the Electoral Act forbade the imposition of a candidate.
In the APC, when it pours, it rains cats and dogs. The immediate past National Secretary of the party, Mr. John Akpanudoedehe, has also dumped the party, after he lost out in the gubernatorial primary of Akwa Ibom State.
In a letter dated June 4, 2022, and addressed to the Ward Chairman of the party in Offot Ward 6, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Akpanudoedehe wrote, “I write to notify you of my resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC), forthwith.
“Henceforth, I cease to be a member of the APC in my ward (ward 6 in Uyo LGA) or anywhere for that matter, I hereby relinquish all rights which inured to me as a member of the APC, member of the National Advisory Council and member of National Caucus of the APC.
“This decision to part ways with the APC is a tough one, but leadership entails adherence to the wishes of the vast majority of associates, allies and supporters who have shown fidelity overtime and have now witnessed the obduracy of the APC in handling the candidates selection processes in Akwa Ibom State.
“Our greater goal of providing service to the people of our dear state remains sacrosanct.”
Tinubu Campaign Organisation’s intervention in the imbroglio over a consensus presidential candidate was articulated by Mr. Babatunde Ogala, SAN, Director, Legal Directorate of the organisation.
He stated: “The media is inundated with reports that the Chairman of the All progressives Congress (“APC”) has unilaterally announced the purported adoption of a certain aspirant the consensus presidential candidate of the APC for the forth coming presidential election in 2023. While the National Chairman is yet to deny or offer any clarification on the alleged declaration, it is necessary to state that such a declaration is a legal impossibility. This is because under the regime of the Electoral Act 2022, consensus, though provided for as one of the means by which a political party may produce its candidate, must specifically occur in a precise form.
“Section 84(9) (10) and (11) of the Electoral Act 2022 are the relevant provisions and they state as follows:
“(9) A political party that adopts a consensus candidate shall secure the written consent of all cleared aspirant for the position, indicating their voluntary withdrawal from the race and their endorsement of the consensus candidate”.
“(10) Where a political party is unable to secure a written consent of all cleared aspirants for the purpose of a consensus candidate, it shall revert to the choice of direct or indirect primaries for the nomination of candidates for the aforesaid elective position.
“(11) A special convention or nomination congress shall be held to ratify the choice of consensus candidates at designated centers at the National, State, Senatorial, Federal and State Constituencies, as the case may be”.
“Instructively, none of the above conditions have occurred in respect of producing the presidential candidate of the APC. Therefore, any declaration of a consensus candidate would be premature and a violation of extant provisions of the law.
“We are confident that as a law-abiding entity, the APC will not be part of such. We are further persuaded to urge our supporters to disregard this report considering that the overwhelming majority of the APC Northern Governors who, after meeting with the President, re-affirmed their preference for a president from the Southern part of Nigeria. This patriotic decision is widely accepted by all Nigerians as a demonstration of deep understanding of the
nuanced fault lines of our nation.
“In the circumstance, a unilateral declaration by the National Chairman of aconsensus presidential candidate for the party will not only violate the law, but set the party on collision course with its Governors who are critical stakeholders in the party.”
