Godwin Amunde
The Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) – the umbrella body of Nigerian governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) – Dr. Salihu Lukman, has faulted the call made by two-term governor of Abia State and Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, for the postponement of the national convention of the party slated for February, 2022.
Senator Kalu had in a letter entitled “Urgent Appeal for Postponement of APC National Convention,” addressed to the Yobe state governor and Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, (CECPC), Mai Mala Buni, warned that holding the convention in February without sorting out the minor disagreements that arose during the congresses would lead to implosion.
But in a statement entitled “Plausibility of February 2022 APC Convention: Open Letter to APC Leaders,” Dr. Lukman said the suggestion by Senator Kalu could put the ruling party on the path of self-destruction.
He noted that the CECPC has not given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the mandatory 21 days notice ahead of the anticipated February date for the Convention, thus fuelling speculation of lack of sincerity.
The statement read in part: “It is very difficult to excuse the CECPC from the campaign to postpone the February Convention. If the CECPC is not interested in the postponement of the National Convention from the agreed February 2022 date, why is it difficult to make a formal announcement about the date and venue of the Convention?
“Statutorily, by the requirement of the Electoral Act, the party is expected to serve at least 21 days’ notice of the Convention to INEC, which basically means that if the Convention is to hold any day before February 28, 2021, the notice to INEC should be given on or before February 7, 2022.
“That being the case, the temptation could be to argue that there is more time. Some reminders would be necessary at this point.
“First, in June 2020, when the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party dissolved the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole led NWC, one of the expectations was that holding the Convention in December 2020, would have free the party from all the tempestuous atmosphere created around national elections. It would also have provided the needed atmosphere to review issues in the party before the process of selecting candidates for elections. All these would appear to have been forgotten and lost. And for whatever reasons, arguments are now being given about why ‘presidential primary and election of National Working Committee members’ hold ‘on the same day and venue to avoid rancour and litigations.’ Anyone campaigning for ‘presidential primary and election of National Working Committee members’ hold ‘on the same day and venue’ simply want a situation whereby any possible dispute around presidential primary will submerge the emergence of leaders (NWC members) of the party.
“This leads to the second ugly scenario being set up by those campaigning for the postponement of the Convention, which is the possibility that all candidates of the party from all the 36 states of the country to be submitted to INEC by the same NWC members whose elections may be disputed would be in jeopardy and subject of litigation. Once that is the case, we would have succeeded in making the 2019 Zamfara electoral disaster a national phenomenon in 2023. Is that what the CECPC members under the leadership of His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni want to subject the party to?
“The third issue is that both the CECPC and by extension all leaders of the party should be fair to President Buhari. The President has so far, with very good reasons, endorsed all the prayers of majority party members and leaders. Beginning with the June 25, 2020 dissolution of the Comrade Oshiomhole led NWC, to the extensions of the tenure of the CECPC.
“Understandably, the President want to ensure that the capacity of the party to manage its internal affairs is strengthened.
“The need to develop the infrastructure to guarantee the participation of members in the process of candidates’ selection required that more time is given for the CECPC to execute membership registration and revalidation exercise. No doubt, the CECPC did a good job in this respect. Unfortunately, the relevant department in the party’s National Secretariat, Organisation, is not able to competently take the process of preserving the membership records of the party to the point whereby party membership are displayed or can be accessed, in any way possible.
“The fourth issue is that with the suspension of meetings of organs of the party, notably NEC and National Caucus, the capacity of leaders of the party and members to get the CECPC to be accountable and take all the needed guidance from party leaders is weakened. This is partly responsible for the momentary anger by APC representatives in the National Assembly following the conclusion of Wards, Local Governments and States’ Congresses who felt shortchanged allegedly by Governors on account of which they inserted the clause on compulsory Direct Primary on all political parties in the amended Electoral Act.
“Again, ordinarily, if organs of the party are meeting, especially NEC and National Caucus, aggrieved members would have used the platforms of these organs to contest issues and seek redress. The attempt to impose Direct Primary on all political parties by aggrieved APC representatives in the National Assembly was borne out of desperation to seek redress of the perceived act of injustice by the CECPC.
“Fifthly, since the suspension of meetings of organs of the party, internal debate in APC is very low. A lot of things are happening in many states with grave consequences to the electoral fortunes of the party.
“To be fair to His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni and the CECPC, within their limited capacities, they have taken some initiatives. The reality, however, is that without superior decisions of organs of the party, in particular, NEC and National Caucus, many leaders of the party in states have acted or are acting almost disrespectfully to the CECPC and His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni. A typical example is the raging war of attrition going on in Imo State. Apart from the war of attrition going on in Imo State, the broader question of uniting leaders of the party in all states ahead of the 2023 election is proving to be very impossible.”
