A Constitutional Lawyer, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, says the consensus arrangement by the All Progressives Congress, (APC), for its national executive officers is a violation of the Electoral Act 2022.
Recall that the ruly party had allegedly settled for former Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Adamu, as its consensus candidate for the chairmanship position of the party.
Ajulo made this assertion in an interview with newsmen on Friday, in Abuja, referring to Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
According to him, “It provides that the election of members of the executive committee or other governing body of a political party, including the election to fill a vacant position shall be conducted democratically”.
He said the section further allowed members of the party or duly elected delegates to vote in support of a candidate of their choice.
Ajulo, who has a Ph.D. in Law, said that the provision means that the only mode of election of members of the executive committee or governing body of a political party shall be by direct or indirect election.
“It, therefore, implies that the Electoral Act, 2022 has expressly abrogated consensus mode of election of members of the executive committee or other governing body of a political party”.
The lawyer added that the position of law was clear to the effect that the provisions of the constitution or a statute should not be interpreted in isolation. He said that the statute or Constitution should be read as a whole in order to determine the intendment of the makers of the statute or Constitution.
According to him, it is therefore apposite to draw inference from other provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 in order to arrive at a holistic conclusion.
He further said this indicates their voluntary withdrawal from the race and their endorsement of the consensus candidate.
He said that the provisions of sections 84(2) and 84(9) of the Electoral Act specifically deal with the conduct of party primaries. “One point that is clear is that if the drafters of the Act would have permitted consensus mode of election of members of the executive of a political party, it would have been stated”, he stated
Dr. Ajulo however said that it was safe to conclude that the drafters never intended that consensus mode should be applied in the election of members of the executive of a political party.
He warned that if the consensus was used at the National Convention of the APC, it could be challenged by appropriate party members with potentially disastrous consequences for the party at the general election.
He said it was imperative to advise decision-makers of APC to be wary of the harms that would be occasioned if the members of the executive of the party were elected by consensus mode.
He, therefore, admonished the party to immediately resort to direct or indirect mode of electing members of the executive at the National Convention.
The APC has adopted a consensus mode of electing its party executives ahead of its national convention slated for March 26.
