The National Vice Chairman for North-West, Mallam Salihu Lukman, Dr. Salihu Mohammed Lukman, has described the plans to elect Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, a former governor of Kano State, as National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as unlawful and unfair to North Central party members.
In a statement made available to The Quest Times on Sunday, the party Chieftain said ” We must remind everyone, including President Asiwaju Tinubu that so far, the agreed zoning formula in APC seed the position of National Chairman of the party to North Central.
“Therefore, the relevant section of APC constitution with respect to filling vacancies should be respected. Anything short of that will amount to illegality and will constitute an act of injustice against members of the party from North Central.
” A party envisioned to be progressive must not be associated with that especially if one of our objectives now is to return the APC to its founding vision of emerging as a progressive party.”
Dr. Lukman stressed that as loyal party members, it is however very crucial that we strongly appeal to President Asiwaju Tinubu that it will be injurious to the party and all governments produced by the party to produce Dr. Ganduje as the next National Chairman of APC without clearing his name of the corruption charges against him.
He maintained “This is very crucial because it will protect the person of Dr. Ganduje, confirm his uprightness, and therefore shield the party from all the negative campaigns against him. We must appeal to President Asiwaju Tinubu not to create a situation that will promote any public insinuation that his government will shield anyone being accused of corruption charges, no matter how close the person may be to him.
” Rather than seeking to nominate Dr. Ganduje to emerge as the next National Chairman of APC, President Asiwaju Tinubu will end up only doing more damages to the person of Dr. Ganduje and to the party and his administration if Dr. Ganduje is to emerge as National Chairman of APC without clearing the corruption charges against his person.
According to him “The situation we faced today in APC presents us with the opportunity to restore constitutional order in APC. Once we don’t use the opportunity properly and restore the sanctity of the APC constitution, we would be laying the foundation for worse things to happen under a new National Chairman. As NWC members we must be seen to be active in the debate of the way forward.
“A situation whereby President Asiwaju Tinubu and Progressive Governors are being alleged to have decided on Dr. Ganduje as the next National Chairman of APC without consulting other power blocs in the party and without meeting any of the organs of the party, including the NWC, is very risky and potentially damaging to President Asiwaju Tinubu and the party.
“If this is associated with a President who comes from military background, it will be understandable. But to be associated with President Asiwaju Tinubu whose background is outrightly civilian having to lead the struggle for democracy in Nigeria for almost four decades, it will be highly unimaginable.”
He noted that it is quite disconcerting to imagine a situation whereby President Asiwaju Tinubu does not share the commitment to restore constitutional order in APC or his leadership of the party will take actions that will make him vulnerable to accusation of not following due process and subverting provisions of the APC constitution.
“Unfortunately, here we are having to contend with such possibility. As things are, the NWC is not only an onlooker but a far distant observer. The power blocs that are being credited with the speculated emergence of Dr. Ganduje as the next National Chairman, including the Presidency, are not even considering any meeting with the NWC or even the Acting National Chairman. Yet, the NWC has the convening authority for any meeting that can produce the next National Chairman. Sadly, many members of the NWC, for whatever reasons seems to be timid and taking everything that comes their way as given and therefore right.”
The Chieftain appealed to President Asiwaju Tinubu to be committed in restoring constitutional order within the APC.
He said “Restoring constitutional order would require some demonstration of commitment to give life to the statutory organs of the APC so that the debate about replacing the National Chairman and all existing vacancies, including that of the National Secretary will be done within the structures of the party.
“Inability to revive statutory organs of the party will suggest that the process of replacing existing vacancies will be manipulated to suite some narrow interests within the party even if it means violating provisions of the APC constitution.
“If for whatever reasons President Asiwaju Tinubu allow this to happen, it will simply mean that he doesn’t share the commitment to restore constitutional order in APC, and to that extent therefore his commitment to return APC to its founding vision of becoming a progressive party is weak. This will be most unfortunate and will contradict the historical essence of all the struggles President Asiwaju Tinubu has successfully waged on his journey to the Nigerian presidency.”