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From Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, Wilfred Eya and Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Nasarawa State governor and Chairman Media and Publicity sub-committee for the national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Abdullahi Sule, has confirmed that the ruling party will adopt unity list in the emergence of the national leadership.
Speaking at a world press conference at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Friday, Governor Sule also clarified the category of political appointees to participate as electorate during the convention.
He further argued that since the ruling party is adopting consensus option in choosing the national officers, there is every tendency for a unity list to be used for the exercise.
“If you remember, we have mentioned that as far as out party is concerned, we have three options in our constitution and the number one choice always is consensus because it actually creates rancour-free convention.
“The reason being that all the stakeholders in various zones will meet, agree and sign before we go into the convention. Our first choice is always consensus. And we are still on that first choice. However, democracy demands, even our (APC) Constitution demands and the constitution of Nigeria demands that if that doesn’t work, we will go ahead and look at the other options. But right now, that remains our option number one.
“On the issue of political appointees to the president, our delegates’ list is actually statutory. So, if you have a former president as a political appointee, if you have a former senator as a political appointee, these are already automatic delegates. So, let us not confuse the two because being an appointee does not necessarily take you out of being a delegate, because our delegates are classified clearly.
“Former president under our party, former elected this, elected that, party officials and the rest of that. I don’t think anybody who holds any political party office is actually right now a political appointee of the president, or the governors and the rest of that.
“So, most of the list that we submitted, if you are talking of the ones who have submitted now, we don’t have commissioners, we don’t have advisers, we don’t have all those unless if somebody particularly was a former this or former that, in that case, you know, just being an appointee doesn’t completely exclude such a person from being a delegate.
“On the issue of unity list, the unity list will be out today and will actually be submitted. Somebody asked whether it is for real we are going to have unity list or not, of course, yes, if you are talking of consensus, you must have unity list, because that is the whole essence of consensus.
“If you are having consensus, you’re going to have people who have agreed, aspirants who have agreed, stakeholders who have agreed, and also the constituency that has agreed, and in that case, that name will automatically will be adopted. And that’s just the meaning of the unity list. That’s how unity lists are going to put together,” he responded.
