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…Insists party agreed on zoning position to North-central
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC), Salihu Moh Lukman, has warned President Bola Tinubu and members of party’s Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) against entrenching arbitrariness and injustice in the determination of who emerges the next National Chairman of the party.
Lukman, who has consistently stood against the plot to anoint former governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, as National Chairman, said that it is unimaginable that President Tinubu without military background could support such insensitive plot.
In the statement he made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday, the APC zonal Chairman North West insisted that the agreed zoning formula in the party ceded the position of National Chairman to North Central geopolitical zone.
The former Director General PGF wrote that; “the situation we faced today in APC present us with the opportunity to restore constitutional order in the party.
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 Tinubu and Progressive Governors are being alleged to have decided on 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 Tinubu and the party.
“If this is associated with a President who come from military background, it will be understandable. But to be associated with President Tinubu whose background is outrightly civilian having to lead the struggle for democracy in Nigeria for almost four decades, it will be highly unimaginable.
“We must therefore appeal to all those sponsoring this campaign to nominate Ganduje for the position of APC National Chairman, especially Hope Uzodinma, Chairman, PGF to come to order and allow due process within the party to take its rightful course in the selection process of who become the next APC National Chairman,” he warned.
Threatening further, Lukman noted:
“Nobody, including the PGF, should be allowed to seek to entrench arbitrariness and injustice in the determination of who emerges the next National Chairman of APC. We must remind everyone, including President Tinubu that so far, the agreed zoning formula in APC ceded 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,” Lukman insisted.
While urging other party leaders to speak up, the APC chieftain said that; “the vision of producing a progressive party cannot be produced with a reticent leadership. As NWC members, we need to appreciate that part of our responsibility is to ensure that all our elected representatives are guided to produce outcomes based on provisions of our manifesto and all our campaign promises. This is a function of the knowledge and skills of individual members.
“We must challenge ourselves to rise to the occasion by demonstrating the required capacity and competence. A situation whereby we sit in our ‘comfort zones’ and expect our elected representative to come calling and recognising our powers to provide leadership to the party only suggest gap in competence,” he charged.
