Rebuilding APC to reform Nigerian politics task before Tinubu – Lukman
By Tom Okpe
Deputy National Chairman, North-West of the All Progressives Congress, (APC)
Salihu Moh Lukman has proffered way forward for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to move the country ahead, against all odds.
Writing from his zonal office, Kaduna on Friday, the former Director General, APC Progressives Governors’ Forum, (PGF) said with the election of leaders of the 10th National Assembly concluded on Tuesday, June 13, 2023 and victory of nominated candidates of the party for the two chambers, (Senate and House of Representatives) President Tinubu need to prioritize rebuilding the APC to reform Nigerian politics so that, political parties are developed to grow beyond being mere election vehicles.
He said: “Rebuilding the APC is simply about returning the party to its founding vision of truly becoming a progressive political party. Prioritizing rebuilding the APC to return it to its founding vision is basically, about ensuring that all organs of the party are constituted and allowed to function in line with provisions of the party constitution.
“Since the time of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun as National Chairman, the National Executive Committee, (NEC) which by the provisions of Article 13.3 A is empowered ‘to be the principal Executive body of the party’, discharging ‘functions of National Convention in between National Conventions’ has not been meeting quarterly as provided under the APC constitution.
“Between 2015 and today, not more than eight meetings of NEC held when, if the statutory requirement of quarterly meetings provided under the APC constitution has been respected, not less than thirty NEC meetings would have held.
“Had the NEC been meeting as provided in the APC constitution, members would have stronger power in managing affairs of the APC and most of the challenges facing the party could have been resolved based on decisions of party organs.
“As it is, management of the party is limited to discretion of National Chairman and when it is convenient, he involves members of the National Working Committee, (NWC). In few cases, the National Chairman gets the NWC to legitimize his decisions when the APC constitution only assign administrative responsibility of implementing decisions of superior organs such as the NEC, National Caucus and National Advisory Council, (NAC) to the NWC.
“In addition to implementing decisions of superior organs, the APC constitution gives the NWC, powers to make specific proposals to facilitate decisions of organs.
“So far, powers of superior organs of the party have been illegally usurped by the National Chairman and by extension, the NWC.”
He further stressed that it is quite worrisome that since formation in 2013, the party’s Board of Trustees now renamed National Advisory Council, (NAC) was never constituted saying; “Not more than five meetings of National Caucus held and under the current leadership of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, none has held.
“Lower organs of the party such as Zonal Executive Committees, Zonal Congresses, Working Committees, Executive Committees, Congresses at states, local governments and wards suffer same problems.
“Requirement to set-up Senatorial District Committees as provided under Article 13.10 of the APC constitution is redundant. Women’s, Youth and Persons Living with Disabilities Wings provided in the APC constitution are left to the discretions of National Women’s Leader, National Youth Leader, and National Leader of Persons Living with Disabilities.”
He noted that five standing committees, established by the APC Constitution were never constituted.
“These are Establishment, Finance, Publicity, Intergovernmental and Conflict, Reconciliation Committees.
“The first one was initiated by former President Muhammadu Buhari when in February 2018 he gave President Tinubu, then as National Leader of the party the task of reconciling aggrieved members of the party.
“The second was when the leadership of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole around 2019 appointed Chief Bisi Akande reconciliation committee and the third was when the Caretaker Committee under the leadership of Governor Mai Mala Buni, appointed the Abdullahi Adamu led National Reconciliation Committee in 2021.
“All these instances were not approved by NEC as required under Article 18 (i) of the APC constitution,” he stated.
“The sad reality is that, the APC as constituted today is only a shadow of itself with a National Chairman that is highly unaccountable running affairs of the party more as a garrison commander.
“He relates with his colleagues in the NWC just like his appointees. In their name he meets other leaders of the party and seek to manipulate party decisions to suite personal vested interests that is only known to him.
“Recall the shameful attempt to impose Senator Ahmed Lawan as the consensus Presidential candidate of the party. In all the so-called consultations, he claimed to have had with other leaders of the party on the matter, perhaps except for the National Secretary, no member of the NWC was either informed of the details of the consultations or invited.
“Similarly, the NWC was never invited to consider any proposal being negotiated. It was only on June 6, 2022, ahead of the June 8, 2022 National Convention that Senator Adamu invited the NWC only to inform members that a consensus Presidential candidate in the person of Senator Lawan has been chosen. Members were not even given the opportunity to comment on the matter.
“Similar scenario repeated itself around the negotiation to decide on the candidates of the party for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly. Instead of developing proposed guidelines to guide negotiations within the structures of the party as provided in the APC constitution, Senator Adamu claimed to be carrying out consultations to the exclusion of members of the NWC and to the exclusion of all structures of the party.
“For the steadfastness of President Tinubu, Senator Adamu would have led the party to a disastrous outcome, which could be probably worse than the rebellious leadership of the 8th National Assembly.
“Even after the NWC endorsed the proposal from the consultations by Senator Adamu and representatives of NWC with President Tinubu adopting standard bearers for the two chambers, Adamu encouraged opposition to the decision of the NWC and didn’t consider convening superior organs to ensure decisions of the NWC is respected by all elected representatives of the party in the two chambers.”
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Lukman stated that there is also, clear case of reckless financial management of the party pointing that with more than N30 billion realised during sales of forms for the 2023 elections, Senators Adamu and Omisore, party chairman and national secretary, respectively, embarked on spending extravaganza, based on their discretionary decisions without budget as required by the APC constitution.
“With NEC not meeting as required, they give no financial report to anyone, not even to the NWC. Having got the NWC around July 2022 to approve the suspension of Directors, they have proceeded to employ new Directors as well as more staff at the National Secretariat without recourse to Establishment Committee, which is yet to be formed.
“All these increased running cost of the party without the approval of NEC.”
The former Labour indicated that unlike the vision of establishing a people-oriented progressive party that would facilitate democratic development of the country, “we sadly have in our hand an APC, which is in contempt with its own rules led by a determined and decidedly conservative, reactionary, and undemocratic leadership who are opposed to allowing any form of internal accountability to party organs and members.
“Consequently, the APC has been reduced to only an election vehicle, like other parties in the country. To the disappointment of many founding members of the party and Nigerians, almost all the undemocratic practices associated with the Peoples’ Democratic Party, (PDP) such as imposition of candidates are now common in APC,” he said.
