Again, the vocal ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Chieftain in Kaduna, North West Nigeria, Salihu Moh. Lukman has slammed the leadership of the party, accusing the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu of poor leadership quality and describing the National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore as a worthless politician.
The hard knocks are contained in another open letter written to the APC leaders by the aggrieved politicians and which was obtained by The Eagleonline.
Lukman, who made reference to series of meetings between the the party National Working Committee NWC and President Bola Tinubu before inauguration and alleged blunders being committed by the APC leaders also hit its National Legal Adviser, Barr. Ahmed El-Marzuq, accusing him of leading in the process of manipulating and misinterpreting the party’s constitution.
Speaking about Omisore, the daring politician said the former Deputy Governor was shameless, as it is only in his Osun State that APC does not have a single elective candidate in the upcoming full democratic structure in the State.
He declared in the letter that the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led APC National Executive Council (NEC) has failed totally in the manner it handles the election of Principal Officers in the upcoming 10th National Assembly (NASS).
Lukman in his letter said: “To my mind, I believe the complains by party leaders and members from North-Central about exclusion are legitimate. However, the way to resolve the grievances would have been to put all the leadership positions in the two chambers of the National Assembly as part of the basket of positions being negotiated. This is in the first place what Article 13.4(vi) of the APC constitution directed the NWC to first undertake by developing a proposed electoral guidelines and regulations to guide negotiations within the structures of the APC. In fact, the proposed guidelines and regulations should have guided the consultations with Asiwaju Tinubu on May 5. Rather, the NWC team led by the National Chairman, Sen. Adamu went to the consultation meeting empty handed.
“Prior to that time, cash-and-carry contestation by some of the aspirants became the order. And as leaders of the party, we turned blind-eye and just allowed almost everyone to join the race. I raised alarm, appealing to deaf ears, calling on us to take steps to respond to the situation by doing what our constitution directed us to do, which would include convening a NEC meeting to take decision. Recall that our NEC has not met for more than a year. We have managed the party since April 2022 without approved budget as required under Article 13.3A(xiv) of the APC constitution. No report of any kind to any organ, not even the NWC. Yet, Article 13.4(ii) and (iv) require the NWC to submit quarterly reports of activities and finances covering income and expenditure to NEC. Billions of Naira have been expended based on discretionary decisions of the National Chairman and National Secretary. Till date, no member of the NWC can claim to know how much is in all the accounts of the party outside Sen. Adamu and Sen. Omisore and perhaps the National Treasurer and National Financial Secretary.
“We have had Osun and Ekiti elections, which cost the party billions without any attempt to review experiences, and in the case of Osun, specifically identify reasons why the party lost the election even when we are faced with the embarrassing situation whereby in Osun, not only did we lose the 2022 Governorship election, but we have also been roundly defeated in the 2023 elections. We lost all the three Senatorial seats, lost all the seats for House of Representatives and lost all the House of Assembly seats. And this is the state where the National Secretary, Sen. Omisore come from. And he seats shamelessly, pompously and pretending to command political influence when he cannot win any election. If we are truly aspiring to be a progressive party, leadership must be earned. Sen. Omisore must give account of his leadership in Osun State in every respect. Osun is the only state in the country today where the party has no single elected representative. Maybe we has Counsellors, who by this trend would be voted out in the next election.
“A party aspiring to be a progressive party must respect its constitution and at the minimum allow all its organs to meet as enshrined in the constitution. It is not about convenient interpretation, which with respect to the NEC, for instance, it is statutorily required to meet quarterly and the National Legal Adviser, Barr. Ahmed El-Marzuq would brazenly and audaciously seek to manipulate the NWC to imagine that meetings of NEC should be at the discretion of NWC. This is the kind of advice you can only get from any member of the legal profession whose knowledge of the law is so narrow and self-serving, which is most unfortunate.
“When I instituted the court case on April 27, 2023, my objective is to challenge this false and dangerous attempt to block structures of the party from meeting, which can only lead to destruction of the APC. I was determined to proceed with the case even in the face of the threat to expel me from the party. Like I highlighted at that time, the NWC had no power to expel me. I am however grateful to my colleagues in the NWC, especially fellow National Vice Chairmen who believed that once I withdraw the case we will be provided with opportunity through meetings of structures of the party, which unfortunate has not happened. As things are, it is my view that Sen. Adamu and Sen. Omisore as National Chairman and National Secretary are the ones who have betrayed the agreements we reached on May 3 and therefore have let all of us in the NWC and in the party down.
“For instance, instead of convening meetings of structures of the party after the May 10, 2023 decision of the NWC to conclude internal negotiations to zone all leadership positions in the 10th National Assembly, as NWC members, we were only invited to syndicated meetings to listen to so-called aggrieved aspirants. And in all the meetings, the pronouncements of Sen. Adamu in the presence of media betrays any commitment to defend the decisions of the NWC. Sen. Adamu’s common byline at all the meetings is that in deciding on the zoning, the NWC advise that there should be more consultations. And when Hon. Abbas Tajudeen and his team of supporters from the House of Representatives came to meet the NWC on May 23, 2023, Sen. Adamu was visibly angry when Hon. Tajudeen was referred to as Speaker.
“To recommend consultations without providing the needed leadership through activating meetings of organs of the party, is, to say the least, dereliction of responsibility. As leaders of the party, if there should be any form of consultation to promote internal democracy within the party, it should be led by the structures of the party as provided in the party’s constitution. In which case, being leaders of the party – NWC – we should be the convening authority. Sen. Adamu, no doubt, is an experienced politician and a very conscious one for that matter. He knows exactly what he is doing by not convening the meetings of organs of the party. By every definition, Sen. Adamu’s politics is conservative and reactionary. Unfortunately, however, based on all the unfolding realities, he is on a reckless conservative and reactionary politician, who, if left unchecked, can pull the party in the direction of committing political suicide. All party leaders and members must wake up to this reality and stop Sen. Adamu from achieving his mission of self destroying the APC.
“Both Sen. Adamu and Sen. Omisore, from all available reports appeared to be animated that I have resumed public advocacy on the need to save the APC and ensure that the structures of the party are given life in line with provisions of the APC constitution. Yes, I have resumed public advocacy because all the structures that should have permitted internal debates are being blocked from meeting. For the records, if you want to resume deliberations to consider expelling me from the party, you are free to do so. I will defend myself publicly to the best of my ability. APC, as a party founded with the vision of being a progressive party, must accommodate debates and contestations. Nobody, no matter how highly placed should imagine that the best way to win debates and contestation is to bully and blackmail opponents. I can guarantee you; no amount of bullying will stop the campaign to return APC to constitutional order.
“By the way, you are free to expel me from APC, but you cannot expel me as citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. APC is not a private property. It is a public political organisation with rule, which must be respected. Sen. Adamu and Sen. Omisore can block organs of the APC from meeting to the extent that other leaders of the party are willing to permit. No one can block me, in anyway, from discharging my right to engage the issues both as Nigerian and as a member of APC, expelled or not. For your information, I am currently working to document all these experiences, which I will publish, God willing, so that it contribute to the body of knowledge in the development of party politics in Nigeria. Whether you respect my right to hold membership of APC or not, I can proudly say that my publications will remain references for anyone who wish to understudy the APC for the foreseeable future”
Perhaps, let me also indulge the
The enraged politician who dared APC NEC to sack him if it wishes, said he would not resort to blackmail as being deployed by the National Chairman, against him. “I consider myself a very successful person. Unlike the lies he enjoy telling NWC members that I was sacked in five places, in all the places I worked, I left credible records, and they are all there to be verified. Respect begets respect.
“I respect Sen. Adamu and I will not because of disagreement with his politics slander his person and his reputation. Without doubt, I can confirm to you that I am committed to anything I subscribe to and will always discharge any responsibility given to me that I willfully and willingly accept to discharge. My current position as APC National Vice Chairman North-West is no exception. In discharging my responsibility for that office as provided in the APC constitution, I will do so without fear or favour with the objective of contributing to the development of Nigerian democracy and the APC as a political party registered under the law” Lukman stressed.
The ruling party Chieftain restated that the struggle to return APC to constitutional order is about achieving the founding vision of forming a party that is progressive and encourages internal debates and contestations by allowing all the structures provided in the APC constitution to freely operate.
In effect, he said the Leaders of APC must be “friendly to debates, contestations, engagements and should not lay back to find ways of blocking debates using bullying methods and blackmailing opponents.
“In the last few years, APC has been so damaged to point of being reduced to a party that is in contempt with its own rules. As a person, I believe that all leaders and members of the party must rise to the challenge of restoring APC to its founding vision and one that is undeniably progressive, and not only in name. The struggle continues!” Lukman declared.
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