The National Executive Committee (NEC) Of The All Progressives Congress (APC) is expected to ratify the choice of Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje as national chairman and Senator Ajibola Basiru as national secretary at its next meeting, it was learnt yesterday.
The decision followed the choice of the duo, by consensus, after the exit of the former chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected to confirm the date of the NEC meeting at the NWC’s request.
Also, the NWC, NEC and the governors agreed that there should be a smooth transition and continuity of the pre-existing zoning formula for the composition of the party leadership.
A source said the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, met at Imo State Lodge, Abuja and endorsed Ganduje and Basiru.
A day after, governors and other party leaders, particularly members of the National Caucus, held a meeting with Ganduje and Basiru.
According to the source, the National Caucus, of which President Tinubu is a member, is expected to communicate to the NEC the decisions of the APC governors and other party blocs before the new chairman and secretary assume office after the NEC ratification.
Already, the decisions have also been communicated to the state chapters and the parliamentary caucuses.
Although the two nominees are expected to be ratified by the national convention, the APC constitution has vested the NEC with the power to act in lieu of the convention in an emergency.
According to the party’s constitution, one of the essential functions of the national convention is to elect new national officers.
However, the NEC is also empowered to perform the functions of the national convention in between conventions.
Article 13(ii) of the APC constitution states that the final authority of the party shall rest with the national convention.
It has the power to ratify policies and programmes of the party and elect or remove national officers.
Article 13.3 A (ii) vests in the NEC, which is the principal executive body of the party, power to summon or convene the national convention and prepare its agenda.
The NEC, under the constitution, can discharge all functions of the national convention in between national conventions.
Ganduje, a two-time governor of Kano State, is a household name in the party and country. He was Kano State deputy governor between 1999 and 2003 and between 2011 and 2015.
Basiru, who holds a doctorate degree in Law, served as Commissioner for Special Duties, and later Attorney-General/Commissioner for Justice in Osun State.
He was elected into the 9th Senate from Osun Central District in 2019 and was the spokesman of the Senate. Adamu and Omisore resigned last week, following complaints about a lack of accountability and non-inclusive leadership.
The former chairman and secretary were also accused of sidelining critical party organs, by not calling regular NWC meetings and failing to respect party constitution in respect of NEC.
Stakeholders never raised eyebrows over their exit, particularly because of the indictment in the party’s audit report.
APC National Vice Chairman (Northwest), Salihu Lukman, who reflected on Adamu’s voluntary resignation yesterday, told reporters in Abuja that it was not beyond expectation.
He said the party was not in a position to tolerate a disloyal and subversive leadership.
Although the Deputy National Chairman (North), Senator Abubakar Kyari, has been acting as chairman, party stakeholders resolved last week to choose new helmsmen without rupturing the North/South zoning arrangement.
Lukman: no room for subversive party leadership
Lukman, a member of NWC, said it has now been established in the ruling party that subversive acts cannot be condoned.
He maintained that the former chairman and secretary had to resign because they did not allow the statutory organs of the party to carry out their constitutional duties.
Lukman, in a statement titled: “APC and question of party building,” said Tinubu’s endorsement for Ganduje was understandable, adding that he will be a better chairman.
But, the vice chairman said Ganduje’s choice would violate micro-zoning to Northcentral because he is from Northwest.
He said: “One could only imagine how frustrating it was for President Tinubu to cohabit with a party leadership that was covertly subversive at the beginning of his administration.
“It will be very understandable if President Tinubu, therefore, will move to bring in a strong loyalist such as Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as the next national chairman, having experienced first-hand what a disloyal party national chairman can do to undermine a government produced by the party.”
The vice chairman, however, urged the party leadership to cede the office of the National Chairman to the Northcentral in line with the earlier agreed zoning formula.
Lukman said: “The situation we face today 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 will 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 on the way forward.
“A situation whereby President Tinubu and Progressive Governors are alleged to have decided on Ganduje as the next national chairman 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 comes from a military background, it will be understandable. But to be associated with President Tinubu, whose background is outright civilian, having led the struggle for democracy.
“Once we don’t use the opportunity properly and restore the sanctity of the APC constitution, we will 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 on the way forward.
“A situation whereby President Tinubu and Progressive Governors are alleged to have decided on Ganduje as the next national chairman 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 comes from a military background, it will be understandable. But to be associated with President Tinubu, whose background is outright civilian, having led the struggle for democracy in Nigeria for almost four decades, will be highly unimaginable.
“We must, therefore, appeal to all those sponsoring this campaign to nominate Dr. Ganduje for the position of APC national chairman, especially His Excellency, Hope Uzodimma, Chairman, Progressive Governors Forum, to come to order and allow due process within the party to take its rightful course in the selection process.
“Nobody, including the PGF, should be allowed to seek to entrench arbitrariness and injustice in the determination of who emerges as the next National Chairman of APC.
“We must remind everyone, including President Tinubu, that so far, the agreed zoning formula in APC cedes the position of national chairman of the party to Northcentral.
“Therefore, the relevant section of the APC constitution concerning 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.”