Victor EzejaThere appears to be a crack within the fold of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) two months into its tenure as some members have accused the national chairman, Senator Adamu Abdullahi, of excluding them while making vital decisions.
Two APC national vice chairmen for North-West & South-West, Salihu Moh. Lukman, Isaacs Kekemeke respectively, in a joint statement claimed that Adamu has repeatedly kept the NWC in the dark about decisions he takes on matters about the party and uses the name of President Buhari to compel them into accepting such decisions.
In the statement released on Tuesday, the duo of Lukman and Kekemeke, pointed out that such has been going with no regard to the constitution of the party which empowers the NWC to manage day-to-day affairs, including implementing decisions of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
They said there has been a series of postponements of scheduled NWC meetings, at least twice within the last 48 hours, noting that such is a deliberate attempt to foist on the body, certain decisions on fundamental issues that affect the party.
The statement read, “We are compelled to make this statement following serial postponement of the scheduled National Working Committee (NWC) meetings, twice within 48 hours. We are convinced beyond doubt that this is a deliberate attempt to foist a fait accompli on the NWC on fundamental issues that affect our great party.
“Within just two months in the lifespan of the new leadership of our great party, APC, led by His Excellency, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, the NWC, organ of the party vested with the power of managing the day-to-day affairs, including implementing decisions of the National Executive Committee (NEC), as provided in Article 13.4 of the APC Constitution, has been rendered redundant.
“The National Chairman takes decisions unilaterally. When it suits him, he invokes the name of our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari to blackmail NWC members into accepting his decisions.”
The two vice chairmen said Adamu has refused every entreaty to respect the authority of the NWC as provided in the party’s constitution. They appealed to all APC leaders to urgently intervene and call the national chairman to order.
“The National Chairman must be properly reminded to recognise that the business of managing the day-to-day affairs of the party is the responsibility of the NWC as provided in provisions of the APC Constitution. He is free to consult any party leader(s). Such consultations will not represent decisions of the NWC or any organ of the party unless and until it is adopted by a properly constituted meeting of the NWC or organ in question according to the letters and spirit of the APC constitution,” the statement further read.
They equally warned that henceforth, any decision taken by the national chairman or any other party functionary without NWCs approval would be considered invalid.
“As a party, we have suffered enough judicial embarrassments arising from clearly avoidable leadership breach of our party’s constitution and spelt out rules.
“As members of the NWC who have the mandate of our members, we hereby serve notice to His Excellency, Abdullahi Adamu, and through him to all APC leaders that henceforth, any decision taken by the National Chairman or any other party functionary, which requires the approval of the NWC as enshrined in the APC constitution, will be considered as illegitimate and an infringement on the jurisdictional scope of the NWC, unless otherwise confirmed as validly approved decisions of the NWC or any other legitimate organ of the party.
“No NWC member is elected at the March 26, 2022 National Convention to warm seats or offices in the National Secretariat. We, therefore, call on all our colleagues in the NWC to rise to these challenging situations by joining hands with us to save our great party and return it to its founding mission of moving Nigeria forward based on an honest, fair, just and selfless commitment to party building. God bless our party!”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
Why would there not be cracks in APC. I predict that this was going to happen and here it is. After the presidential primaries. There will be more to come. I hope labor party and PDP are on their toes. This is getting interesting. Every time it is time for election in Nigeria. One party must have issues. It has been happening since 1999.