President Buhari Cautions APC Against Imposition Of Candidates

President Buhari has cautioned APC against imposition of candidates, The Nation report.

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) against imposition of unpopular aspirants as standard-bearers for next year elections.

He urged the National Working Committee (NWC) to keep the ruling party together to retain power.

President Buhari, who spoke during the party’s 11th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, charged the leadership to premise its actions and decisions on the party’s constitution.

National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu called for an end to supremacy and ego battles between governors and their predecessors.

President Buhari recalled that the APC had lost important elections in the past due to imposition.

The President appealed to aggrieved members protesting past injustices to withdraw their court cases.

He said: “The principal challenge before you is the need to forge a united front for the party. It is your responsibility to keep creating and sustaining compromises among party leaders and members across the country.

“We must identify elements and factors that would facilitate it. This I urge the new NWC to place as a priority task.

“Whenever you need help in these critical times, please do not hesitate to seek out assistance from the appropriate quarters. I stand ready at the service of the party and the country.

“I enjoin you all to follow due process in all the party processes and more importantly to develop more mechanisms against corruption.

“I call on all party members to abide by all extant laws, rules, and regulations and to leaders of our party to avoid the imposition of candidates that cannot win popular elections.”

The President added: “This dictatorial behaviour cost us many strategic seats in the past. In the recent past, this led to some of our strong members, unfortunately, opting to go elsewhere because of the unfairly oppressive behaviour of party leaders at the state level.

“I enjoin you all to recognise the place of due process in all our tasks as managers of the party. We must develop party in-built mechanisms against corruption. Our success in 2023 will depend more on our capacity to respect our own extant rules and regulations.

“I plead with all aspirants who were not elected to put in efforts in support of the party to achieve our goal of success in the forthcoming elections.

“Furthermore, I am pleading with all litigants to withdraw cases against the Party and put faith in party mechanisms.

At the meeting were members of the NWC, governors, Senate President, House of Representatives Speaker and state chairmen.

The party’s presidential shadow poll has been fixed for between May 31 and June 1.

At the NWC meeting, the nomination fees for aspirants were ratified.

A party source defended the nomination fees considered to be high and which was criticised severely in the social media.

Presidential aspirants are to pay N100 million for the expression of interest and nomination forms; N30 million is for expression of interest and N70 million for nomination form.

Anyone seeking governorship ticket will pay N50 million; N30 million for Senate and N20 million for House of Representatives.

Those aspiring for House of Assembly seats will buy the forms for N2 million.

Why party fixed nomination fee at N100m

Critics claim that the high costs will shut the door against ordinary Nigerians, was, however, dismissed by a source close to the party.

The source said that it was taken to make the APC financially independent and to prevent a situation where opposition parties might infiltrate the APC by buying forms for aspirants in order to cause disharmony.

A top official of the party told The Nation that the N100 million fee for the party’s presidential nomination will block outsiders from other parties from sponsoring unserious candidates to destabilise the APC.

The official said: “The decision to peg the nomination fee for presidential aspirants was deliberately taken to put the party on a sound financial footing so that it would not be exposed to manipulation of members.

“The party will still plough what is realised from the sales of forms back into the funding of the election. That is the only way for the party to raise funds. If the forms are cheap, opponents can easily sponsor their collaborators to destablise the process.

“All these were taken into consideration by the NEC,” the official explained.

Governors are party leaders in states

Adamu called for unity among party chieftains.

He said: “Our party must have the courage not to pay lip service about it. The serving governors of our party in their various states are the leaders of the party and this is in line with our party’s constitution.

“The former governors must recognise that the party structure must be respected. Our party’s constitution makes no room for two party leaders in a state. There is no reason to compete with serving governors for the leadership of the party.

“The lack of unity in our party is such that no one can pretend not to be unaware as it was the efforts to unite this party that led the previous caretaker committee to set up a reconciliation committee to find lasting peace.

“I know Mr President is not unmindful of what happened to PDP in 2014/2015. Our party is not immune to a similar fate should it conduct itself in such a way that continues to undermine the legacy of the founding fathers to build this party.

“I was the chairman of the reconciliation committee and came out of the assignment fully conversant of the problems.

“The battle is a battle for supremacy between serving state governors and their predecessors in office. It is a crisis fueled by ego. So ego is the enemy.

“Ego between former and serving governors. Ego has turned them into bitter enemies. Because of the ego, the two groups are putting our party in jeopardy and the effect will be in the polls next year.

“The serving governors and past governors are powerful men; all of them are in their own right in their states. But, when two elephants fight, the grass suffers.

“Similarly, when two powerful politicians fight, the party suffers. The speech and actions of these powerful men will bring a filthy and odious stench to our party.”

Roll call

With President Buhari at the NEC meeting were: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Senate President Ahmad Lawan; House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila; Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege; and House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Idris Wase.

Others were: APC National Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu; Deputy National Chairman (North) Senator Abubakar Kyari; Deputy National Chairman (South) Emman Eneukwu and National Secretary Otunba Iyiola Omisore.

On the governors list were: Ekiti State Governor/Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Chairman Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Kebbi State Governor/Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) Atiku Abukakar Bagudu; governors Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger); Mallam Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna); Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo); Bello Matawalle (Zamfara); Adegboyega Oyetola (Osun) and Hope Uzodimma (Imo).

Also at the meeting were senators Rochas Okorocha, and Smart Adeyemi; chairmen of the party from the states; National Women Leader Dr. Betta Edu; Deputy National Auditor Femi Egbedeyi and the National Youth Leader Dayo Israel.