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… Charges INEC Not to attend, monitor APC national convention
Obiora Ifoh, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has appointed Benue State governor Samuel Ortom as chairman while Ndudi Elumelu, deputy chairman of the party’s zoning committee.
The national chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu while inaugurating the committee, Thursday at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja said, “This committee on zoning is a committee of NEC and it is a tradition in our Party to discuss every issue including fair distribution of offices.
“Before we came into office all of you our leaders put heads together and ensured that we distributed party offices fairly across the country. We want to thank you for what you did. Our party came out stronger, because you are fair and you did a very transparent job.
“It is our turn now to request you as the National working committee committee acting on behalf of NEC to formally inaugurate this committee made up of the names that have been mentioned.
“You will recall that in the NEC meeting, discussions we had no rancour whatsoever. To the extent that one of our governors stood up and said, sensitive as the issue may be he’s so pleased and so happy that the PDP families discuss the issue without any bitterness. I implore all of you to continue in the same spirit, PDP has a reputation of discussing whatever issues that we have.
“We talk, we don’t fight, we resolve issues. There is no issue that is too difficult or too important for the PDP to resolve that the spirit of the party.
“Therefore I urge all of you to discuss this matter. With the same spirit that you discuss at NEC because most of you are members of NEC, you knew what happened and you are free to advance your arguments. Let us not have any rancour whatsoever and at the end of the day, remain focused on the main goal.
“That the main goal is for us to win power next year. And how do we win power we can only we power by uniting, by working together? Because even if you are from Ebonyi or Anambra and you fight to be the president of our country through the PDP platform, are you pursue it with rancour, even if you win party nomination, other people will not vote for you. They will not be willing to work for you.
“But if you pursue it without bitterness, whoever wins will rally around the person and then the party will win election next year. And there will be something for everybody for every constituency in this country.
“I therefore employ you never to lose sight of the bigger picture of the bigger objective. And that big sight is to Maintain our unity which carried us through the last convention. So that at the end of May, we shall present a PDP presidential candidate Nigerians will be proud of. We will go to elections and win.
“So there should be no rancour whatsoever remain focused on the bigger picture. Because that is what we want. I believe by the time we have the big prize in our hands. We will share it, we will rotate it the way we want. If we had not been interrupted on this journey, about six years ago, we have started the same process.
“At the beginning, we push the presidency to the south. I was one of those who took that decision. And there are many others here in this hall. After general Obasanjo. We voluntarily sent it to Katsina, faith played a fast one on us. But in the same spirit, after Late Umaru Yar’dua Sent it to Bayelsa.
“So PDP has a history of rotating our offices. Anybody who doesn’t get it this time should wait after the tenure whoever will be our next president
We believe PDP is going to produce the next President once we start this journey this time. We will ensure it goes round. And it will go round with justice, fairness and the interests of the Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, the PDP has cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to attend, monitor or supervise the Saturday, March 26, 2022 jamboree being organized by the defunct All Progressives Congress (APC) in the name of a National Convention.
The PDP forewarns that INEC would be going outside its statutory mandate under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as emended) and the Electoral Act 2022 by attending or monitoring the purported APC National Convention.
National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba in a statement said, “INEC, being a government agency set up by law, that also draws from the budgetary allocation of the country with respect to superintending over electoral processes and management of political parties, can only superintend over and monitor bodies over which it has mandate to supervise. This presupposes that any such body must be legally operating as a political party under INEC rules and guidelines.
“The APC, having been defunct on December 8, 2020 when it dissolved its National, States as well as Local Government structures ceases, in the eyes of the law, to be a political party and as such cannot be subject of INEC’s regulations with particular reference to its supposed National Convention.
“For emphasis, the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) was established for the singular purpose of organizing the APC National Convention in 2020. The Committee violated the Constitution and the Electoral Act by engaging in party administration, conducting congresses to produce officers at the various state Chapters as well as delegates for APC National Convention.
“In any event, the CECPC by its composition with a state governor, H.E Mai Mala Buni as Chairman is illegal and unconstitutional by reason of Section 183 of the Nigerian Constitution which bars a sitting governor from holding “any other executive office in any capacity whatsoever”.
“Article 14 (i) of the APC Constitution, clearly states that the Chairman of the APC “shall be the “Chief Executive…” of the party.
“In going beyond its mandate, the CECPC acted ultra vires and all administrative acts purportedly done or deemed to have been done by this Committee are null and void and void ab-initio.
“To this effect, delegates to the APC purported National Convention produced by congresses conducted by the CECPC are at best handicapped delegates with leprous fingers who cannot deliver any vote to produce a valid and legal political leadership for the APC. INEC should therefore not waste public resources to monitor a jamboree that would be of no legal or electoral effect under our laws.
“If the APC had listened to one its members, the Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, SAN, who had cautioned that the “competence of Governor Mai Mala Buni to organise the congresses has been called to question by the Supreme Court”, it would not have been in this quagmire.
“Our Party for the umpteenth time cautions Nigerians who intend to participate in the electoral process under the APC to be guided as they are on a voyage that leads to nowhere.”
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