BODE OLAGOKE takes a look at the recently conducted ward congresses of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the skirmishes that greeted the exercise which, however, ended in peaceful manner.
It has been days after the first stage of electing party leaders in the governing APC kick started at ward level and the party is still standing contrary to predictions and screaming headlines.
Before the exercise, it was as if heaven will fall if Governor Mai Mala Buni-led National Caretaker Committee (NEC) was allowed to go ahead with the process.
Supreme court verdict
Trouble started with the Supreme Court judgement in favour of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state, recently, where Eyitayo Jegede SAN of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had submitted that APC’s governorship candidate’s nomination breached the law and as such, Akeredolu’s election should be nullified.
Jegede’s prayer was hinged on the fact that the Interim National Chairman of the APC and Yobe state governor, Mai Mala Buni, was the one, who forwarded Akeredolu’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as candidate of the APC.
But in its divided judgement, Justices Mary Peter-Odili, Justices Ejembi Eko and Ibrahim Saulawa in their minority judgements declared that Akeredolu’s election should have been nullified, while the appellants, (PDP and Jegede) declared winner of the October 20, 2020 governorship poll.
Voices against Buni
Disturbed by the trend, however, some APC stakeholders, including Minister of State for Labour and Productivity Festus Keyamo (SAN), the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Senator Babajide Ojudu and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Enang, warned that the continued stay of Chairman APC caretaker/ national convention committee, Mai Mala Buni would spell doom for the party.
Belated warning
Their warning came barely 48 hours to the ward congresses.They contended that going ahead with the party’s congresses (which of course held last Saturday) would open the floodgates of litigation which could ultimately affect the party’s electoral fortunes in future.
They said it was wrong for an elected office holder (Governor Buni) to sit atop the party’s number one position as its leader.
And following their position, some groups, including the faction of the party in Kwara state, came out to declare as illegal all activities of the Buni committee since taking over some 13 months ago.
What the law says
However, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN), and counsel in the legal tussle, Niyi Akintola (SAN), both of whom are APC chieftains, faulted Keyamo’s position and described it as insinuation.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, (SAN) said by the pronouncements of the Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal which was affirmed by the apex court, governor Buni could combine both party and elective positions.
He said: “Let me make this clear; this isn’t the first time we would be having minority judgements. A minority judgement has no value. You can’t cite it as authority. It has no effect.
“In 2008, Abubakar Atiku versus Musa Yar’Adua, there was minority judgements given by Justice George Oguntade, Justice Walter Onoghen and one other justice while Justice Niki Tobi delivered the majority judgement. So, there has always been precedence.
“There is no value attributed to minority judgement. So, what happened yesterday isn’t strange. So we are worried that some lawyers are attaching value to it.
“Section183, according to the justices wasn’t violated by Buni. That was the reasoning of the tribunal.The Court of Appeal even affirmed the election petition stance that Section 183 wasn’t breached.
“The Supreme Court upheld the position of Court of Appeal and the Election Petition Tribunal that Buni position as governor doesn’t contravene provisions of Section 183.
“The congress can go on as scheduled. There was nowhere the majority judgement says Buni breached section 183. The minority judgements is of no value, it has no consequences.”
Peaceful ward congress held
Despite the opposition by some dissenting voices, Buni-led Caretaker Committee was resolute and went ahead to conduct the nationwide ward congress which could be adjudged be peaceful in majority of states. Although the same thing could not be said of few chapters like Osun, Kwara and Abia states.
For example, states chapters like Kogi, Kaduna, Gombe, Oyo, Nasarawa, Borno, Yobe, Sokoto, Kano, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, among many others, have reportedly narrated how peaceful the exercise was in their individual chapter.
Some of the aforementioned state chapters, however, resolved to employ consensus arrangement as canvassed by the National Caretaker Committee to avoid unnecessary rancour.
Buni’s assurance of justice to the aggrieved
The Chairman Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Committee (CECPC) Mai Mala Buni has, however, assured those who felt cheated during the ward congresses of a fair deal.
Buni in a statement signed by his spokesman, Mamman Mohammed, said the Caretaker Committee will review the just concluded ward Congress to improve on the forthcoming local and state government congresses.
“We will be fair, just and transparent in handling every complaint for justice to be done and the people’s choice respected,” he said.
Urging aggrieved parties to seek redress through constituted channels in the party, he stressed that the congresses will give ownership of the party to the members through the bottom-top approach.
The APC chief insisted that the conduct of the ward congresses was successful and peaceful across the country.
“I wish to congratulate us all for the peaceful and successful conduct of the ward Congress. The massive turn out of members in the Congress reflects the success of the membership registration and revalidation exercise.
“It also reflects the unity and confidence of our members in the repositioned APC and its leadership. I want to assure our members that their choice of leaders at the ward Congress and indeed, subsequent congresses will be respected.
“The party has put some measures in place to check and rectify anomalies arising from the Congress. We are committed to building a strong internal democracy to give the party a strong leadership that are genuinely elected by the people.”
Osinbajo’s intervention
Commendable, President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly directed Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to intervene and reconcile the political logjam in which the legal luminary has since begun.
As earlier reported by this paper, top sources within the party told Blueprint Monday night that already “the vice president has been holding consultations with party leaders and governors on a solution that will save the party from future legal traps and at the same time be acceptable to all within the APC.”
Blueprint gathered that “as early as Friday last week, Vice President Osinbajo first held a legal review session with lawyers in the federal cabinet where the issue was discussed and later also engaged in wide consultations with APC governors just before the ward congresses of Saturday.
“The caretaker committee chairman was also reported to have visited the Villa over the weekend with Kogi state Governor Yahaya Bello to explain the stance of the current party leadership to the VP after efforts to reach him earlier Friday had failed.”
“It is believed that the VP, who has been asked to resolve the matter by President Buhari, is intent on ensuring the party benefits from what seems to be a legal warning from the Supreme Cout ruling which had a 4-3 verdict with the justices questioning the constitutional validity of a sitting Governor holding such an executive post such as national party Caretaker Chairman.
“And while a last minute cancelation of the Congresses was on the table on Friday night, APC Governors explained to the VP that majority of them would rather prefer to go on with the Congresses even though some felt an outright cancelation of the Congresses would be inevitable if it went ahead,” it was further gathered.
Speaking further, another source faulted the claim in some quarters that Osinbajo directed Malami on the matter, especially since the AGF is not a party official.
A top Aso Villa source also said: “As for Governor Buni, there was no communication between the VP and him until late Friday night when he reached out to the VP around midnight. But by then, the governors had already argued for the continuation of the Congresses, although some governors including one from the North, had strongly argued against proceeding with the ward congresses.
“The VP is of the firm view that the Supreme Court ruling last week is a clear legal ditch which is best avoided. And he wants to ensure that the interest of the party is what is paramount, hoping that all stakeholders would eventually find a way in the interest of Nigerians who have reposed so much confidence and support in the party.”
Caution
Bearing in mind that no political party in the world is free of various clashes of interest, APC leaders and members at all levels therefore have responsibility to moderate their ambitions and personal interests in such a way that general interest is not jeopardized.
Again, the popular saying that “you don’t throw away a child with the bathe water” should serve as a caution to those calling for the sack of Buni-led Caretaker Committee.
They should not also forget in a hurry that this same Buni’s leadership had brought succour to the ruling party when it faced bigger life-threatening crisis after the inglorious exit of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC).
