A petition has been submitted to President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and other top leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) urging them to take action against the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, if he fails to convene meetings of the party’s various organs.
News About Nigeria reports that the petition threatens legal action if Ganduje does not comply.
In the petition made available to journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, a former National Vice Chairman (North West) of the APC, Salihu Mohammed Lukman, gave Ganduje a 16-day ultimatum to comply or face legal action.
Lukman, who resigned his position following stiff opposition to what he said were ills plaguing the party, reminded that various organs of the APC have not met since Ganduje assumed office on August 3, 2023.
The National Executive Committee (NEC), which is the second highest decision-making organ after the national convention, the National Caucus and the National Advisory Council, also called the Board of Trustees (BoT), have not met. Only the National Working Committee (NWC), which is in charge of the day-to-day running of the party, has been meeting.
The petition was also copied to the Vice President, Kashim Shettima; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen; Chairman, of Progressive Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodinma, and Ganduje.
The petition reads in part, “I am compelled to kindly draw Your Excellency’s attention that as it is, our party is operating almost blindly without recourse to provisions of the APC Constitution. Meetings of organs as specified by relevant provisions of the APC Constitution are not taking place.”
“Decisions, which established organs of the party are expected to take, are being taken by individual leaders outside those organs. One of the critical organs, the Board of Trustees, which is renamed National Advisory Council, has not been inaugurated since the formation of the APC in July 2013.”
“With such reality, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party has appropriated the powers of all organs and in its name, the National Chairman is taking discretionary decisions.”
“With such reality, many of the decisions taken not only violate sections of the APC Constitution but also undermine Sections 221-229 of Part II of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended, as well as the Electoral Act 2022.”
“I want to kindly demand that every necessary initiative should be started between now, May 21, 2024, and June 7, 2024, to activate all organs of the APC in line with the extant provisions of the party’s constitution.”
“Failure to do that will compel me, as a patriotic Nigerian and loyal party member who has paid his dues, to seek legal redress. Democracy is meaningless without functional political parties.”
All those petitioned are members of the APC.
