Lukman: Tinubu, APC Govs Should Follow Due Process to Choose Next Party Chair

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

National Vice Chairman, North-west of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr.  Salihu Lukman, has urged President Bola Tinubu and Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) to respect relevant sections of the party’s constitution in filling vacancies with the National Working Committee.

He reminded the President and APC Governors that the agreed zoning formula in the party ceded the position of national chairman to north central.
Lukman, in a statement yesterday warned against entrenching arbitrariness and injustice in the determination of who emerges the next national chairman of the party.

The party chieftain, therefore, appealed to all those sponsoring the campaign to nominate the immediate past governor of Kano state, Abdullahi  Ganduje, for the position of APC national chairman, especially PGF Chairman, Senator Hope Uzodinma to allow due process within the party to take its rightful course in the selection process of who becomes the party chairman. “Nobody, including the PGF, should be allowed to seek to entrench arbitrariness and injustice in the determination of who emerges as the next National Chairman of APC. We must remind everyone, including President Asiwaju Tinubu that so far, the agreed zoning formula in APC cedes the position of National Chairman of the party to North Central.

“Therefore, the relevant section of APC constitution with respect to filling vacancies should be respected. Anything short of that will amount to illegality and will constitute an act of injustice against members of the party from North Central,” he said.

Lukman stressed that it was potentially risky and damaging to the  President, the PGF to have allegedly decided on Ganduje as the next national chairman of the party without consulting other power blocs and meeting any of the organs of the party, including the National Working Committee (NWC).

He pointed out that the inability to revive statutory organs of the party would suggest that the process of replacing existing vacancies would be manipulated to suit some narrow interests within the party, even if it meant violating provisions of the APC constitution.