By Adamu Abuh, Abuja
All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice Chairman North West, Dr Salihu Lukman says his colleagues in the national working committee (NWC) lack the powers to unilaterally expel him from the party.
Lukman argued that the moves coming from the National Legal Adviser whose legal qualification is not in doubt smacks of deliberate attempts to manipulate the NWC into subverting the Party’s constitution.
He asserted that the moves to expel him because he demanded accountability in the affairs of the party, was in clear breach of Article 21(5) of the APC Constitution.
Lukman in correspondence to Adamu, and copied to the outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, the President-Elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Governor Atiku Bagudu led progressives governors forum (PGF) maintained that the power to expel him from the party is vested with the national executive committee of the party (NEC).
He argued: “With this provision, my expectation will be for the NWC to consider the memo and if adopted refer the recommendations for onward transmission to National Executive Committee (NEC). In this case, the NWC will then be acting as the complainant.
” There is nowhere in the APC Constitution where the NWC is given the power to discipline any member of the party. I have already forwarded the memo to my legal team for further legal
action.
” For the avoidance of doubt, the suit in question, which is being alleged to constitute anti-party activity will have to go ahead, especially to correct the erroneous interpretation of the Constitution by the National Legal Adviser to the effect that “it is not mandatory to convene a meeting of the National Executive Committee every quarter for the purpose of presenting activities of the Party to the members of NEC.”
Continuing, he noted: “Let me say it very clear that I will proceed with the legal action I instituted to restore Constitutional order in APC up to the Supreme Court. It is pathetic that the National Legal Adviser, rather than providing an unbiased legal opinion to guide deliberations of organs of the Party would descend so low as to imagine that threats of disciplinary action is what is required at this point.
“APC, being a party founded with the vision to promote progressive politics, must be about encouraging debates in organs of the party. Anybody who is not comfortable with positions that challenge the decisions of leaders bordering on respecting provisions of our Party’s constitution should know that the APC is not where he/she belongs.
“Nobody, no matter how highly placed in the leadership of the party should be allowed to destroy the APC by blocking our organs, notably National Advisory Council (NAC), National Caucus, and NEC from holding statutory meetings as required by the Party’s Constitution.
“While looking forward to robust deliberations at Wednesday’s meeting of NWC, it is my hope that one of the resolutions of the NWC will be to convene a meeting of NEC before May 29, 2023, where all the demands I have made including reports of activity, financial report covering income and expenditure of the party, zoning for National Assembly leadership, review of 2023 elections, among others can be considered and appropriate decisions taken.”
Source: The Guardian