Caretaker Committee Chairman, Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Tunde Balogun, said no parallel congress held in the state on Saturday, maintaining that members of the party agreed and went for a consensus arrangement to elect 37 Exco members each in all 245 Wards across the 20 local governments in Lagos.
Balogun said this while speaking to newsmen at the APC State Secretariat on ACME Road, on the congress exercise, even as he maintained that the consensus arrangement adopted by the state chapter of the party to elect its official was sanctioned by the APC National headquarters, being part of the party’s constitution.
This was just as the party boss explained that consensus equally required that candidates would emerge through “yes” or voice vote, after they must have bought nomination forms, filled and submitted them to the appropriate quarter.
“I don’t know what you mean by voting. Consensus, we have agreed to have consensus in Lagos and of course, it’s constitutional. It’s in our constitution, it’s one of the ways through which our candidates emerge from whatever primaries or elections we hold and the National headquarters of the party in Abuja has really advised a lot of chapters, state chapters to adopt consensus, so it’s a general thing.
“And of course, I, as chairman of the party stated the same thing in my speech, if you listened to me two days ago, I have stated that our party has accepted consensus. And consensus means you still have to go to the field, you must have to file all those 27 Exco members’ forms.
“You don’t just say consensus, you may have their names, you must see their forms after buying their forms, you must fill their forms, every other thing has to be done.
“There must even be a yes vote, voice vote, that’s what they are doing on the field write now and our Committee from the National headquarters is here and it’s to just monitor around that and report back, that’s it,” he said.
“So if don’t want to do consensus you don’t buy forms, the forms are to be filled, you didn’t hear me. Forms are to be filled, you fill the form like any other candidate, or like any other aspirant, wanting to work for the party, wanting to be a member of the Executive of the party. You must buy form for any position at all,” he added.
Balogun, while speaking further on the parallel exercise purportedly held by some party members, said he was not in the know of such, but quickly counselled that people should stop emphasizing things that would want to create problems in APC fold.
He said rather they should emphasize on things that would make the party cohesive, and not emphasising a particular candidate or person trying to do something outside what was agreed upon.
“Parallel, I don’t know that one. I want people to stop emphasising things that will want to create problems in our fold. Make us cohesive, not emphasising a particular candidate or person trying to do something.
“We want consensus and you know what consensus means, it is coexistence, coming together to make us one, that’s why we would continue to encourage that,” he said.
“Everyone is a member of the party, we are all brothers, don’t try and create problems among us, you understand me. Don’t disrupt the working of the party, mentioning one candidate, we are all members, and I am a major stakeholders,” he added.
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