Oyegun panel report not binding on us ― APC NWC

Published by

3 years ago

Oyegun panel report not binding on us, Oyegun panel disqualifies 10, APC South-South reconciliation team, party, fortunes of nigerians

Barely twenty-four hours after the Chief Odigie Oyegun seven-man panel submitted its report which recommended that 10 out of the 23 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirants be precluded from seeking the ticket at Monday’s presidential convention, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) may have offered a respite to the axed aspirants.

National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Barrister Felix Morka told newsmen that the report of the Chief Oyegun led Presidential Screening Committee was not binding on Senator Abdullahi Adamu’s leadership.

While submitting his panel report on Friday, Chief Oyegun revealed that his team brought the final list down to 13 from 23.

He said: “I don’t want to read the names, I think we leave that to you. But we have a short list, we brought the number severely down to 13.”

The document sighted by Tribune Online revealed that the 13 aspirants who made the shortlist included, Governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru; former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio Godswil; former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; his Ekiti state counterpart, Governor Kayode Fayemi; Tein Jack-Rich; Senate President, Ahmed Lawan; former Minister of Education, Emeka Nwajuiba; former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Others were former Lagos State Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi.

Those who did not enjoy the blessings of the screening panel were: Senator Ajayi Boroffice, Uju Ken-Ohanenye; Nicholas Felix; former Senate President Ken Nnamani; Pastor Tunde Bakare; former Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun; former Governor of Zamfara State, Sani Yerima; former Speaker of House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole; former Imo State governor and Senator representing Imo West, Senator Rochas Okorocha; Governor of Cross Rivers State Ben Ayade and former Minister of Information, Ikeobasi Mokelu.

The APC National Publicity Secretary however maintained that the Chief Oyegun panel only made a recommendation which he noted was not binding on the party.

He said: “The screening panel only made recommendations to us to prune down our list. But that isn’t binding on us. We gave them an assignment and they have delivered. We would now sit down and take a position on what they submitted to us.”

Asked if the party would constitute an appeal panel for any aggrieved aspirant, who has strong reservations about their disqualification to present his case, Morka said “that doesn’t arise now. Is that an issue? I have just told you that nobody has been disqualified. It is when you arrived at a decision to adopt the recommendation that you can think about providing avenues for those disqualified. I have told you that we haven’t disqualified anybody.”

Further investigation by Sunday Tribune revealed that the Oyegun Committee also tasked the APC National Working Committee to convene a meeting between the aspirants if it was interested in pushing for a consensus option in arriving at its standard-bearer.

Oyegun panel argued in its report that if any of the aspirants failed to surrender to the consensus arrangement, “then the party should proceed to elective primaries in strict compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

“In the interest of peace within the party, and to achieve peace, the Screening Committee advises that the party hold a meeting with all the candidates to arrive at a consensus with belief.”

By virtue of Section 84(9) of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) “A political party that adopts a consensus candidate shall secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the position, indicating their voluntary withdrawal from the race and their endorsement of the consensus candidate.”

Responding to question on the fate of the Court judgement in Kano which ruled that Section 84 of the Electoral Act did not prevent statutory delegates from voting, the APC National Publicity Secretary said the Court pronouncement has no effect on the scheduled Monday Presidential Convention as he noted that the All Progressives Congress was not joined in the suit.

Ruling on a suit marked FHC/KN/CS/137/2022 instituted by an ex-lawmaker, Senator Mas’Ud Doguwa; and two others, Habibu Sani and Biliyaminu Shinkafi, asking the court to determine if Section 84(8) of the Act actually bars statutory delegates from voting, Justice Abdullahi Liman stated, “That Section 84(8) cannot be interpreted to have excluded statutory delegates from voting at the convention, congress or meeting by virtue of Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 20(iv)(c) of the All Progressives Congress constitution, which allows statutory delegates to vote at the convention, congress or meeting.”

Morka however told Tribune Online that “APC isn’t a party to the suit! We weren’t joined. So, we are going ahead with our Convention as scheduled.”

With the party stance, Tribune Online checks revealed that statutory delegates have lost out and the APC would proceed with 2,322 delegates: three delegates each from the 774 local government areas in the country, including the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

IN CASE YOU MISSED THESE FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE