Pelumi Olajengbesi, human rights lawyer, says the submission
of Ahmad Lawan’s name as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
for Yobe north senatorial district shows the party has no “respect for
constitutional democracy”.
Lawan, senate president, was
listed as the APC senatorial candidate for Yobe north, without participating in
the senatorial primary election.
Bashir Machina, who won the APC primary election for the
district, insisted that he would not step down for the senate president.
Lawan had contested for the APC presidential ticket, but
lost to Bola Tinubu who secured 1,271 votes to clinch the party’s presidential
ticket.
Speaking on the development, Olajengbesi, principal partner
of Law Corridor, in a statement, said the APC must stop its “illegalities and
actions alien to decent democracy”.
The lawyer asked Machina to seek legal redress to reclaim
his mandate.
“Now that Lawan has lost the presidential primary to former
Lagos state governor, Bola Tinubu, it is shocking that the APC chairman again
threw away constitutional democracy and moved on to enthrone Lawan as Yobe
North senatorial candidate for the ruling party when it was apparent that the
senate president didn’t participate in the senatorial primary,” the statement
reads.
“The APC has just
disgraced and embarrassed itself as a shameless party with no respect for
constitutional democracy which President Muhammadu Buhari preaches.
“Going by the provisions of Section 84 of the Electoral Act
2022 signed by the President, the APC cannot just foist anybody on other
contestants, not especially in this case where Machina contested the election
and won whilst Lawan was busy chasing his presidential ambition which was met
with preposterous defeat as he didn’t even come close to the first three in
terms of votes cast by delegates.
“Recall that similar cases have been recorded with the likes
of other APC presidential aspirants including Godswill Akpabio, Dave Umahi, and
Ibikunle Amosun.
“The APC must stop its illegalities and actions alien to
decent democracy. There is nothing absolutely wrong with Lawan’s 24-year
rubberstamp tenure in the national assembly coming to an end in 2023. It is
this sit-tight syndrome that has destroyed democracy in Nigeria and Africa as a
whole.
“Machina is
encouraged to seek legal redress to reclaim his rightful mandate from Lawan.
Machina has a good case and should not give in to intimidation and oppression
by the high and mighty who should be taught a lesson that illegalities won’t be
tolerated going into the 2023 elections.”
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