Tinubu Campaign Organisation has warned against the
imposition of a consensus candidate by the All Progressives Congress.
The organisation was reacting to the announcement of Senate
President Ahmed Lawan as consensus candidate of the party on Monday.
In a statement signed by its Legal Director, Babatunde
Ogala, SAN, the support group listed three conditions for picking a consensus
candidate as stipulated in the Electoral Act.
Tne statement read, “The media is inundated with reports that the Chairman of the All progressives Congress (APC) has unilaterally announced the purported adoption of a certain aspirant the consensus presidential candidate of the APC for the forth coming presidential election in 2023.
“While the National Chairman is yet to deny or offer any
clarification on the alleged declaration, it is necessary to state that such a
declaration is a legal impossibility.
“This is because under the regime of the Electoral Act 2022,
consensus, though provided for as one of the means by which a political party
may produce its candidate, must specifically occur in a precise form.
“Section 84(9) (10) and (11) of the Electoral Act 2022 are
the relevant provisions and they state as follows:
“(9) A political party that adopts a consensus candidate
shall secure the written consent of all cleared aspirant for the position,
indicating their voluntary withdrawal from the race and their endorsement of
the consensus candidate”.
“(10) Where a political party is unable to secure a written
consent of all cleared aspirants for the purpose of a consensus candidate, it
shall revert to the choice of direct or indirect primaries for the nomination
of candidates for the aforesaid elective position.
“(11) A special
convention or nomination congress shall be held to ratify the choice of
consensus candidates at designated centers at the National, State, Senatorial,
Federal and State Constituencies, as the case may be”.
“Instructively, none of the above conditions have occurred
in respect of producing the presidential candidate of the APC. Therefore, any
declaration of a consensus candidate would be premature and a violation of
extant provisions of the law.
“We are confident that as a law-abiding entity, the APC will
not be part of such. We are further persuaded to urge our supporters to
disregard this report considering that the overwhelming majority of the APC
Northern Governors who, after meeting with the President, re-affirmed their
preference for a president from the Southern part of Nigeria.
“This patriotic decision is widely accepted by all Nigerians
as a demonstration of deep understanding of the nuanced fault lines of our
nation.
“In the circumstance, a unilateral declaration by the
National Chairman of aconsensus presidential candidate for the party will not
only violate the law, but set the party on collision course with its Governors
who are critical stakeholders in the party.”
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