By David Onimisi Lawani
A former Director-General of Nigeria Advanced Legal Study and member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, National Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, CECPC, Professor Tahir Mamman, SAN, has noted that there is no going back on the congresses saying there is no course for alarm as the scheduled date of Saturday 31st, July will still hold.
Mamman gave this assurance when he addressed pressmen at the national secretariat of the party stressing that all plans are in top gear for the congresses noting that the party is comfortable with its status.
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He said the party is relying on the office of the Attorney General of the Federation for a guide and it is convinced that the party is doing the right thing as there has not been anywhere the court has said it cannot proceed with the ward congress of the party.
His words: ” I am here to reconfirm that our Congresses are on course to hold tomorrow and this Committee is working closely with the Attorney-General of the Federation. And he has offered advice that we are on good ground and we are comfortable with that position. So our programs will continue to roll on in the normal course of things.
” So we want to assure teeming members of the APC across the country to come out and elect officers at the ward level. This party believes so much in grassroots politics, grassroots democracy; that is the strength of the party. So we encourage all members to come out tomorrow and elect leaders of their choice at that level before we move to the next stage of our democratization process and constitution of the leadership of the party.
” This is, in a nutshell, the message from the party and the Secretariat. That the court hasn’t made any pronouncement or any judgment that undermines our position. And you don’t go into speculating what the courts will do in the future. So, we’re comfortable with our position”, he said.
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He advised further that members of the party should go about the process peacefully saying that the party is not aware of any parallel congress in any state as consensus remain the decision of the party in the interest of all members.
According to him: ” Well, we are not aware of any parallel congresses going on. It is when the Congresses that is when we know there is an issue. Some of the states are having problems in them and the Caretaker Committee has been working very hard to ensure all the parties work together and remember the decision of the party is for consensus if possible.
” If there is no consensus, members will be free to go into an election. This party is not about imposing leadership on its members. So there is no reason for any parallel congresses at all because it is a plural system. If 10 people come out to contest for a particular position so be it. The voters; card-carrying members of the party will decide eventually who the members are”, he said.
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On the issue raised by some members of the party that the caretaker committee gave more than one person congress forms in the state as against the party’s directive, he said: ” I am not sure if I want to open up on some of these things. But I can explain along the line that I made in respect of Kwara. It is a very open process. We have sent our officials from the National secretariat to various state headquarters with forms for people to purchase.
” And like many people, as there are willing to purchase forms, they are free to buy them. So there is no limitation. If there is anyone who decides to buy a form for some people, it is not against our rules. The most important thing is the electorate and the party members electing their leaders. So even in a ward, if 100 people buy form, there is no problem with that.
” At the end of the day, if they are unable to agree on a consensus which is our preferred choice, genuine consensus where all the stakeholders coming together to agree on who gets what position. If they are not able to agree they will now go to congress. And then elect whoever they wish to elect for any particular position. It is very simple”, he stated.
He reiterated that the youth who said they were afraid the continued holding of two positions by the National Caretaker Chairman even though no court has made any pronouncement against it, is not enough ground to be worried by the youth. He said a new date will be fixed for Anambra because of the governorship election coming up in Nov., and other states having issues.
” The business of the law is not about speculating what a court will decide in a particular dispute. We deal with what the court has presently decided on. That is the way the law operates. And people can have fear of anything. And whatever decision anybody takes, it will always be subject to litigation. People are free to test the propriety of any decision. You cannot stop anybody, no matter what it is. But we deal with the present at the moment. As I said, we are going on with the decision of the court. That is what we are working with.
” Another date is being fixed for those states. Because we have an election coming up in Anambra. We don’t want to jeopardize our position there. Though in Zamfara, only recently, they are still doing their validation and continuation of membership registration. So that is the position”, he added.
