Distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the Press, it is imperative to address you urgently today in view of recent developments in Lagos State All Progressives Congress. It is unfortunate that our society has found itself in this disastrous situation in which some undesirable elements are trying to pull back our democratic progress by the evil of imposition of candidates without advertence to internal democracy within All Progressives Congress. The fall out of the imposition misadventure was the shameful dance of some elements at the National Stadium on the 27th day of May, 2017 in which party members resisted imposition of candidates and disgraced a former senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria publicly. It was our hope that the incident would be a sufficient warning to these agents of coup-detat within a democracy but, alas, he who the gods would destroy they first make mad.
The soulless rent-a-crowd rally by some miscreants within the party, All Progressives Congress, yesterday in Lagos State is another manifestation of political slavery propping its destructive dictator that is leading it to the slaughter slab. How on earth would genuine members of a party castigate the lone voice of reason of Dr. Muiz Banire, SAN who has been advocating internal democracy within the party? We were aware of the evil plot to hold the rally and Dr. Banire, SAN had on Monday, the 17th day of June, 2017 notified the general public of the evil machinations of these delinquents who are masquerading as the leaders of the party and imposing their candidates on the people without recourse to the feelings of the general members who have told them categorically that imposition of candidates is an anathema in a democracy.
We were, therefore, not surprised to see them yesterday dancing naked in the market and parading in a completely inglorious show of self-immolation. We had warned of it and they proved us true. If the organisers of the failed rally were genuine members of APC they would know that no national officer of APC can be removed from office by mere protests and regurgitation of indecency.
Holding at the same time is the puerile efforts of the legislators in the Lagos State House of Assembly to amend the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) Law to allow APC to feature candidates in the Local Government elections coming up on Saturday the 22nd day of July, 2017, which is barely three days away. We are saying that this is legislative indecency of the highest order for no decent legislature would pass a law in such a hurry in the middle of the game to favour the ruling party of which the majority of the legislators are members. The said bill passed through the 1st, 2nd and 3rd readings within 10 minutes and same was presented to the Governor for his assent immediately. What is the basis of our contention on this issue?
1. The legislative process to amend the LASIEC Law came after the decision of the High Court of Lagos State nullifying the imposition of a candidate from Odi-Olowo Local Council Development Area. The legislative disregard for commonsense and the hurried primary election held in Odi-Olowo yesterday, the 18th July, came by despite the fact that the time for nomination of candidates had elapsed and no new primary elections can be held by a party already in default. The implication is that the amendment to the LASIEC Law carried out by the Lagos State House of Assembly was done to favour APC who had, by greed of some leaders of the party, nullified its own right to participate in the election.
2. The amendment process did not take into consideration the interest of other political parties and neither did it consider the opinions or perception of the public and hence there was no need for public hearing before the amendment was made. The amendment was carried out in a black market manner and it offends all legislative traditions and conventions. It is an impunity transported from the bedroom of dictators to the hallowed chambers of the legislature.
3. The amendment now allowing a political party to substitute its candidate three days to the election was basically to enable APC whose imposed candidate has been nullified by the Court to present the same candidate thereby necessitating changing the goal post in the middle of the game.
4. The amendment is a failed effort as there is no candidate to substitute by APC the process that threw up the imposed candidates having been nullified by the court.
The Voice Reason
On the call by Dr. Muiz Banire, SAN for transparency in APC, this is a genuinely reasonable call by the National Legal Adviser of the party who is the custodian of the constitution of the party and the adviser on legal matters. By Article 20 of the APC Constitution 2014, it is mandatory to hold primary elections by APC at which its candidates for any office would be elected. The inglorious announcement of candidates without a primary election attempted by Tokunbo Afikuyomi is completely alien to democracy and that is why the people resisted it. If the organisers of the jejune rally of yesterday believed that they had a genuine crowd of democratic elements, why didn’t they use their population to do a genuine primary election where their favoured candidate could emerge in flying colours to the shame of all detractors? Why must they impose their candidates over all others?
It must be borne in mind that those who were not satisfied with the shameful act of 27th May, 2017 at the National Stadium, Surulere, were the ones who went to court to challenge this impunity. The cases were instituted against APC and LASIEC and all actions against APC must be against the national secretariat of the party as the Law does not recognise a branch of the party, like Lagos State Chapter of APC, as a legal entity that can sue and be sued. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 does not recognise a chapter of a party as a legal personality that can sue and be sued. All actions are filed by and against a political party as an entity represented by the national leadership. This explains why all originating processes against a party must be served on the party at its national secretariat. It is the duty of the National Legal Adviser to defend the actions against the party just like the Attorney General of the Federation defends an action against the Federal Government.
Thus, the appointment of counsel by Dr. Banire, SAN, to represent APC in the cases filed in Lagos State by the aggrieved party members is completely legal and justified. The leadership of the party at the Lagos State, level having failed to heed counsel of wisdom earlier issued by Dr. Banire, SAN, cannot be heard to complain that he did not protect their imposition interest in court. They want him to go to court to lie that there was a primary election when it was all over the television and the social media that there was no primary election. This is shameful. It is a case of a madman dancing naked in the market accusing its sympathisers that they ought to have closed the market when they knew he was going to dance naked. What a shame!
It is clear that all cases of imposition of candidates have been nullified by the Court. Why must APC go to an election with imposed candidates only to for the election to be nullified by the Court? That is what the National Legal Adviser is saying and he would not stand by allow his name to be rubbished while he serves as legal adviser condoning imposition of candidates. We found it imperative to quote the counsel of perfection by His Lordship, Kekere-Ekun, JSC in the most recent decision of the Supreme Court in Mato v. Hembe & 2 Ors. SC.733/2016 (delivered on 23rd day of June, 2017) where court held thus:
“This case, in my view is a clear example of the mischief sought to be tackled by section 87(9) of the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended. While it is true that the courts will not interfere in the internal affairs of a political party nor its choice of candidate, Section 87(9) of the Electoral Act ensures that in making their choice of candidates for elective office political parties do not stray beyond the confines of the Electoral Act or their own electoral guidelines. The section seeks to curb the impunity with which political parties hitherto acted without regard to the democratic norms they profess to practice. As stated by my learned brother in the lead judgment, this court in a plethora of cases has asserted the fact that political parties must obey their own constitutions and guidelines and where necessary (as provided by law) the courts will intervene and wield the big stick to prevent arbitrariness.
The only way our democratic dispensation can work effectively is where every aspirant for political office, who is qualified to contest an election, is given an even playing field. The failure of internal democracy within our political parties right from the grassroots level eventually leads to instability in the entire political system. The failure of internal democracy is one of the reasons why the courts’ dockets are congested with pre-election disputes. In Ugwu vs. Ararume (2007) 12 NWLR (Pt. 1048) 376 @ 514 D-E, this court per Mahmud Mohammed, JSC (as he then was) admonished:
‘My lords if we want to instill sanity into our human affairs, if we want to entrench unpolluted democracy in our body polity, the naked truth must permeate through the blood, nerve and brain of each and everyone of us. Although credit may not always have its rightful place in politics, we should try to blend the two so as to attain a fair, just and egalitarian society where no one is oppressed. Let us call a spade a spade!’
I am in entire agreement with my learned brother, that in the circumstances of this case it was crystal clear that not only were there irregularities in the primary election that produced the 1st respondent, the 2nd respondent failed to follow its own guidelines in the selection of its candidate. I agree that in the eyes of the law the plaintiff/appellant was the only candidate of the 2nd defendant/2nd respondent as found by the report of the 2nd defendant’s Appeals Committee.”
We use this opportunity to sound warning to all who care to listen that we shall resist any attempt to kill or destroy our National Convener by all that God has given us as a people as we know that he has received several threat messages from these lawless agents of destruction. The same way PDP met its waterloo is what they are planning for APC. We love the party and would not allow it to go down the drain. We love democracy and would not allow some delinquents to pull the people into dictatorship. Dr. Banire fought against imposition in 2014/2015 and that was how the party had the primary elections that produced Governor Ambode and President Buhari and other office holders. It was the glory of the transparent nature of the primary elections that produced these leaders that gave APC victory in the elections and for someone who is afraid of defeat to impose candidates on the people, we shall not agree.
We end by quoting Dr, Muiz Banire, SAN, that “a life without a worthy principle is not worth living.”
Thank you.
Sgd.
Niyi Akinsiju Kunle Adegoke
National Coordinator Deputy National Convener
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