Members of the National Working Committee (NWC) have accused the national Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of high-handedness.
A statement jointly signed by the North-West and South-West National Vice Chairmen, Salihu Lukman and Isaacs Kekemeke on Tuesday, also accused him of dropping the name of president Muhammadu Buhari in blackmailing them.
“The National Chairman takes decisions unilaterally. When it suits him, he invokes the name of our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari to blackmail NWC members into accepting his decisions.
“We are compelled to make this statement following serial postponement of the scheduled National Working Committee meetings, twice within 48 hours.
“We are convinced beyond doubt that this is a deliberate attempt to foist a fait accompli on the NWC on fundamental issues that affect our great party.
“Within just two months in the lifespan of the new leadership of our great party, APC, led by His Excellency, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, the NWC, organ of the party vested with the power of managing the day-to-day affairs, including implementing decisions of the National Executive Committee (NEC), as provided in Article 13.4 of the APC Constitution, has been rendered redundant,” the statement reads.
According to them, failure of the NWC to make the national chairman respect it, resulted in the option to write the party leaders.
“Note that NEC’s donation of its powers was to NWC and not to the National Chairman or any individual.
“We, therefore, have no option but to make this public appeal to all APC leaders to intervene please urgently to call our National Chairman, His Excellency, Abdullahi Adamu to order, immediately.
“The National Chairman must be properly reminded to recognise that the business of managing the day-to-day affairs of the party is the responsibility of the NWC as provided in provisions of the APC Constitution.
“He is free to consult any party leader(s). Such consultations will not represent decisions of the NWC or any organ of the party unless and until it is adopted by a properly constituted meeting of the NWC or organ in question according to the letters and spirit of the APC constitution,” the statement further reads.
According to the NWC, because it has suffered too many judicial embarrassments which arise from avoidable leadership breaches of the party’s constitution and rules, the Committee has served a notice to the national chairman, that any further decision taken unilaterally, would be illegitimate.
“We will also consider it as an infringement on the jurisdictional scope of the NWC, unless otherwise confirmed as validly approved decisions of the NWC or any other legitimate organ of the party.
“No NWC member is elected at the March 26, 2022, National Convention to warm seats or offices in the National Secretariat.
“We, therefore, call on all our colleagues in the NWC to rise to these challenging situations by joining hands with us to save our great party and return it to its founding mission of moving Nigeria forward based on honest, fair, just and selfless commitment to party building,” he stated.