By Nata’ala Halilu
Democracy is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation, or to choose governing officials to do so. It is also a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. It is indeed a government of the people, by the people and only for the people.
It is really a fully representative form of governance that is the vogue, nay globally. Any other system or form of governance or leadership is often detested and vehemently rejected and as well regarded as a pharaonic. It is therefore incumbent to state that, in a true democracy, whether having to do with intra or inter party affairs, there must be true democracy. Hence, the electorate must be allowed to elect and or choose the people to lead them in any way or under any circumstance.
The above explicitly abounds in Nigeria. Currently, there are many registered political parties in Nigeria, including the APC and the PDP. In this direction, these political parties each have their own structures and leadership hierarchy. Sequel to this imperative, the respective members of these political parties should be independent enough to elect the people they want to lead them, either at the internal party leadership status or at the elective level.
The above therefore implies that every political party should be left on its own in choosing its leaders and their respective flag bearers.
There should not therefore be any extraneous interference in doing this. Instructively, these parties and their members are free to give their mandates and leadership responsibilities to people they desire, and out of their own volitions.
In Sokoto State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has its structures and leadership hierarchy and these leaders emerge through the routine constitutional processes. The party should therefore be left alone to function and be led only by ” its own,” and not any extraneous, strange diabolical hands.
This is even as the party may have some internal hiccups that are not only peculiar to the APC. This includes the ongoing leadership tussle in the Sokoto State Chapter of the party where some deluded Judases are causing a stir in the leadership hierarchy of the party, woefully contesting the leadership or the mandate freely and voluntarily given to its duly recognized leader, Alhaji Isa Sadiq Achida.
One therefore wonders when people that are alien to the party and the state are unwholesomely meddling in the affairs of the Sokoto State Chapter of the APC, and they are devoid of any shame or prickness of their conscience.
These are the glaring obnoxious cases of the incumbent Nigeria’s Justice Minister and Attorney-General of the Federation, Alhaji Abubakar Malami. SAN and the former Kano State Governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, who is also the current Senator representing Kano Central Senatorial District at the nation’s Upper Chamber. The public endorsement of a factional Chairman of APC in Sokoto State, Alhaji Mainasara Sani was therefore an outright aberration.
They have no business interfering in the affairs of the Sokoto State APC while the same party in their respective states of Kebbi and Kano are also troubled. Also, by such undue interference, the duo, especially the Minister of Justice had violated the oath of office and this is an outright contravention of the nation’s 1999 Constitution, as amended. This flagrant nefarious act by Malami also deserves some punitive measures to be meted to him.
It was sequel to this that a myriad of patriotic and well meaning members of the members of the All Progress Congress (APC) in Sokoto State on Monday, 28th February, 2022, rose in unison and rightly chided Malami for his unbecoming action. The party loyalists led by its State Chairman, Alhaji Isa Sadiq Achida asked the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), to resign his position.Sadiq Achida made the call at a press conference, arguing that Malami had trampled on his office and abused his office for preempting Court judgement on the disputes at different levels.
Achida averred: ”It was glaring unfortunate for Malami to drag his exalted office to the mud being the AGF and the Chief Law Officer of the federation to openly preempted court judgment. By Malami’s singular act of recognising a faction of APC in Sokoto state, having known the matter is still pending before the Court of Appeal. The Minister had breached the sanctity of the constitution and his oath of office, which requires him not to allow his personal interest to influence official conduct.”
Alhaji Isa Sadiq Achida also further called on the acting National Chairman of APC, Alhaji Mai-Mala to expel Malami, because of his numerous roles in destabilizing APC in Sokoto, Kano, Kebbi, Zamfara and Kwara States among others. According to him, Malami’s and former Kano State governor, Sen. Ibrahim Shekarau’s presence at a function in Sokoto was a calculated attempt to disrupt the party’s unity in Sokoto.
Isa Sadiq Achida argued,”if Shekarau has any expertise in political manipulation, he should redirect it toward achieving his ambition of controlling the APC in Kano state rather than Sokoto. The duo came to Sokoto with a single mission to destabilize the APC in Sokoto State, we feel bold to tell them that they lost party control in their state, in Sokoto also their mission is dead on arrival.”
Alhaji Achida further stated that he addressed the press conference on behalf of Senators, State House and House of Representative members, Elders Committee, State and local government executives and others. He urged APC supporters to disregard the utterance of Malami and Shekarau and remained united in support of APC leader, Sen. Aliyu Wamakko, who ensured party progress at all levels.
Corroborating the stance of Alhaji Isa Sadiq Achida and all the members of the party in the state, thirteen members of the State House of Assembly, led by the APC Leader, Alhaji Bello Isa Ambarura have also vehemently condemned the spiteful acts of Malami and Shekarau.
According to Ambarura, the action of Malami was prejudicial and contemptuous that would cast doubts in the minds of all discerning Nigerians as regards to the sanctity of judgments and the entire judiciary in the country. This will put the all-important arm of government that everyone runs to in case of disputes between individuals, groups, and or arms of governments, among others.
The APC Leader further noted that the Minister of Justice should have known better than other ”unlearned” Nigerians that all matters before courts of law are not subjects of public comments until they are duly dispensed with appropriately.
The lawmakers therefore advised Malami and Shekarau to go back to their respective states to put their houses in order and make APC in those states better and the pacesetters they are not now. They should ensure that they take control of the party in those states rather than nefariously meddling in the affairs of other states.
They further restated their unalloyed loyalty to the leadership of the undisputed political Patriarch of Sokoto State , as well as the choice of the APC members of the state, Alhaji Isa Sadiq Achida. They also averred that Achida is the Chairman recognized by the law and duly recognized by INEC.
It is therefore heartwarming that these right thinking and brainy members of the APC under the dexterous and dogged leadership of Alhaji Isa Sadiq Achida have chided Malami and they have appropriately asked him to do the needful and reign from his position and allow for the appointment of another law abiding individual to be the nation’s Chief Law Officer.
Halilu, a Public Affairs Analyst writes from Rungumi Area, Sokoto
