Oladimeji Ramon 8 August 2021
Kayode Ajulo
In this interview with OLADIMEJI RAMON, a lawyer, Dr Kayode Ajulo, argues that it is dangerous for the ruling All Progressives Congress to continue to have Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, as the Chairman of its Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee
Will you say it was foolhardy for the All Progressives Congress to have gone ahead with its ward congresses last Saturday given the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Mr Eyitayo Jegede challenging the election of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State?
It is no longer news that in a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal filed by Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) of the Peoples Democratic Party, challenging the election of Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN). To put it in another way, the apex court upheld the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Ondo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal. Now to your question, the decision of the Supreme Court gives a hint and the take-home is that those who have ears should hear what the court is saying. The dissenting judgment may not have a force of law or compulsion but it’s instructive, it’s like a conscience which is an open wound as it aroused some sentiments that cannot be wished away that the APC leadership under a sitting governor is encumbered.
However, relating it with the ward congresses held across the nation by the APC, I am not good at speculating but the situation is onerous. Who knows what might have informed the party’s decision to go ahead with its ward congresses; may be (it was) to showcase the collective strength and resilience of the party.
With the deed done, is there any means, no matter how tiny, by which the APC can escape the nullification of the candidates thrown up from the congresses?
Again, I recognise the hint, no matter how infinitesimal it may look to some optimistic leaders of the party. That dissenting judgment of the apex court has exposed the weakness of the anomalous impact of the continued stay in office of Governor Mai Mala Buni, the chairman of the APC National Caretaker and Convention Planning Committee.
However, party congresses, just like voters’ registration, are a continuum and what has been done can either be undone if and when a new leadership emerges and as such the issue of possible nullification of candidates can be totally avoided; but as things stand, we are looking at a politically-suicidal situation and my counsel is that the APC, through its National Executive Council of the party, should guide the party in the process of electing new national executives.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party also issued a statement, berating the APC for going ahead with the ward congresses in spite of the Supreme Court decision. Don’t you think the PDP should have just kept quiet and work towards taking advantage of the situation in coming elections?
The statement issued by the PDP is tantamount to crying more than the bereaved; I have never been sympathetic to an unjust cause particularly in political space. My advice to its leadership is that it should remove the log in its eyes before crying wolf over the speck in the eyes of another. Whatever the PDP is saying reeks of deep-seated mala fide and it is rivalry taken too far and they should refrain from such bitter opposition. In fact, as we speak, several gross allegations have been levelled against the party’s National Chairman, Prince Secondus.
Also, the recent resignation of seven deputy national officers of the party with poor leadership being cited as reason is indicative that the party structure is anything but well.
What will you recommend as the way forward for the APC?
What I have always recommended at different fora is that the APC should put its house in order. The prolonged stay of Mai Mala Buni in office smacks of unrestrained impunity and this must be addressed without any delay. The provisions of Section 183 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended is abundantly clear that a governor shall not, during the period when he holds office, hold any other executive office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever. The Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, as the Chairman of the APC National Caretaker and Convention Planning Committee sees to the day-to-day running of the party and he cannot, in all honesty, claim he is not the Chief Executive Officer of the party. This constitutional infraction is a costly mistake that needs to be remedied immediately before the fireworks of needles legal battles are ignited on the party. Also, Article 17(4) of the Constitution of the APC provides that no officer in any organ of the party shall hold executive office in government. These two provisions do not admit of any discretion and strict adherence to it has been commanded by the operative word ‘shall’. In the light of this, the APC should retrace its steps and uphold the standards and ethos worthy of a party acclaimed to be the largest party in Africa’s largest democracy. As a first step, there is a need for Mai Mala Buni to bow out graciously so that every other apparatus of the party can be activated to properly elect a substantive Chairman, because as the old proverbial saying goes ‘a stitch in time saves nine’.
Will you say the recent gale of defections into the APC from other parties has laid to rest the assertion by some that the APC would disintegrate when President Buhari’s tenure ends?
Let me take a critical stance here and my considered opinion is that the ideological propensities of our present crop of politicians, save for a few, have little or nothing to do with ideologies, principles, patriotism or in a narrower sense, party interest. The average Nigerian politician is nomadic in nature, so what may appear as gain to the APC in terms of the defection may as well become problematic by the time some of these diehard politicians reveal their true parochial and self-interests as opposed to the ultimate interest of the Nigeria people.
Furthermore, with this current issue of the implied disapproval of Buni’s chairmanship, it will not surprise you to know that some politicians in the APC are already mooting the idea of seeking their salvation elsewhere. Therefore, while no one can be barred from pursuing his ambitions within the legally permissible structures of the party or elsewhere, it is better to take the defections with a pinch of salt while we watch as events unfold. It is also a wrong assertion that the party will disintegrate at the end of President Buhari’s tenure in the first place.
INEC has expressed concerns and sought the help of the NBA and the NJC over what it described as conflicting court decisions on parties’ candidates for the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State. Do you think the NBA or the NJC will be able to help in such circumstances?
I view this as a satisfactory move as these two important bodies have disciplinary jurisdictions over members of the Bar and the bench and I think that given this move, most lawyers and judges alike will be wary of being subjected to the whimsical machinations of politicians. However, INEC should also respect court decisions and seek accelerated hearings of these cases up to the Supreme Court as there will always be just one unappealable decision of the Supreme Court and the jurisprudential value of such decisions, in my opinion, will deepen party politics and by extension of national politics.
Poor voters’ turnout was recorded during the recently conducted LGA elections in Lagos and Ogun states. Does this underscore the perceived diminishing relevance of the LGAs in the scheme of governance in the country?
The place of the local government cannot be wished away because it is a constitutionally-backed tier of government, so what can be done is to ensure its autonomous development within the political space. The question we should ask is that given the publicity that greets general elections in this country, why was same not accorded to the LG elections of the nation’s commercial capital, Lagos State and Ogun State. Henceforth, members of civil society groups, election monitoring groups and of course interest groups should be adequately mobilised for wider publicity of local government elections in this country. From the facts available to me, the low voters’ turnout can be mainly attributed to poor publicity as most residents were totally unaware of the elections. Local governments are the closest to the grassroots and to that extent, their affairs including elections must matter to all and sundry. With the right political will and attitude from States’ Chief Executives, the system of local government administration will improve and it will be evident before our very eyes.