By Mukhtar Jibrin
Let me begin with the name of Allah, The Merciful, The Compassionate. As I promised you, I will divulge the truth which people dodged to tell the State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bauchi state chapter ever since the defeat of the party governorship candidate in the 2019 general elections. I’m not among those who ascribed the party’s defeat to the chairman of the APC, but he too plays a role to that effect.
My fellow party members, the truth must be told in as so far we want the party to regain its lost glory, and our prayer for the APC to recapture the governorship seat come 2023, it becomes imperative for us to highlight some of the drawbacks of the party leadership or chairmanship in particular. And it’s for this reasons that I committed myself to enumerate some of the fatal mistakes or wrong doings of the APC chairman in both legal political ways, even though have some resemblance to each other, though all of them have retarded the wheels of progress of the APC as a party. ship in Bauchi state. It is also hope that whatever comes out from this write-up would not be link or liken to our relationship to anybody, but as an opinion of independent mind with the sole aim forging ahead to bolster the party, and not for self-aggrandizement. I would first begin with his wrong-doing politically:
1. The Political Wrong-doings of the State APC Chairman, Many members of the party were apportioning blames on the state chairman in Bauchi for lackadaisical attitudes such as not looking the APC as the coming together of like minds to pursue a common goal, for without them coming together to form a formidable force, there wouldn’t be anything like a party and achieve any set objective, as he has also fell to realize that in such a formation like a political party or any reputable organization a leader must have enemies or backbiters who would stand to see that he/she did not succeed, and a leader must dance together with such backbiters of enemies, as was the case of the holy Prophet of Islam with his countrymen in Medina at that time, whereas the perception of APC members, loyalists and supporters was that the party chairman doesn’t want carry them all on board, like the saying, a single tree cannot make a forest.
2. After the defeat of the APC in Bauchi, particularly the gubernatorial contest of 2019 elections, the party chairman fell to carry on board party members, particularly the elected representatives at both state and federal legislatures, who would hold firm onto the party for its survival, as well as meeting the peripheral needs of party members while building it from strength to strength.
3. After the defeat of the APC governorship candidate in the last general elections, the state party chairman fell to unite other elected members in running the affairs of the party for its sustainability, especially the APC stakeholders.
4. The allegations of wrong-doings or blames being apportioned to both elective and appointive party members at both state and federal levels for not helping or patronizing party members to easy livelihood, rest squarely with the state party chairman, as evidences have shown his self-aggrandized attitude of fending only for himself to the detriment of majority party members. And he was the only party member who hold appointive position with the federal government among the state APC executives as board chairman of Federal University Dutsenma in Katsina state. Up till this day, the party chairman did not assist or came in handy to any of the state party executive, for not even a dime.
5. The Bauchi state APC chairman also to embark on a mission, reminiscence of his ups and downs or shuttling after primary elections between the PDP, NNPP, PRP persuading the aggrieved but decamped members back to the fold of the APC.
6. It was a known fact about the fate of politicians in the state whose efforts culminated to the successful or bringing into fame the PDP Government in Bauchi state, but who today were given the gumboots with the Governor forming or formed a government of family and friends in Bauchi, a bad superiority which made even those in the government as onlookers in the schemes of things, with those aggrieved wanting to fall into the APC but keeps thinking about its bad leadership style which include I don’t care attitude of the leader or state party chairman in particular to pioneer members of the APC, let alone decampees to party.
Apart from the wrong-doings or political machinations I brought against the Bauchi State APC chairman herewith, he has also perpetrated various atrocities in the leadership of the party, especially as regards the illegality in the constitution of the party. He has bastardized the Constitution of the APC by making same of its provisions ineffective. He has fell to understand that party constitution is being made to regulate the activities of the party, hence his bending of the party rules and regulations was one of the factors that broke the camel’ back as could be read below.
Outrages of Bauchi APC chairman in Legal Terms
1. Bauchi State Chairman of the ALL Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Uba Ahmad Nana has abandoned the state office of the party to the extent that one cannot say there isn’t any opposition party in Bauchi. This action is also in disparity with section 10 (b) of the party constitution, which provides that APC must have a functional office at every level of governance except at the polling units and senatorial districts. It is absolutely undesirable for a state like Bauchi which has an unparalleled APC followership to have its state office relegated to the residence of the party chairman (even if it’s functioning at that residence) or recourse to its national headquarters in Abuja for some of its activities to take place or perform which is a disgrace to the state office in Bauchi.
2. The non-staging of a state annual congress as provided for in the APC constitution as amended in 2014. Section 13.7 (iii) which compel the state leadership of the party to make annual budgetary provision subject to the ratification of members of the state congress. Composition of the congress include 12 formations as provided in section 12.7 of the party constitution, which include members of Board of Trustees, leadership of the party at all levels in the state, elective and appointive party members at federal level, as provided for in section 11 (a) of the party constitution, stakeholders and party caucus as in sections 12.9 and 12.14 at State and Local Government levels, let alone wards level. In a nutshell, there wasn’t any time the state chairman of the party sat with any leadership of these party formations, let alone the presentation of any document for the attention or ratification during the six years of the state party chairman stewardship.
3. The State Chairman of the APC in Bauchi also fell to open a corporate account of the party with any bank in the state for the past six years of his leadership, contrary to the provision of section 23 of the party constitution, which provides the party to open such an account at all its governance levels in the state. Sub-section iii (a – d) specified that chairman, secretary, treasurer, and financial secretary are the signatories to the account. We have every evidence at our disposal that the Bauchi state chairman of the APC has up to this ending year, 2020 did not open a corporate account of the party with any of the banks in the state, as provided by the party constitution. People of Bauchi state, especially APC members would like to know in what ways, means, or procedures the financial transactions of the party running into hundreds of millions of naira are being carried out during the six year-period of Uba Ahmad Nana stewardship?
4. The failure of the APC leadership in Bauchi to carry along all its membership leaves much to be desired and this was the bane of its internal crises. This lackadaisical attitude of the APC leadership in the state is contrary to the provisions of sections 7 and 9.2 of the party constitution that gives equal rights and privileges of association in the party. The party constitution similarly provides for internal democracy, as no one was bestowed with monopoly of the party to suit his/her whims and caprices, and or dent the image of the party for selfish ends.
5. Last but not the least, section 21 (a) i, ii, and iii provisions of the APC constitution (which provides for offences) said to act contrary to any provision of the constitution or betrayal to the party or anti-party activity, or letting the party down, non-adherence to the party’s doctrines, amount to committing an offence punishable under the provisions of the APC Constitution.
6. Now, what are the ways forward? In my opinion, the state party chairman should call for an all-encompassing special meeting of party members and its stakeholders at state level to brainstorm on the way forward and chart a course for making the party not only formidable but shines proper in the good looking eyes of the general public.
It is my ardent hope and prayer that party members would amicably, harmoniously and peacefully mend their broken fences, and chart a clear for Nigerians generally to rally round the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2023 polls in a manner that the party with its envisaged victory would salvage the generality of Bauchi citizens and the Nigerian populace in entity.
Jibril writes from Bauchi
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Sky Daily –
