SAN FRANCISCO, September 28, (THEWILL) – Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has declared that the decision to set aside a resolution cancelling the Ondo state governorship primary election is an invitation to discord within the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Abubakar, in a statement on Wednesday, charged John Oyegun, National Chairman of the APC to promote the rule of law and due process in the conduct of its affairs saying they are the bedrock to the unity and stability of the party.
He declared it was mandatory for the national leadership of the APC to live by the rules of internal democracy and respect for democratic consensus, warning that “you cannot break your own rules without creating problems.”
Abubakar, adding his voice to the festering crisis trailing the conduct of the APC governorship primary election in Ondo state insisted that the APC was supposed to be an impartial entity in the arbitration of crisis amongst its members in any given election.
“It was wrong for the APC to have set aside a resolution it had reached aimed at resolving the crisis in our party in Ondo state. It is a recipe for acrimony and division,” he said.
“Since the APC found reasons to review the outcome of the governorship primary election it conducted in Ondo state, and was able to establish valid grounds to cancel that election and call for a fresh one, the decision to deviate from its own resolution was a negation of due process and a hollow in democratic best practice.
“Pretending that a problem doesn’t exist won’t make that problem go away, hence the leadership of the party should do a soul searching and address why this problem arose and escalated.
“The party leadership should always be guided by respect for the rules, fairness, equity, neutrality and respect for democratic consensus.
“Aggrieved members of the APC in the Ondo election should however exercise restraint in seeking redress to the crisis.”
Story by David Oputah
