The Director General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Salihu Lukeman, has urged the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Convention Planning Committee not to hesitate to activate the expulsion clause in the constitution of the All Progressives Congress, if members of the dissolved Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee go to court.
He gave this advice in a statement in Abuja, on Friday. He said although the crisis in the party cannot be said to be over with the successful hosting of the National Executive Committee meeting, appreciable progress has been made to resolve them.
Lukeman said, “We have a Convention Working Committee that will manage the party for a period of six months and organise a National Convention to elect a new leadership, it can be said that the crisis will be resolved.
“Given that a section of the dissolved National Working Committee is threatening legal actions against the decision of the NEC, what does this mean? It simply means that a section of the dissolved NWC is working against the party.
“Perhaps the Convention Working Committee should consider invoking provisions of Article 21: Discipline of Party Members of the APC constitution by taking advantage of the now discovered micro powers of ward leaders.
“Based on that those members of the dissolved NWC who attempt to institute legal actions against the decisions of NEC should be appropriately sanctioned.”
The section empowers the party to expel members who take it to court without exhausting internal mechanisms of conflict resolution.
Lukeman further said, “It is the responsibility of the Convention Working Committee to ensure that all the rascally conducts of party leaders that characterised the APC leadership conflict are brought under control. We should on no account tolerate conduct of any leader of the party, which makes them more associated with activities of bandits who don’t respect any rule or any leader.”
He enjoined party leaders at all levels to take lessons from the leadership skills displayed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), during the National Executive Council meeting.
(Punch)
