2023: Concession affidavit unsettles APC presidential aspirants; nothing to worry about, says Party

The APC constitution mandates aggrieved members to fully exhaust all internal dispute resolution mechanisms before going to court if need be. That is what the so-called affidavit is all about if I understand what they are talking about.

There is palpable air of uncertainty among presidential aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over a provision for affidavit which requires aspirants to concede under oath before returning the form.

The ruling party, which pegged the cost of the presidential nomination forms N100 million commenced sale last week ahead of the primaries for next year’s general election.

While the sale of forms ends on Friday, May 6, the congresses to elect states and national delegates would hold between May 7 and 9, 2022.

Many aspirants have already purchased the form.

One of the aspirants who had already bought the nomination and expression of interest forms, however, told TheNiche that there is an affidavit which requires every aspirant to concede under oath before returning the completed forms is suspicious and worrisome.

The aspirant who did not want his name mentioned the affidavit cannot be in good faith.

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“Some of us are afraid that at the end of the day, the party may opt for Consensus rather than holding a competitive primary election. The affidavit will therefore serve as a safety net for the party to say that the aspirants agreed to consensus.

“The affidavit mandates every aspirant to abide by whatever is the outcome of the primaries whether it is deemed to be fair or not.”

But a member of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), Nze Chidi Duru, said such a fear is unfounded.

Nze Duru, who is the Deputy National Organising Secretary, in a telephone chat with TheNiche explained that the provision which informed the affidavit is enshrined in the party’s constitution.

“It is not a new thing. The APC constitution mandates aggrieved members to fully exhaust all internal dispute resolution mechanisms before going to court if need be. That is what the so-called affidavit is all about if I understand what they are talking about. We don’t want people rushing to court when they fail in the primaries without exploring the channels provided by the party to seek redress if at all there are issues.

“It is not something new. If you remember, during the APC National Convention in 2014 in Lagos, all the aspirants who contested the primaries swore to an oath to abide by the outcome of the election and they all did by congratulating the winner, General Muhammadu Buhari, who emerged the candidate of the party.

“In 2018, that was not necessary because the incumbent president was not challenged in the primaries. But this time around, just as it was the case in 2014, there are many aspirants and there is need for some order,” he explained.

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On the fear that the party may not conduct primaries as it was the case when party officials were elected at the National Convention recently, Nze Duru said the fear is unfounded.

“I can assure you APC will conduct primaries. Election of those who will run the affairs of the party is quite different from electing those who will fly the party’s flag during the general election.

“The delegates form will be out from Wednesday and before the end of the week, we will be deciding on the mode of the primaries, whether it will be direct or indirect but definitely not consensus.

“Nobody will be excluded from the process,” he assured.

SOURCE: Thenicheng

The views expressed in this article are the original writer’s (Thenicheng) opinion, they do not reflect the views of the Publisher of Eaglesforesight. Please, if you notice any fake news, defamatory statements in this story, kindly report to eaglesforesight5@gmail.com

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