NASS: Former envoy rebukes Akeredolu for criticizing NWC position

Ambassador Sola lji, a former ambassador to Togo and a top APC official in Ondo state, has criticized Rotimi Akeredolu’s stance regarding the party’s National Working Committee’s NWC zoning of the leadership positions in the National Assembly.

As you may recall, Akeredolu had attacked the party’s NWC and criticized the arrangements as being ineffective, lopsided, and likely to reinforce injustice and worsen inequity.
However, lji condemned Akeredolu for criticizing the NWC decision and standing up for aggrieved aspirants who were disappointed and disfavorably affected by the zoning, saying Akeredolu’s action amounted to disrespecting, working, and causing dissatisfaction within the party.

He criticized the governor of Ondo state’s positions and insisted that there was no need for controversy regarding the NWC of the APC’s proposal to zone the leadership positions of the National Assembly, which had yet to be inaugurated.

He asserted that “a highly regarded and respected leader as the Executive Governor of Ondo State, should not be heard to make an outburst that is capable of spewing insults about the leadership of our great party.

In actuality, a topic like this shouldn’t be discussed in the pages of the newspapers. Instead, it needed to be handled in a pleasant manner.

In fact, the governor has unrestricted access to the party’s leadership, including the National Chairman and other national leaders and NWC members, as well as the President-Elect, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with whom he should have had private discussions to express his concerns regarding the NWC decision.

While Ondo State is represented in the NWC by Barr. D. I. Kekemeke, the National Vice Chairman (Southwest) of the Party, “His Excellency, the Governor, has a very close and known access to the National Secretary of the party, aside from his private access to the leadership of the NWC.

“Under the circumstances, the Governor disregarded the party’s constituted authority, and the opinions so expressed in the Press Statement at best represent His Excellency’s personal opinion, to which he is legally entitled, and do not represent the position of leaders and members of the Party in Ondo State.”

Iji argued that “the APC NWC enjoys the constitutional mandate to act on behalf of the Party’s NEC in taking decisions outside of NEC meetings.

Importantly, the NWC is the highest administrative body of the APC and deserves respect from both leaders and members.

The statement attributed to Akeredolu, according to him, should be viewed as his personal opinion and not the position of the party’s state leaders as a whole.

The NWC’s decision to ensure orderliness in the party’s affairs as we get ready for the inauguration of the next APC Presidency and the leadership of the 10th National Assembly could not have been anything other than a private opinion, as party leaders in Ondo state were never consulted on such a position.

Given the tireless efforts of our great Party’s leadership in swiftly finding a solution to the zoning formula, one might have anticipated that our National leaders would receive high praise for their audacity in resolving the highly sensitive matter. Therefore, it shouldn’t be allowed to grow that the Ondo state chapter of the party is endangering the efforts of the NWC and the National Leaders.

“The governor’s decision to go against the NWC’s ruling is not something that has happened before. Recall that in 2019, our party’s leadership made the decision to reward those National Assembly members who, through their fidelity and commitment, assisted in stabilizing the party and the national government.

Similar to the NWC, the governor encouraged and supported his own preferred candidates to run on the platform of an opposition party instead of accepting the NWC’s decision to give return tickets to the affected National Assembly members.

Because of the governor’s alleged anti-party stance, the opposition won the presidency in 2019 as well as two senatorial seats, five federal constituency seats, and two seats in the House of Representatives.

“Our leaders at the heart of our Government have adopted this special zoning formula to allay the fears of most members because they realized the need to prevent a repetition of what happened in the 8th National Assembly, when a few party members nearly made the National Assembly ungovernable for our great party. Without a doubt, this has effectively prepared the group for a future greater exploit.

“The APC’s progressive platform is an embodiment of discipline. As a result, every party official and leader must not only practice discipline, but also uphold discipline as our defining characteristic. To do otherwise would cheapen and denigrate our great party. This is the progressive and right path to toe in our collective agreement to build a virulent and sustainable party, of which we can all be proud.

“I believe that party leaders, regardless of their position, should collaborate with others to create a common ground where problems can be resolved without necessarily inciting a raging conflict within the party.

“As true Democrats, we shouldn’t expect everyone to share the same perspective on the decisions made by the NWC and other esteemed Party leaders.

“People should have the freedom to voice their own opinions and even to criticize government actions. However, internal mechanisms exist within the Party’s organs and structures to direct such criticisms without purposefully pandering to the public.

“The governor had expressed dissatisfaction with justice and equity. Assuming he loves to uphold justice and equity in his lofty position as the governor of Ondo State, I sincerely believe he ought to grant the NWC access to similar insight and dedication.

“I believe that in this situation, we should all praise the NWC and our notable national leaders.

“In their wisdom, they crafted out this workable zoning formula in light of the sensitive nature of the leadership positions of the National Assembly, and in particular, the crucial role that a cooperating, supportive, and friendly National Assembly plays in ensuring the formulation and passage of relevant laws to aid the Executive in the implementation of the life-impacting programs of the President in accordance with our Party’s manifesto, which will be in the overall interest of the nation.

“I am confident that based on his exceptional performance as the former governor of Lagos State and in all the leadership positions he has ever held meritoriously in the public and private sectors in and outside Nigeria, the incoming president, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will never preside over the affairs of a country beset by injustice to any person, or group of persons, on the basis of any political, ethnic, religious, or w

“Overall, I strongly advise every Party member to view the NWC’s timely intervention in the zoning arrangement of the Principal Offices of the National Assembly as an indication of the performance to be expected from the incoming administration, as well as the affected aspirants to the relevant positions.

Iji urged Akeredolu to “be rest assured that the fears he expressed in his response to our Party’s announcement of the zoning of the key leadership positions in the National Assembly would have been adequately taken care of by these eminent men in their rigorous and robust debates, aside from their wide consultations within and even outside our great party, before announcing the zoning arrangement, in spite of what he thought might be imperfections.

Therefore, he should mobilize support for the NWC rather than inciting the disgruntled aspirants against the Party and its leadership, in his opinion.