|
Also on Wednesday, the five All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) governors endorsed the proposal after a parley with Yar'Adua at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The party, however, directed its members across the country who have pending cases before the election tribunals to ensure that they were pursued to their logical end, saying that the judiciary holds the key to the conclusive determination of those suits.
Reading the resolution of the meeting to reporters on Wednesday night, the ANPP's National Chairman, Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, said the decision was approved by all its stakeholders, including the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Caucus, based on the recommendations of a committee it set up for that purpose.
The NEC meeting itself suffered some adjournments. It was initially scheduled for noon, but later moved to 2.00 p.m. It was held at about 6.15 p.m.
Although the chairman blamed the development on what he called "minor administrative hitches", the newsmen gathered that the governors were in a meeting in the Presidential Villa, apparently to negotiate more ministerial slots for the party.
Shortly before the meeting began behind closed-doors, the chairman had lamented the woes of the party during the April 14 and 21 elections, saying it was criminally robbed of victories in several states.
His words: "Accordingly, therefore, while we must maintain our national quest for the recovery of our stolen mandate at the presidential election petition tribunal, we must also encourage all our gubernatorial and legislative candidates that were robbed of their electoral mandates to forge ahead at the various election tribunals to ensure that they regain their stolen mandate.
"Conversely, however, as the leading opposition party, and by the grace of God, the government party-in-waiting, we must not only keep our doors open to all other entities and people of good conscience, but must also engage all who are willing to join us in guaranteeing peace, progress and stability to our fledgling nation in order to ensure rapid, qualitative and meaningful socio-economic and political development of Nigeria."
"In the light of this supreme national duty, the national leadership of the party, in very close consultations with our stakeholders, decided to accept the invitation of President Yar'Adua to directly engage his government in discussions that would eventually lead to the formulation of a credible national modus operandi aimed at collective guarantee of an operational credo that would ensure necessary peace, progress and stability for our nation and its fledgling democratic institutions as a means to creating the atmosphere necessary for the attainment of the much needed fast and speedy progress required by Nigeria."
According to him, taking all these into consideration, "the party has just adopted by the motion to that effect that we ANPP send our members to participate in the proposed Government of National Unity. This is based on the recommendations and advice of the National Caucus and National Stakeholders' meeting and finally, the NWC.
"This will now put to rest all the rumours and counter-rumours as to whether or not ANPP is participating in the government of national unity. It has also put to rest the speculation in the media that we are split on the issue. We are not split; it is clear to you as you can see yourselves that we are obviously united over this matter because the entire members of the NEC as listed in our constitution are present here this evening and participated actively in taking this very far-reaching and important resolution."
But the chairman confirmed that the party's presidential candidate in the 2007 elections, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, was not a part of the resolution.
"Buhari is not here, so there is no way he can be a part of the decision, when he did not participate in it," he said.
Asked if Buhari had been abandoned, Ume-Ezeoke remarked: "No, you are saying so."
ANPP chiefs at the meeting included all the five governors, leaders in its National Assembly, former governors of the party and other stakeholders.
Meanwhile, a group of Nigeria's statesmen, The Patriots, yesterday expressed dismay at the new course of action by the opposition party. A press statement by the group was entitled: "ANPP has betrayed the Nigerian people."
The Governors, after a closed-door meeting with Yar'Adua at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that Gen. Buhari's choice in the matter could not be imposed on their party.
At the meeting were Governors Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Aliyu Shinkafi (Zamfara), Mamman Ali (Yobe) and Ali Modu Sherrif (Borno).
Sherrif told journalists after the meeting that Nigeria is indeed bigger than an individual and the governors had to act in the best interest of the country.
The Borno Governor, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, however said that they did not discuss the issue of ministerial list with Yar'Adua, but dwelt mostly on ways to move both their states and the nation forward.
Towards this, Sherrif said that all the ANPP Governors were willing to work with the President. He said: "Unity Government is an issue which we have taken position as a party a long time ago. We will participate and also those matters were discussed and we assured Mr. President that we will be part and parcel of the unity government and whatever that will make this country progress and succeed, we are part and parcel of it."
Sherrif spoke further: "The presidential candidate of the party (ANPP) is a candidate but also the party is a political party.
He has the right to decide for himself but the party also has collective responsibility to decide what is in the best interest of our followers and the nation. Whatever political party you belong to, it is Nigeria first and foremost."
On the cabinet slots that Yar'Adua may offer the ANPP, Sheriff said: "We have not discussed that. We only discussed things that will make sure that Nigeria is a country that succeeds in all its endeavours."
He added: "We discussed things (that had) to do with our party and the nation generally.
We came as leaders of our various states under the leadership of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). We came to discuss issues that will help the country and our states generally".
But The Patriots criticised the party for agreeing to join the PDP government.
Nigerians described the ANPP decision as "a detestable opportunism."
Commending Gen. Buhari for dissociating himself from the plan, the group said the pact implied that the party recognised the "deeply flawed" polls that produced the PDP government.
The group said: "The National Publicity Secretary of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Emma Eneukwu, announced on July 1, 2007 in a somewhat jubilant air, a pact signed by his party with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the aim of which is to end the "decay in the polity" and "move the country forward."
The terms of the pact, The Patriots quoted Eneukwu, are "to amend the 1999 Constitution, review the Electoral Act, review all contracts awarded between March 1 and May 29 this year, and quick resolution of the Niger Delta conflict."
But to the statesmen, the pact "clearly implies ANPP's disgraceful recognition of the PDP's appropriation of the Federal Government on the basis of the "deeply flawed" April 21, 2007 presidential election. It implies ANPP's shameful acceptance of a dynastic rule by a hand-picked person foisted as president on the country by means of a fraudulent manipulation of the electoral process."
The Patriots expatiated on the pact thus: "It implies a demeaning acquiescence by the ANPP in the subversion of the peremptory injunction in section 1(2) of our constitution that 'the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any person or group of persons take control of the government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this constitution.'"
The statesmen continued: "The fraudulent manipulation of the electoral process during the April 2007 elections that gave illegitimate birth to the present PDP Federal Government is certainly not in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
The pact manifests a detestable opportunism and a lack of principle in our politics." Noting Eneukwu's claim that the sharing of ministerial positions was not part of the pact and was never mentioned in the discussions leading to it, the group said: "Nigerians are not deceived. The pact undeniably implies acceptance by the ANPP to be part of the PDP Federal Government that will "amend the 1999 Constitution, review the Electoral Act," etc.
It added: "General Buhari should be commended for dissociating himself from this shameless pack of unprincipled politicians. He should not give up the fight in the election tribunal to redress the electoral injustice perpetrated in the April 2007 election, 'the bare-faced robbery' of the Nigerian people's right to choose their rulers in free, fair and credible elections. Or else, the tendentiously orchestrated 'decay in the polity' would lead to its total ruin."
|
