The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has urged the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to allow Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu remain the party’s spokesperson.
It said the APC spokesperson slot belongs to Kwara State.
The state Chairman of the APC, Mr. Bashir Bolarinwa, said: “We received with shock and dismay a statement credited to the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Yekini Nabena, stating his intention to ‘take over’ the office of the party’s national publicity secretary currently and legitimately occupied by Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, following an interpretation of a purported court order.
For a position that has been zoned to the Northcentral and micro-zoned to Kwara State, we of the Kwara State APC solidly and unanimously will stand in defence of our rightful position of the APC National Publicity Secretary and candidate, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu.
“The purported Sokoto Court order Nabena seeks to profit from restrains the party from appointing or electing Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu for the position of APC National Publicity Secretary. This was a process legally concluded by the Northcentral zone in July 2019; we seek none of these in March 2020.
“In any case, the procured Sokoto Court order has elapsed and no longer in effect.
“In Nabena’s attempt to announce his ‘takeover’, he has failed to avail himself of the legal requirements for APC national offices. It is necessary and important we allow ourselves to be guided by the rules and hopefully desist from going down the rabbit hole. Following the APC zoning arrangement, which has been respected and strictly adhered to, national offices are filled through the convention or replacement from the zone (which applied to Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) whenever there’s vacancy.
“In July 2019, Mallam Issa-Onilu was confirmed, after a period in acting capacity, as the APC National Publicity Secretary. He was unanimously elected following ratification by the party’s Northcentral zonal executive committee meeting and Mini convention held in Abuja.
“The unanimously approved motion for ratification was moved by the Nasarawa State party Chairman, Philip Shekwo and seconded by the Kogi State party Chairman, Abdullahi Bello.
“Finally, we advise our members to be mindful and key into President Muhammadu Buhari-led measures aimed at bringing peace and repositioning our great party. No member should allow himself to be used as a destabilising agent.”