Party autonomy in APC: why NEC cannot reinstate a removed state chairman, by Okoi Obono-Obla

I was privileged to be one of the drafters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Constitution in 2013, serving as Secretary of the Committee under the distinguished Chairmanship of the late Barrister James Ocholi, SAN. Our Committee worked tirelessly, day and night, ensconced in the Nasarawa State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, to produce the final copy of the APC Constitution.

The APC is a party that fundamentally espouses federalism, and this principle runs throughout the entire gamut of its Constitution and organs. The three tiers of governmental structure and authority are carefully choreographed in the Party’s foundational document—the Constitution.

• Article 13.4(iv) of the APC Constitution (2013, as amended) vests the State Executive Committee (SEC) with the power to “organize, promote and supervise the activities of the Party in the State” and to discipline erring members and officers.
• Article 20(i) emphasizes internal democracy, stating that “all organs of the Party shall conform to the principles of democracy in all their deliberations and decisions.”
• Article 21(A)(v) provides that disciplinary actions, including removal from office, may be initiated and concluded by the appropriate organ of the Party at the level where the officer serves.

Therefore, the State Party structure is not inferior or answerable to the National Executive Committee (NEC) in matters that fall within its jurisdiction. Where a State Chairman has been removed through a valid vote of no confidence passed by the SEC, such removal stands. The NEC has no constitutional authority to unilaterally reinstate him against the will of the state organ.

It is thus strange and constitutionally untenable for someone who has been removed as State Chairman to run to Abuja, scheming to use the national level to reclaim a seat from which he has already been ousted. There is no such provision in the APC Constitution. Having lost popularity and legitimacy among members of the Party in Cross River State, he should respect the decision of the SEC and focus on his current responsibilities as Chairman of a federal government parastatal, rather than attempting to use the national structure to muscle his way back into a coveted seat.

In sum, the APC Constitution (2013, as amended) makes it clear: the NEC cannot override the decision of a State Executive Committee to remove its Chairman, as such authority lies squarely within the state structure. Any attempt to do otherwise would amount to a breach of the federalist spirit and democratic ethos upon which the APC was founded.

–Obono-Obla is a chieftain of All Progressives Congress and former Presidential aide