Lagos Speaker, 99 Others Pick APC Nomination Forms

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
on Thursday said no fewer than 100 aspirants had picked up
nomination forms to contest the state House of Assembly primary
election in the last two days.

The Assistant Publicity Secretary, Abiodun Salami, gave the
figure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in
Lagos.

He said the secretariat had been besieged by aspirants seeking
the party’s tickets since the sale of forms commenced on
Wednesday.

Salami said the Speaker of the Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, and
the Deputy Speaker, Sanni Eshinlokun, were some of the lawmakers
who had picked nomination forms for re-election.

“Yes, aspirants have been coming to the secretariat to pick
their forms since the exercise started yesterday.

“So far, more than 100 aspirants, including the Speaker of the
House of Assembly and his Deputy, have picked up their forms.

“We are making the process as transparent as possible. It is an
open thing and we are expecting more aspirants to come for their
forms before the tentative deadline of Monday,” he said.

Salami said the party was committed to the ideals of internal
democracy and would ensure candidates emerged through popular
elections.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) says restructuring the
country will be better achieved under the government of President
Muhammadu Buhari.

Yekini Nabena, acting spokesman of the APC, said this while
reacting to the debate between Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and
former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

Nabena said the ruling party believes that good, sincere and
purposeful leadership at all levels “will propel the country to its
deserved heights”.

“Sincere efforts towards achieving true federalism are more
important than politically-exploited populist rhetoric which
achieve nothing,” he said in a statement.

“With emphasis on practicability, constitutionality and reality,
we are confident that true federalism or restructuring as some will
like to call it will be better achieved under the President
Buhari-led APC administration.”

Backing Osinbajo’s view, the spokesman said Nigeria does not
need geographic restructuring but good governance.

Nabena said Nigerians must not surrender to “ethnic champions
who promote campaigns to breakup the country into tiny bits or
other unrealistic and unpatriotic proposals in the name of
restructuring to solve our problems as a country.”

“Osinbajo in his well-articulated response to Atiku, submitted
that what Nigeria requires now is not geographic restructuring but
good governance, honest management of public resources, deeper
fiscal Federalism and a clear vision for development.

“The APC cannot agree more with Prof. Osinbajo. It must be said
that the calls for restructuring by many politicians is often time
a populist and opportunistic ploy to latch on and politically
exploit simplistic public narratives on the panacea to Nigeria’s
problems and not necessarily for its realism and
practicability.

“Past administrations have splashed billions of public funds to
convene several national conferences, subsequently left conference
reports to gather dust and achieved nothing. Bad governance,
corruption, bigotry and other ills remain the limiting factors that
continue to hold the country back.”

According to him, a well-articulated roadmap to ensure a “well
secured, better governed Nigeria with equitable distribution of
resources within the component federating units, is being given
serious attention.”

“Recall that the APC set up a committee on true federalism under
the chairmanship of the Kaduna state governor, mallam Nasir
El-Rufai. The Committee submitted its report to the immediate-past
National Working Committee, making its recommendations on twenty
four items that Nigerians expressed views to balance our
federation.

“These items are: creation of states; merger of states;
delegation principle; fiscal federalism; devolution of power and
resources between state, federal and local governments; federating
units; form of government; independent candidacy; land tenure
system; local government autonomy; power sharing and rotation;
resource control; types of legislature; demand for affirmation for
vulnerable groups — people with disabilities, women and youth;
ministerial appointment; citizenship; state constitution; community
participation; minimum wage; governance; judiciary; state
re-alignment and border adjustment; circular status of the
federation and referendum.

“A practical approach to implement the committees report is
being considered by the federal government.”