The All Progressives Congress would be making special concessions for serving political appointees who previously held elective office to vote at its national convention, The PUNCH has learnt.
Such persons include a former Governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, who is also a former governor of Anambra State; a former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola and Minister of Works and Housing; and a few others.
Governor Sule said they would be given concessions because the APC Constitution makes them statutory delegates.
He said, “Our delegates’ lists are statutory delegates. So if you have a former president as a political appointee, if you have a former senator as a political appointee, these are already automatic delegates.
“Let’s not confuse the two just because being an appointee doesn’t necessarily take you out of being a delegate, because our delegates are classified clearly. Former presidents from our party, former elected personalities, party officials and the rest are delegates.
“So if you are talking of the ones we have submitted now, we don’t have commissioners, we don’t have advisers, we don’t have all those unless somebody particularly who was a former this or former that. In that case, just being an appointee doesn’t completely exclude such a person from being a delegate.”
But speaking on the Channels TV programme, Sule said some ministers, including the one from his state, had been excluded from being delegates. He, however, did not say if this would affect his earlier position.
The APC on Thursday barred political appointees from taking part in its national convention or primaries due to the controversy surrounding Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, which bars political appointees from voting at party congresses.
A Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia, Abia State, ruled last week that the section was null and void because it was at variance with the constitution, the National Assembly had vowed to appeal the judgment.
©PUNCH