It is not only unconstitutional but damn right immoral to endorse any sitting governor or president “as the sole candidate” of a political party for an election. When the endorsement is done before the president reaches halfway through his tenure in office, it not only undermines the political process but is also illogical.
By Sadiq Ibrahim Dasin
And when the endorsement was for the president only, while both the President and the Vice President were elected and serving on a joint ticket, the endorsement of the president alone without his vice is illegal. Quote me anywhere!
The illegality of the endorsement
With or without endorsement, it is only the constitution that can bar a person from contesting as president. And with or without endorsement, even a court of law cannot bar anyone from contesting primary election.
i) S. 131 of the Constitution is very clear on this. It says a person is qualified for election as president if he is a Nigerian by birth, has attained the age of 35 years, is a member of a political party, and has been educated to at least the SSCE level or its equivalent. Period. No political party can shut out its members from contesting the primary election against
The president.
In America where we borrowed our constitution from, in 1980,Ted Kennedy almost defeated President Jimmy Carter in Democratic Party primaries. Pat Buuchanan contested against President George Bush in 1992 just as President Joe Biden was challenged by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Forget those who tell you that in America sitting presidents or governors have the right of first refusal. That’s a lie!
ii) The endorsement of president Tinubu clearly means to me that the APC would not conduct any primary election to elect any other person as a candidate for the 2027 presidential election. This is not only constitutionally absurd but it is tantamount to attempted rape of the constitution.
I said so because S. 142 of the constitution on ‘Nomination And Election Of Vice-President’ is as clear as day light. It says-
“… a candidate for an election to the office of President shall not be deemed to be validly nominated unless he nominates another candidate as his associate from the same political party for his running for the office of President, who is to occupy the office of Vice-President and that candidate shall be deemed to have been duly elected to the office of Vice-President if the candidate for an election to the office of President who nominated him as such associate is duly elected as President under the provisions aforesaid”.
So why, if there were no primary election, would the President and the sitting Vice President not be endorsed on the same day in dei babu lauje a cikin nadi?
Governors Hope Uzodinma and Uba Sani who moved and seconded the motion on behalf of the Progressive Governor’s Forum, the leadership of the National Assembly led by President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas who did same on behalf of federal lawmakers are on self frolic of their own. They have nobody’s mandate.
At the same time, National Chairman Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who rounded off by calling other members of the NWC to stand by him on the podium to make what he called the ‘mother of all endorsements’, did so in breach of Nigeria’s constitution. He has attempted to shut out persons who constitutionally are qualified to contest presidential primary election with the incumbent. Ganduje has no such right.
Therefore nothing from what the party did either through the chairman of chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, the National Assembly or the NWC of the party led by Ganduje would prevent any member of the APC from contesting to be the presidential candidate of the APC in 2027, provided he or she is qualified under S. 131 of the constitution.
The immorality of the endorsement
This endorsement is not only unconstitutional and therefore null and void, but also immoral. Ministers Mohammed Idris (Information), David Umahi (Works), Mohammed Ali Pate (Health), along with National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu who gave the scorecard of the Federal Government all refused to acknowledge that the achievements were that of the PRESIDENCY led by President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima.
And VP Shettima was seated right there. In fact not even all the people who spoke even acknowledged his presence. I wept for this country.
Sections 176 and 186 of the Constitution indeed provide for governors and deputy governors, while provision relating to the President and the Vice President are spelt out in 130 and 141.
I agree that Deputy Governor and the Vice President are “spare tyres” as some people say. But this is only to the extent that they have not been mandated by the constitution to act except if the office of the president becomes vacant by reason of death or resignation, impeachment, permanent incapacity or the removal of the president from office for any other reason in accordance with Section 143 or 144. However in the case of Vice President, the constitution has specifically provided in the Third Schedule, Part 1, item H to the constitution that the Vice-President –
“shall be the Chairman” of the National Economic Council. So he has been specifically so named and in no uncertain terms.
And VP Shettima has been chairing the meeting of the council in the last almost 2 years. Are you then telling me that he, Shettima, has no hand in the economic achievements said to be recorded by this government? And by the way, how many in the cabinet know economics better than him? And who is more intelligent than Kashim among those who reeled out the economic achievements of this regime? Come on!
My inevitable conclusion is therefore that it is immoral to ignore the VP’s contributions in such a gathering that even down played his presence. And it is certainly unconstitutional to have endorsed the president only, without the Vice President, an endorsement which signifies nothing in law and in fact, and which is morally reprehensible.
