By There are strong feelers that tension is brewing within the corridors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after the ruling party asked aspirants to fill and submit a ‘Letter of Withdrawal’ which was attached to the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms sold to them.
The controversial letter, tagged Form 18, is said to be addressed to the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdulahi Adamu, and must be signed before a Commissioner of Oath/Public Notary before submission, The Guardian reported.
“I hereby voluntarily withdraw my candidacy from the contest. My withdrawal is in the best interest of our great party, the All Progressives Congress,” the form read.
With the deadline for sale of APC nomination forms slated for next week, the inclusion of a withdrawal letter has caused eyebrows to raise within the party, as some aspirants consider the move a veiled attempt to force them into agreeing to a consensus arrangement.
According to The Guardian, some presidential hopefuls have approached their lawyers for interpretation and implications before signing the controversial letter.
“Signing that letter means the party leaders can impose any candidate and you will not have any right to challenge them in court. Something is fishy and we must be very careful because there are surreptitious moves not to allow delegates to decide the fate of aspirants,” an aspirant who has purchased the nomination form was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
However, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mr Felix Morka, allayed fears of aspirants over imposition, saying the directive was in line with the party’s constitution and the Electoral Amendment Act 2022.
