Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has appealed to stakeholders from the state participating in the ongoing All Progressives Congress (APC) constitution review meeting to submit their memoranda to the committee for consideration and possible adoption.
Sule made the statement while declaring open the constitution review meeting of the APC, North Central zone, held in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.
The governor who is the Chairman, North Central Governors Forum, as well as a member and Coordinator, North Central, APC Constitution Review Committee, explained that the moment presented an opportunity for stakeholders to push for necessary amendments to the constitution to tackle certain lapses.
His words, “I want our stakeholders, in particular, to use the opportunity to submit as many memoranda for this amendment as possible. We will sit as members of this committee to review the memorandum and accommodate it.
“I pray that all of us will contribute to this positively. I thank all our stakeholders for coming from various places to be part of this meeting. It is very important that before you go, you submit so that people will carry it along.”
He, however, stated that it is essential for the participants to submit their memoranda, especially since many people who were previously thought to be delegates are no longer considered delegates according to the current APC constitution.
“A lot of the people who will be delegates are no longer delegates now, according to our party’s constitution today. I think it is very important that instead of making complaints later on, we should submit a memorandum so that we can capture that,” he added.
The governor used the medium to appreciate President Ahmed Bola Tinubu for initiating reforms that have resulted in improved revenue for the federal, state, and local governments.
“We commend Mr President for the reforms he has made in the area of the withdrawal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange. Those two major reforms have produced what we are seeing today in forms of improved revenues that are accruing to the federal, state and local government,” Sule said.
According to him, the improved revenue has enabled his administration to execute more infrastructure in the last two years than it did in the first four years of the administration.
“All these infrastructures that you see in Lafia are also being duplicated in the other zones. But more importantly, we are doing a lot when it comes to the areas of alleviating poverty, improving investment, attracting mining and processing activities, improving our revenue,” he stated.
The governor said there is no better time to amend the APC constitution than now, especially with the party welcoming members of the opposition ahead of the 2027 general election.
“There is no better time to look at the constitution of our party than now. Every time we have a meeting of the Progressive Governors, the next meeting we have, we welcome another governor into our party. This is happening because our party, like our former national chairman has mentioned, has become the Noah’s Ark. Anyone who wants to be part of the good governance has to come and join,” he maintained.
Earlier, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, appreciated Governor Sule for not only accepting the invitation to declare the meeting open but also for accepting the invitation to host the event.
The APC chairman, represented at the event by Professor Abdulkarim Abubakar Kana, Deputy National Secretary of the party, equally applauded the governor for sponsoring the entire activities of the party’s constitution review committee.
“We must first thank the Governor of Nasarawa State for hosting us. He is a party-friendly governor. He has, like I always said, held very firmly and tightly the torch of victory for the party in the state. He has done very well. Your Excellency, we thank you for your efforts. You are a model governor in the country. We are proud of you. The APC is happy with Nasarawa State,” he said.
In a remark, South-South Coordinator of the APC Constitution Review Committee, Alphonsus Ogar Eba, who also doubles as the Chairman of the party in Cross River State, commended President Tinubu for initiating the constitution review.
Ebay, also known as the Political Evangelist, said the constitution review presents an opportunity to address some of the obvious lacunae in the present constitution.
He therefore called on the participants to submit their memorandum.
“Feel free to adopt your memorandum. Members of the state house of assembly who are not members of the local government caucus, this is an opportunity for you. Members of the state executive committee who are not members of the local government caucus, this is an opportunity for you,” he said.
Also speaking, the South-east Coordinator of the CRC, Rt. Hon. Miriam Odinaka Onuoha said the APC has taken the lead in promoting internal party democracy, as enshrined in Article 7 of our party’s constitution.
She added that the party, as outlined in its constitution, also supports and observes affirmative action, emphasising that any woman seeking a platform to be seen, heard, and positively impact her community should join the party or be excluded.
In his welcome address, host and Nasarawa State Chairman of the APC, Dr. Aliyu Bello, commended Governor Sule for the progress and unity being witnessed within the party.
“I want to tell you without mincing words that the party in Nasarawa State is intact. Under his own leadership, the party in Nasarawa State is benefiting from his patronage, as you can attest to. Given the importance attached to this constitution review, he asked us to invite all the commissioners, local government chairmen, deputy chairmen, speakers of the local legislative councils, and all elected assembly members.
“He asked us to invite at least three critical stakeholders who are lawyers from the various local governments. It is only Engr. A. A Sule that can think about that line,” he said.
