APC Allegedly Orders Aspirants To Sign Withdrawal Letter

Ahead of next week’s deadline for sale of nomination forms of the All Progressives Congress (APC), there is growing apprehension in the ruling party over a controversial Form 18 ‘Letter of Withdrawal’ attached to the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms sold to aspirants to fill and submit along with other forms and their credentials.

The withdrawal letter addressed to the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdulahi Adamu, must also be signed before a Commissioner of Oath/Public Notary before submission.

Tagged Form 18, it states that, “I hereby voluntarily withdraw my candidacy from the contest. My withdrawal is in the best interest of our great party, the All Progressives Congress.”

It was gathered, yesterday, that some of the aspirants are not comfortable with appending their signatures to the letter, which they consider a bobby trap to force consensus option on them.

A Party source said that about three presidential aspirants from the South have approached their legal teams for interpretation and implication of signing the Withdrawal Form in the presence of a Commissioner of Oath, which makes it legal.

While two aspirants are still waiting for the positions of their legal teams, the other was said to have vowed not to sign such a form and will exclude the controversial Form 18 from other documents to be returned to the National Secretariat of the party for submission.

An aspirant, who has purchased the nomination form, told The Guardian that, “This is the first time we are seeing this kind of form for aspirants and we see it as an attempt to enforce consensus option through the back door. This is unconstitutional.

“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.”

The Guardian