How did Are’s name appear on FCC list?

Lagos State All Progressives Congress(APC), led by Hon. Tunde Balogun, is calling for an investigation into how the name of Bolaji Are got to the Federal Character Commission (FCC) board list.

 

A report in a national newspaper about a statement on the Lagos State nominee for the Federal Character Commission (FCC) has reached the attention of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Authored by an organisation called Justice for Progress and Development (JPD), the statement alleged that Mr. Bolaji Miftah Are was removed as  the Commissioner-nominee from Lagos State, based on the wrongful claim that he had died.

For sake of clarity,  I want to declare categorically that the allegations levied by the JPD are false in all material aspects. There is no truth in them. A statement of such extreme falssehood could not be rendered by innocent mistake or accident.

The errors were fully intentional. As such, the name of the organisation- Justice for Progress and Development-is inappropriate. For if you so abhor and slander the truth, then, you also care little for justice, progress or development.

In Lagos State, there is a well established and transparent mechanism the party employs in selectingv  state nominees for federal appointments.

This  mechanism was used by the state leadership committee in this instance to pick the FCC nominee for Lagos State. During that process, stakeholders had an open and fair opportunity to express their opinion, good or bad, about any particular candidate.

At the end of the deliberative process, Lagos State indeed, selected its preferred nominee for the FCC slot. That nominee is Alhaji Wasiu Kayode Bawa-Allah. Mr. Are did not feature as a candidate, let alone the best choice.

Thus, if any chicanery or deviation from fair play arose during this process, it was not in removing Are’s name from the list of nominees.

If there was any misconduct or mistake, it was that Are’s name was somehow placed on the list, despite the clear and consensus decision made by Lagos State.

However, I must emphasise that we wish Mr. Are well and hope that he enjoys a long and healthy life. We hold no ill will toward him, but the record reflects that he holds much ill will toward the party.

Leading to the 2019 elections and even thereafter, it is an open secret that Are worked against APC candidates and on behalf of our political adversaries.

The man has a constitutional right to his political affiliations and favourites and we do not begrudge him for that important right. However, his rights are no greater than ours.

We have the same right as well. Are cannot work for our demise and then, when he fails, start crying that President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Lagos APC somehow owe him an important  federal appointment. The illogic of such a proposition is obvious.

A political party has the right, even the duty, to nominate able and competent party members who support the party’s policy agenda to important federal positions. There is nothing untoward about this. In fact, this is the only way a political party can remain strongly intact.

Thus, the allegation that we claimed Are to be dead is a malicious falsehood.  Making such a claim would be unseemly and completely unnecessary.

All we had to do was to communicate to the relevant federal authorities that Are’s name was submitted through some improper, backdoor method intended to undermine the state structures and party cohesion.

Alhaji Bawa-Allah was a highly qualified person who was the nominee chosen by our accepted process. We are committed to truth, justice, fair play and good governance and we would not mislead the Federal Government.

The contrast between the two men is stark.  Not only does he have strong professional credentials, Alhaji Bawa-Allah has proven to be a diligent, loyal APC member who worked tirelessly for the success of the party at all level of elections in the state.

Read Also: Edo APC leaders write Buhari, warn of plans to ruin party’s chances

 

Conversely, Are and his ilk worked to prevent President Buhari’s re-election and to thwart the emergence of Governor Sanwo-Olu by lending his support to their electoral foes.

Again, while we respect his democratic right to oppose us, it would be absurd to suggest that we owe him a federal appointment because he opposed us.

Mr. Are and his ilk are brazen. Behind scheming to reap from where they did not sow, they are actually trying to reap that which they tried so hard to uproot.

Once made aware that Are contended avidly  against us and that his name did not belong on the list, the Federal Government moved quickly to insert Alhaji Bawa-Allah in his proper place.

We commend the Federal Government and its officials for understanding what had happened and for correcting the wrong that was attempted against the federal and Lagos State governments as well as against the party.

Are really has no firm standing here. He was neither nominated by the Lagos APC, nor by Governor Sanwo-Olu. He somehow tried to slip his name through and failed because his name simply does not belong among us. End of that story.

To begin the rightful story, we state that we are very pleased that Alhaji Bawa-Allah will occupy the Lagos position in the FCC. He will serve admirably and make us proud.

As such, he will help the FCC fulfil its important mandate and in this way make a meaningful contribution to national governance and to our federalism.

As a party, we open our arms to all who sincerely want to be a part of this progressive journey. But we will not allow those who oppose us and what we stand for to occupy the driver’s seat. We can drive ourselves.

I want to take this opportunity to state the Lagos State chapter of the APC will not stand idly by as known political opponents or opportunists seek to assume important governmental roles and duties better left for competent party members who believe in the progressive ideals of the party and support our people-oriented policy agenda.

This is not only to protect and bolster the party. But only in this way can we assure that the nation advances to become what it is meant to be.