As the race for principal offices of the incoming 10th National Assembly gathers momentum, national vice chairman (North West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mallam Salihu Moh Lukman, alleged yesterday that some aspirants contesting for various positions have started bribing party leaders with bags of rice and sugar.
Accordingly, he implored members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to impose an ethical code of conduct that would automatically disqualify any federal lawmaker who attempts to bribe his way into becoming the next Senate president or Speaker of the House of Representatives.
This is coming amid reports that ranking members of the National Assembly who are for principal offices have turned the APC national secretariat to a warehouse where several trucks are in the last one week offloading bags of rice and sugar for party leaders and members of the NWC.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Lukman, an NWC member himself, warned that such unsolicited gesture is unethical and will no longer be tolerated in a progressive party like the APC.
Noting that it is disrespectful to think that the current NWC can be bribed, the former director general of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) said the party is yet to zone any of the principal offices to any region, even though there are ongoing discussions on the issue among relevant decision-makers.
He said the APC leadership has in the few days watched some Senators and House of Representatives members lobbied colleagues and stakeholders of the party with impunity.
Lukman stated: “I want to appeal to our leaders and my colleagues in the NWC. We have to take every step to stop some unethical conduct in the party. As things are, it is so worrisome that people who are aspiring for positions in the leadership of the National Assembly are reaching out to members of the NWC in an unethical way. I don’t think that is right. At least two Senators, unfortunately from my zone, who are aspiring for the position of Senate President have sent bags of Rice and bags of Sugar.
“Another member of the House of Representatives, also from my zone, aspiring for the position of Speaker of the House, I learnt has also sent bags of rice to individual members. As of today, we have not yet made a decision on zoning for offices in the party. And I think it’s wrong for leaders at the level we are talking about to engage in unethical conduct.
“I want to appeal to our party. I have been an advocate of having a code of conduct within the APC. It is not by accident that God bestows the responsibility of ruling this country in our hands. It is not by accident that we also find ourselves in the NWC. I think everything needs to be done to sanitise the party and those who are engaged in unethical conduct, if I have my way, should be disqualified from contesting for the positions they aspire for.
“It’s the only way we can begin to sanitise politics in this country. And I thought I should, through you, raise this alarm and call on all those aspiring for positions of leadership in the National Assembly to please respect the party and those of us in the NWC.
“I think it’s disrespectful to just think that we can be bribed. I think our leaders, notably the chairman and the national secretary, should rise to the occasion by stopping this unethical practice. Because if they don’t give the permission, I don’t see why bags of rice and bags of sugar will enter the Secretariat and even get distributed.”
