Former Speaker of the House of Representatives and presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole has called for the adoption of “modified consensus” as the preferred method for the emergence of the party’s presidential candidate.
Speaking with news reporters on Sunday morning in Abuja, the aspirant averred that “modified consensus” was the best approach and least costly option for the emergence of the party’s flagbearer.
According to Bankole, the modified consensus option will see the leadership of the party engage with the various interest groups in the contest to ensure a hitch-free nomination process.
“Consensus is not the same thing as imposition”, Bankole declared, noting that the current opposition to the consensus arrangement in some quarters may be because “consensus is being erroneously equated with imposition”.
He argued that there was a need to lay the anxieties of people currently opposed to the consensus arrangement to rest.
By embarking on widespread consultations with all interested groups and tendencies in the party, the leadership will lay all fears concerning the consensus option to rest.
Drawing on history, the former Speaker noted, “The emergence of the APC itself was a product of consensus”, adding that “at critical points in the history of Nigeria, consensus had been used to break political logjams”.
He cited, in particular, the adoption of the “Doctrine of necessity” during the illness of late President Umar Yar’Adua as a perfect example of the consensus option.
He also added that the consensus option was adopted in the emergence of Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu as Chairman of the APC.
Given the heightened national interest in the emergence of the party’s presidential candidate and frenetic jostling by various groups, Bankole averred that “it is incumbent on the leadership of the party to adopt a method that ensures that the party can go to the 2023 elections as a united and formidable entity”.
The former Speaker concluded that he had “implicit and unalloyed” confidence in the ability of the party leadership to do what is right towards ensuring a united front towards the elections and eventual victory at the 2023 polls.
