Convention: APC offices are categorized to reflect the principle of federal character – Masari

The National Convention Central Coordinating Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has divided the party’s national offices into six geopolitical zones based on the principle of federal character.

Former Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari, stated this at a press conference on Thursday in Abuja.

Masari, who is the committee chairman, said strict adherence to the party’s zoning formula would prevent disgruntled elements from creating confusion within the party.

The former Speaker of the DPR stated that his party was ready to hold an appropriate convention.

The APC will hold its national convention on March 27 and March 28 in Abuja.

According to Masari, the party operates based on a federal structure, where all offices are located in certain geopolitical zones.

READ ALSO: Masari to lead APC convention committee

He dismissed allegations that some candidates vying for elective posts in the party were not given forms.

“The APC is a responsible party, and is the party of Nigeria. In keeping with its federal character, all offices are zoned.

“When an office is zoned ‘A’ and you are in ‘Z’ and want to purchase the form, we suspect you just want to create confusion.

“Just like in our country, the party structure is based on zones, the working committee members are also divided based on zones.

“So, if you fight for a position that is not in your zone, how can you say you are democratic?

“We suspect people like this as agents who want to come and destabilize our party, and we will not agree to that. I don’t think any responsible party in Nigeria will agree to that,” Masari said.

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        Introduction  A free, independent, and vibrant press is one of the strongest pillars of any democratic society. It is against this background that most democratic countries  make constitutional provisions for a free press . Others even go further to enact specific laws to make affairs of governments freely available to the public. Currently, there are more than  130 countries in the world that have free press laws. They include Sweden, United States, France, South Africa and Nigeria. Nigeria did not only make  constitutional provisions in Sections 22 and 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution ( as amended) but also went ahead to enact the Freedom of Information Act  in 2011. Section 22 of the 1999  Constitution states: “ “The press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media  shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this chapter( ie Chapter II) and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people”  Section 39(1)  of same Constitution states : “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference” ..  To complement these constitutional provisions, Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) states “Notwithstanding anything contained in any other Act, law or regulation, the right of any person to access or request information, whether or not contained in any written form, which is in the custody or possession of any public official, agency or institution howsoever described, is established.” while Section  2(2), states that: “A public institution shall ensure the proper organization and maintenance of all information in its custody in a manner that facilitates public access to such information”  Primary Purpose of FOIA  According to the Act, its primary purpose is to make information about public records freely available to every Nigerian in the public interest. …

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