APC: Buni-led Caretaker Committee legal, says Ebonyi governor, Umahi

[From CHINEDU NWAFOR, Abakaliki]

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State said the Mai Mala Buni-led Extraordinary Caretaker and Convention Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC)  is not illegal by reason of the party’s constitution.

He spoke on Friday during APC stakeholders meeting at Ecumenical Centre, Abakaliki, on Friday, saying there is no ambiguity in the section of the party’s constitution that provides for the constitution of a caretaker committee where there is a vacancy in the organs of the Party.

Umahi was apparently reacting to the position of the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo (SAN), and other All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains who advised the Party to shelve the Ward Congresses scheduled for Today (Saturday) nationwide.

The advice of Keyamo and other chieftains of the party, followed the Supreme Court judgement on the Ondo State governorship election, which they said had put the legality of Mai Mala Buni-led Committee to question.

They argued that should the party went ahead to conduct the Congresses as scheduled, it might affect the party ahead of the 2023 general elections if any aggrieved member of the Party decided to challenge the legality of the exercise in Court.

But Umahi did not aggree with Keyamo and others, saying it does not require anybody to be a lawyer to understand the constitution of the party provide you went to school.

Umahi said: “First is to comment on the contentious issue about our dear national Chairman. I want you to listen to this very well. I am not a lawyer, but this constitution of the party is made for all of us. And if you went to school you will able to read and understand, because if the constitution of the party was meant for only lawyers, then, it should have been on the limited number.

“The constitution of the APC states that where vacancy exists in the any organ of the party that the national executive committee can set up a caretaker committee; the word is caretaker committee, it is like an ad-hoc committee, a standing committee, and that is what the national caretaker committee is.

“And when you set up a caretaker committee, for example, in the State Executive Council, if you have a committee to do a particular work, let’s say is a work that is in the budget ministry of works, and you set a committee headed by the commissioner for culture and Tourism, it does not make her to have the executive powers of the office of the Commissioner for Works and her office. She only has one executive office.

“Because the argument is that the chairman has two executive powers. They are not even saying he is not collecting salary, but they are saying he is occupying two executive powers. But we want to let you know that it is only a caretaker committee. That’s what is in the constitution.”

Meanwhile, Governor Umahi has warned against anybody holding parallel Congress in any part of Ebonyi State, saying the person may be looking for a fight.

The Governor allege that some stakeholders of the party in the State was plotting to hold parallel Congress in the State.

“If you see anybody conducting parallel Congress in Ebonyi state, my directive is that security agencies should arrest anybody that is there and Ebubeagu should also do the same.

“It’s one, a contravention of the law of the Party and two, a contravention of the executive order because of Covid-19 and there is a law on gathering concerning this Covid-19.

“It’s important that we note this very well, I have done everything as a leader to ensure everybody is carried along very well, unfortunately, we still have over two third (2/3) of the forms that are still awaiting people to purchase them.

“Some people who do not believe in my leadership have gone to Abuja to purchase their forms, no problem but they must comport themselves with the 7-man committee. If they do anything outside that, there will be consequences for that.

“If you want to do parallel Congress, you have to go to Enugu or Akwa Ibom or any other place to do it. Because there will be a fight if they try it and don’t say I did not warn you”, he warned.

Umahi also assured that there was nothing to fear in the Congresses as it was going to free, fair and transparent and where the stakeholders couldn’t agree on consensus election would be held, but urged stakeholders to mobilize for the exercise even in the places where there was consensus.

He urged the stakeholders to mobilize for the exercise to prove that APC was on ground in the State.