APC, party chieftains disagree on congresses, as CECPC dismisses Supreme Court position on Buni

Ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has insisted on going ahead with the scheduled wards and national congresses across the country, even as some chieftains of the party have reportedly warned against such moves in view of the Supreme Court decision on the position occupied of its Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) National Chairman, Mai Mala Buni.

It would be recalled that while delivering judgment in the case involving its candidate in the Ondo Governorship election, Rotimi Akeredolu the Supreme Court, had Wednesday, voided the legality of Buni as CECPC chairman, even as it affirmed the governor as winner of the poll conducted in October 2020.

The suit brought before the apex court by a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the October 2020 elections, Mr Eyitayo Jegede, caused the Supreme Court to split in 4 to 3 decision to dismiss the appeal filed by the PDP and its candidate Jegede against the election of Governor Akeredolu.

The majority had ruled that though Chairman, Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary Ordinary National Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress and Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, is the acting chairman of the party in clear breach of section 183 of the constitution, the plaintiff had failed to list him as a respondent in the suit.

Jegede and PDP’s appeal was based on the ground that Mai Mala Buni was holding position as the acting chairman of APC while a governor, but had not made him party to the suit.

The majority judgment held Buni who was alleged to have breached the constitution ought to have been made a party in the petition to answer to the allegations.

However, the minority ruling which was adopted by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa had Justice Mary Odili holding that the APC submitted the name of Rotimi Akeredolu to INEC through its nomination form signed Buni who is a sitting governor.

She held that as a governor the constitution barred Buni from acting in dual capacities as a governor and party executive.

Aligning himself with the dissenting Judgment Justice Ejembi Ekwo also held the position of the majority judgment that governor Buni was not added as a part is not attainable because when you have the principle you need not add the agent.

However, reacting to the ruling on Buni, the CECPC urged party members to remain calm.

National Secretary of the Committee, Senator John Akpanudoedehe said during an emergency media briefing at the APC National Secretariat, Abuja, Thursday, that ‘there was nothing to worry over the Supreme Court judgment.’

“We stand with our National Chairman, we will go ahead with the congresses as planned,” he said.

The statement by the CECPC is however, in contrast with that of other chieftains of the party like Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN, who warned that APC cannot safely proceed with the conduct of its congresses and national convention, especially under the chairmanship of the governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala-Buni, as it would amount to an exercise in futility.

“Jegede was challenging the competence of Governor Mai Mala Buni as a sitting governor to run the affairs of the APC as chairman of the Caretaker Committee.

“He contends that this is against Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution which states that a sitting Governor shall not, during the period when he holds office, hold any other executive office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever.

“In other words, had Buni been joined in the suit, the story may have been different today as we would have lost Ondo State to the PDP,” he explained.

Keyamo noted that any other person affected by the actions of the Buni-led committee would henceforth not fail to join him in any subsequent case in court.

“The Supreme Court has just weaponised all those that would be aggrieved by the APC congresses to proceed to court to Challenge the competence of the Buni-led CECPC to organise the congresses and national convention.

“The judiciary will subsequently destroy the entire structure of the party from bottom to top. We are lucky the Supreme Court has just given us a great and useful hint to save our party just before the beginning of our congresses.

“We cannot gamble with this delicate issue. The time to act is NOW,” he warned.

Keyamo, therefore, advised the party leaders to suspend the process slated for this weekend.

One of the options the party has, according to him, is for the NEC of the party to meet urgently and consider and reconstitute the position in any government establishment as stipulated in Article 17 of the APC Constitution. But who summons the NEC meeting?

“Under Article 25 of the APC Constitution, it is the National Chairman OR TWO-THIRDS OF MEMBERS OF NEC that can summon a NEC meeting.

“Since we cannot vouch for the legality of any NEC meeting summoned by Mai Mala-Buni now, the safest is to get TWO-THIRDS of NEC members to sign an invitation to summon a NEC meeting where the CECPC would be reconstituted and our party would be safe,” he said.

Alternatively, he said the board of trustees of the party, which includes Mr. President, can be activated to organise a National Convention in line with Article 13 of the APC Constitution, where it is given such powers.

“Those powers can be delegated at the meeting to a committee in line with the APC Constitution, which will run the party and plan the convention. The new exco can then plan for congresses.”

He stressed that these are the ways to save the party from “imminent danger in the light of the Supreme Court judgment,” adding: “To ignore this and do otherwise would be tantamount to playing with fire and the opposition would simply wait till our presidential primaries in 2023 to disqualify our candidate and destroy the party.”