APC Congress Faces Imminent Postponement, Govs Lock Horns With Buni-Committee

By James Orji

The All Progressives Congress, APC state and local government congresses scheduled for Saturday July 31 may be shelved, if information at the disposal of the magazine is anything to go by.

The state governors elected on the platform of the party are currently meeting in Abuja “with the aim to ensure that the congresses are cancelled in line with the popular aspirations of many members of the party,” a party stalwart privy to the meeting told the magazine on Friday.

He said majority of the governors want the congress cancelled “to avoid a repeat of the Zamfara episode where the party candidates were disqualified by the Supreme court for not being validly nominated. These governors will surely push for postponement at today’s meeting,” the source who does not want his name mentioned because he was not authorized to speak on the issue said.

The Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Committee, had on Thursday said the congresses will not be postponed despite reservations by some stalwarts of the party, following the Supreme Court judgement on the Governorship Election in Ondo state, where three members of the panel raised issues about the legality of the Buni Committee.

Four members of the panel, though affirmed Governor Rotimi Akeredolu election, the minority judgment challenged the nomination and affirmation of Governor Akeredolu, as the candidate of the APC in the October 10, 2020 governorship election, by the Buni Committee.

This, obviously, is not enough to change the mind of the committee which said it will press ahead with the congresses to elect party officials at the states and local governments levels across the country.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday in Abuja, John Akpanudoedehe, national secretary of the APC caretaker committee, said apex court’s verdict on Ondo gubernatorial poll has no bearing on the Committee

The Scribe said “The clarification is against the backdrop of personal opinions being expressed by some individuals on the status of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) and its capacity to conduct the Congresses.

“While it is not our intention to join issues with these commentators, the Supreme Court’s Wednesday judgement affirming the Election victory of the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu SAN had no bearing on the CECPC’s status and its membership.

“Party members and aspirants should therefore come out enmasse and peacefully to participate in the ward Congresses, come Saturday,” Akpanudoedehe said.

His position is in contrast to those of Festus Keyamo, the Minister of state for Labour, who in a secret memo to the party, warned of serious consequence if the party went ahead with the congress. He said the party won the Ondo governorship election at the apex court by a hair’s breadth.

The minister said the ruling party would have lost the case if the PDP Governorship candidate in the election Eyitayo Jegede had joined Governor Buni in the suit.

Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN said “The little technical point that saved Gov AKEREDOLU was that Jegede failed to join GOV. Mai Mala Buni in the suit. Jegede was challenging the competence of Gov. 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 noted.

Babatunde Ogala, a former National Legal Adviser of the party said on Friday that the Supreme court judgment is causing serious disquiet in the party, adding that many leaders of the party are worried of the future of the party if the leadership issue is not resolved quickly.

Speaking on TVC programme, Ogala said President Buhari, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other leaders of the party are worried of the booby trap set by the apex court judgment.

Governor Buni of Yobe state was appointed as caretaker chairman following the removal of Adams Oshiomhole as the National Chairman of the party last year.

The governor has since been running the affairs of the party against the wishes of some members who felt that a substantive National Chairman should be elected. The aggrieved members have now armed themselves with the Supreme court judgment to force the Buni Committee out of office.