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2023 Presidency: Crisis Looms In APC As Keyamo Calls For Buni’s Removal

Festus Keyamo, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Labour, has urged the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to dismiss Mai Mala-buni, the head of the caretaker committee, as soon as possible.

Keyamo’s declaration comes after the party barely defeated the People Democratic Party’s Eyitayo Jegede in a legal battle between Ondo state governor Rotimi Akeredolu and Eyitayo Jegede.

If Governor Mala Buni of Yobe State remains the party’s temporary head, Keyamo has warned the APC of impending legal battles.

In a leaked memo released on Wednesday, Keyamo warned that if the party went ahead with its planned congresses under Mr Buni’s leadership, the “unity” in the party would be short-lived.

The planned congresses are scheduled to hold nationwide on Saturday.

Hinging his reasons on the split decision of the Supreme Court to uphold Rotimi Akeredolu as Governor of Ondo State earlier on Wednesday, the minister said the APC escaped potential defeat due to ‘little technicality’ which may not be applicable in subsequent court cases.

Four out of the seven-member panel apex court dismissed the appeal of Eyitayo Jegede, the October 2020 Governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo, to remove Mr Akeredolu as the elected state governor.

In his reaction to this judgement, Mr Keyamo said the ruling party would have lost the case if Mr Jegede had joined Mr Buni in the suit.

The full statement read;

“The Supreme Court by a narrow split decision today (4-3)held that GOV. AKEREDOLU cannot be removed as Governor of Ondo State. 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. Therefore, any other person affected by the actions of the Buni-led Committee will henceforth not fail to join him in any subsequent case in court.”

“These includes any subsequent election matter in any part of this country and all the APC Congresses that are about to hold. 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.”

WHAT TO DO.

“The planned congresses across the country slated for this weekend must immediately be suspended because it will be an exercise in futility as analysed above.”

“The competence of Gov. Mai Mala Buni to organise the congresses has been called to question by the Supreme Court.”

FIRST OPTION

“Firstly, the NEC of the Party can URGENTLY meet and consider and reconstitute the CECPC to exclude, not only Gov. Buni, but anyone holding ANY executive position in any government establishment as stipulated in Article 17 of the APC Constitution.”

“WHO SUMMONS NEC NOW AS THERE IS TECHNICALLY NO COMPETENT NATIONAL CHAIRMAN?”

“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 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.”

“SECOND OPTION

“Alternatively, 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.”

“Above are my humble and respectful suggestions to save our Party from imminent danger in the light of the Supreme Court judgment today. 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.

“I have done my professional bit to the Party.”

“I can do no more.”

FESTUS KEYAMO, SAN, FCIArb(UK)

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