By Yusuf Alli and Jide Orintunsin Abuja

• Yobe Governor, Sani Bello differ on transfer of functions

• Tinubu: party should remain democratic

The ousted caretaker chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mai Mala Buni, is due in London to confer with President Muhammadu Buhari, it was learnt last night.

Sources said Buni, who was expected to rush back home on Wednesday from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he went for medical checkup, had a rethink.

“He will now travel to London to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari on the situation in the party,” a source said.

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN), it was learnt, had arrived in London also to meet with the President.

Another official listed to meet with the President is Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele.

It could not be confirmed last night whether the CBN governor had arrived in the UK capital.

Ahead of his London trip, there was a leak of Buni’s letter, which faulted Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s narratives on how Buni was removed as chairman of Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).

A source, who spoke in confidence, said the APC crisis has shifted to London with Buni struggling for survival.

The source added: “Instead of coming home, Buni went London to state his own side of the crisis in the party and hear from the President on whether or not he directed that he should leave office. He has also gone there with facts and figures on the situation of the party.

“He has insisted that no verbal or written directive was given to him by the President. He said he cannot depend on third party information. He wants to know his fate directly from the President.

“I think Buni and his backers have succeeded in breaking some protocol barriers to see the President, who has been under pressure to hear the other side to APC crisis.

“Buni confided in some governors and few loyalists that he would clarify a few things in London including court injunction to halt the convention and defiance of presidential directives on the reform of the party.”

In Buni’s letter, the Yobe State governor legally handed over the affairs of the party to Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello before travelling out.

In the letter dated February 28, Buni directed Governor Bello to act in his absence as the chairman of CECPC.

A copy of the letter was sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and members of CECPC.

The letter reads: “This is to please inform you that I will be embarking on a medical trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from today, 28th February, 2022.

“In my absence, I hereby transmit the functions of my office as the National Chairman of the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) to you.

“This is to enable the committee conclude all arrangements leading to the National Convention slated for March 26th, 2022 and other duties that may be required of the office.

“I invite all members to cooperate with Governor Abubakar Sani Bello by extending to him all the support that I have enjoyed from you.

“Please do accept the assurances of my best regards.”

However, Sani Bello denied receiving any transfer of authority letter from Buni. Speaking to reporters at the secretariat in Abuja, Sani Bello simply said: “I have not seen it.”

An aide to Buni, who spoke in confidence, said: “Buni couldn’t have been removed by anybody or a group of governors because his letter was explicit. He followed due process and nominated Bello to act for him.”

On Emefiele, a source said: “His mission was to brief the President on developments on the economy, particularly the effect of the Russia-Ukraine war on our earnings as well as the resultant huge subsidy on fuel.”

Another said: “Emefiele might discuss his perceived presidential ambition with Buhari, in view of the Senate’s rejection of President Buhari’s request to amend a section of the new Electoral Act, which precludes appointed officials of government from voting or being voted for at primaries of political parties, unless they resign.”

Malami is expected, according to sources, to discuss some constitutional and legal issues with Buhari.

The Senate’s rejection of a presidential request to review Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 was said to be a source of concern to the Presidency.

It was learnt that the President and the AGF are likely to weigh options on the Electoral Act in line with the time constraint before the 2023 primaries begin in April.

One of the alternatives being considered was to approach the court for a pronouncement.

The sack of Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi by a Federal High Court will also feature because Malami was yet to issue an advisory on the judgment.

Another source added: “The AGF is in London to discuss the implications of the Senate’s rejection of a gentleman’s agreement with the President on Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act. The President needs legal advice on whether or not those in his cabinet and states’ executive councils should resign before the primaries.

“Buhari may rub minds with the AGF on any legal window which the government may explore to file an action in court.

“Some parties are already in court. So, the most important aspect is the implication of any court verdict on Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act on the 2023 general election. We are in dire straits because some Senators claimed that they cannot review the Electoral Act because it will affect the timetable for the 2023 poll.

“Yet, the fear of the President is that some political office holders will be disenfranchised. So, Buhari sees the Electoral Act as a violation of the fundamental human rights of those in political offices.

“Malami, believed to be interested in contesting to be governor of Kebbi State and others like the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, Babatunde Fashola (Works), Uche Ogah (Mines and Steel), Chris Ngige (Labour and Employment), Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu (Science and Technology) and Festus Keyamo (SAN) (Minister of State for Labour and Employment) are affected.

The source added: “The removal of Governor Umahi by a Federal High Court and the dilemma APC is facing on the injunction against its March 26 convention are other legal matters which are sources of concern to the President.

“If the injunction is not vacated, APC cannot hold its National Convention. The party can defy the court by holding the convention and living with the consequences. This is why there is so much anger in the party.

“Since the sack of Umahi, the AGF has not made his position known as the Chief Legal Officer of the Federation. He is in London to share his views before addressing the nation.

“The manner in which Umahi attacked the Judiciary made most APC members to be upset with him. The AGF will also offer his advice.”

 

There seems to be no let up in the crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Yesterday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the party could only remove the National Chairman of Caretaker /Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Governor Mai Mala Buni, and other officers after a 21-day notice to the electoral body.

INEC said it cannot attend the emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of APC next week because the party was yet to comply with relevant laws and regulations.

It faulted the party for notifying it of its NEC meeting without the signatures of Buni and the Secretary of CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedohe.

It asked APC to follow due process if it wanted to effect change of leadership.

INEC made its position known in a March 9, 2021 letter to APC by the Secretary, Mrs. Rose Oriaran-Anthony.

The letter was in response to APC’s March 8, 2021 notice to INEC to hold a NEC meeting to ratify the choice of Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello as its new chairman.

But the electoral agency said the laws do not have provision for emergency change of leadership by any party.

INEC’s letter reads: “RE: INVITATION TO THE EMERGENCY MEETING OF THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (NEC). Please refer to your letter Ref. APC/NHDQ/INEC/019/022/32, dated 8” March 2022.

“The commission draws your attention to the fact that the notice for the meeting was not signed by the National Chairman and National Secretary of the CECPC contrary to the provision of the Article 1.1.3 of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Poiitical Party Operations (2018).

“ Furthermore, the APC is reminded of the provision in Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 which requires “at least 21 days’ notice of any convention, congress, conference, or meeting convened for the purpose of “merger” and electing members of its executive committees, other governing bodies or nominating candidates for any elective offices.”

“While hoping these issues are noted for compliance, please accept the assurance of the commission’s warm regards.”

Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have announced temporary suspension of overseas Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card services and Point of Sale (PoS) transactions.

The banks’ decision followed consistent dollar scarcity and challenges faced by manufacturers and real sector operators in sourcing foreign exchange from the economy.

Zenith Bank Plc, which yesterday confirmed the development in a memo emailed to customers, said the move was in line with current economic realities.

The bank said: “Please be informed that we have temporary suspended the use of Zenith Bank Naira cards for International Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cash withdrawals and PoS transactions.

“Additionally, the monthly card spend limit for web transactions has been reviewed from $100 to $20. This review is in response to today’s economic realities.

”If you have higher International spend requirements, simply visit any of our branches and request for foreign currency debit or prepaid card, which are available in US dollar, Pounds and Euro variants.”

First Bank Nigeria Plc has also announced limit review on all dollar-based ATM and PoS transactions abroad.

In an email to customers yesterday, the bank attributed the adjustment to dollar transitions on e-payment channels to ‘market realities on foreign exchange’.

The bank said: “Due to current market realities on foreign exchange, we’ve reviewed cross border transaction limits for the  Naira Mastercard and the Naira Credit Card to $50 monthly.”

Stanbic IBTC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria and Guaranty Trust Bank had, few years back, announced the suspension of their overseas ATM card services.

Both banks advised their customers seeking to carry out transactions denominated in foreign exchange to apply for dollar or pounds sterling debit credit cards.

According to them, the dollar or pounds sterling debit or credit cards will be linked to the customers’ domiciliary accounts.

This is despite the fact that the banks have in the past few months reduced the monthly total amount of forex-denominated transactions that customers can do, using their naira debit or credit cards via ATMs and PoS terminals abroad as well as online payments or transactions.

Investigation showed that some banks had slashed their daily ATM withdrawal limit abroad from the $300 advised by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Bankers Committee to $100 due to their inability to source for dollars to fund the transactions.

Banking sources said banks were increasingly finding it difficult to fund their foreign-currency denominated services, especially online forex transactions and overseas ATM withdrawals, as well as PoS usage overseas by customers.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had earlier expressed concerns about the indiscriminate and suspicious manner in which some bank customers were spending dollars and other foreign currencies abroad through their naira debit cards.

To reduce forex spending abroad, the CBN directed that the $50,000 annual forex limit it imposed would be implemented and defaulters sanctioned.

By Emmanuel Badejo and Success Omonijo

• Buhari rebuffs lobbyists

• Yobe governor, Akpanudoedehe excluded from convention committee

• Senate caucus stands by CECPC chair

• Party releases NWC zoning formula

• NEC meeting for March 17

Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai last night explained why the All Progressives Congress (APC) caretaker chairman had to be pushed aside.

According to him, certain actions and inactions of Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni put the ruling party at risk because they were a hindrance to the plan to hold the convention on March 26.

El-Rufai, who spoke on a Channels Television programme, said he had the authority of Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu to explain the action that led to the appointment of Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello as acting chairman of APC.

He said 19 of the 23 governors elected on the ticket of the party were on same page on the mission to prevent the party from collapsing. He did not name the four governors that are not with them.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who is on two-week medical vacation in London, it was gathered, has rebuffed lobbyists trying to bring back Buni.

Buni and Caretaker Secretary James Akpanudoedehe have been excluded from the revised caretaker committee, inaugurated yesterday by acting Chairman Sani Bello.

The party announced March 17 for the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

El-Rufai said the governors met with President Buhari on Sunday, shortly before his London trip to obtain his approval for the plan to proceed with preparations for the convention and to hold a NEC meeting to ratify critical decision ons way the forward.

He confirmed that an injunction has been obtained following a request from the court by a party member to the effect that the party should not hold its convention until his grievances have been addressed.

El-Rufai, who said Buni was aware and neither informed the party nor did anything on it, said efforts had commenced now to vacate the injunction which he described as “a weapon of mass destruction”, planned to use to scuttle the convention.

He said the fate of caretaker secretary James Akpanudoedehe had been decided after he refused to take instruction from acting Chairman Bello who took over on Monday.

El-Rufai said: “We got a wind of a court process wherein an order had been gotten directing that the convention should not be held until the determination of the case.  And it was unfortunate that, our lawyer engaged by Buni-led committee agreed with this in court. If this remains, how can the convention be done?

“We got signals that there were some elements in the party that were bent on scuttling the proposed March 26 convention.

“And if we miss that date, the following Saturday, will be Ramadan and that means we would not be able to have convention until after Ramadan.  That means we would have lost another month according to INEC’s timetable.

“Based on this, we met with the president to discuss a number of issues with him like zoning formulae, which the president signed off on.

“We went the second time to inform the president that the zoning formula he signed off on had not been sent back to us.

“Instead, we were hearing about another list, which we knew was not from Mr. President.

“The President agreed with us and directed that with immediate effect, Governor Buni must go and that Governor Bello should take over the headship of the party.

“The president directed that we must do everything possible to ensure the convention holds. I can tell you that Bello has the full backing of the president and at least 19 of the 23 APC governors.  Then, you can see that since Monday that Bello took over, we have made a lot of progress.”

Asked if their action was constitutional, El-Rufai said: “We had to intervene when we saw that the party was drifting and we are happy and satisfied with our action, though some didn’t want the party to progress.

“It is unfortunate that some politicians’ ambition was putting the party at risk and the President was not happy when he heard about the sinister motive.

“I can confirm to you that Mai Mala has stepped aside and I can assure you that when he returns to the country, he will not assume any position.

“We do not have any personal disagreement with Mai Mala Buni, as he was also a victim of many of the intrigues that played out.”

On the secretary,  he said: “The CECCP has taken action on the secretary and I believe that whatever they do is done in accordance with the law.

“We want to send the message to everyone that the party is no longer at risk and we are already reaching out to all sides and camps within the party.

By Eric Ikhilae, Abuja, Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakiliki and Robert Egbe

Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi came under fire yesterday for his tirade against Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The judge, on Tuesday, ruled that the governor and his deputy, Eric Igwe, be sacked for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Justice Ekwo ordered 16 lawmakers in the House of Assembly, who defected from the PDP to the APC, to vacate their seats.

Faulting the judgment, Umahi accused the judge of being a “hatchet man”, who was “on a mission,” and implied that the judgment was “purchased”.

“We have petitioned him to NJC (National Judicial Council) and we will follow it up to ensure that this man is brought to justice,” Umahi added.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) demanded an apology from the governor and a retraction of the “offensive” comments.

Its president, Olumide Akpata, described the governor’s comments attacking the judiciary as “disgraceful, undemocratic and completely unacceptable.”

NBA said it was utterly dismayed by the Umahi’s “unfortunate and totally unacceptable” reaction to the judgment.

The statement reads in part: “Umahi…threw caution to the wind and deployed very uncomplimentary adjectives and intemperate language in characterising both the judgment and Hon. Justice Ekwo, including but not limited to describing the judgment as ‘jungle justice’ and His Lordship as ‘a hatchet man’.

“As if these were not enough, Engr. Umahi accused the court of ‘murdering justice’ and also arrogated to himself the judicial powers and magisterial authority to declare the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction as null and void while unashamedly declaring his intention to disregard the judgment in favour of another.

“To put it plainly, this is impunity of the highest order and executive rascality taken too far.”

Akpata said the leadership of the NBA was inundated with calls from well-meaning Nigerians who were outraged by Umahi’s utterances.

“It is for this reason that we condemn without equivocation, Engr. Umahi’s unfortunate diatribe which, if it had emanated from an average litigant, would still have been regarded as shocking but coming from one who occupies the exalted office of a State Governor, is nothing short of a national embarrassment.

“In the wake of the judgment, one would have expected Engr. Umahi to sue for calm from his supporters and to assure them that all legal and constitutional avenues would be explored to challenge the Judgment.

“For H.E. Engr. Umahi to instead resort to attacking and denigrating the high office of a judge in this unprecedented manner is disgraceful, undemocratic and completely unacceptable…

“We view Engr. Umahi’s reaction to this judgment as being consistent with the current penchant, on the part of those in the executive arm of government, for intimidating the Judiciary whilst taking advantage of the historical reluctance of that arm of government to rise to its own defence.

“In light of the foregoing, the NBA hereby demands an immediate apology from H.E. Engr. Dave Umahi and a retraction of the comments he made against the person and judgment of the Hon. Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court.

“It is also our demand that this apology and retraction be given as much media coverage as the press conference where the unfortunate comments were made.”

Umahi: PDP misled judge

Speaking in Abakaliki, the state capital while addressing a crowd of residents who embarked on a solidarity walk for him, the governor said the PDP misled the judge.

He urged them to be calm and law-abiding as he was confident of securing victory at the appeal court.

He said the judge was misled by PDP lawyers and that he had confidence in the judiciary.

Umahi said: “I want to thank Nigerians; I want to thank Ebonyi people. I was doing my projects inspection when the Deputy Governor called to inform me that Ebonyi people are here.

“I am just here to urge you to be very peaceful and to assure you that we still have very serious confidence in the judiciary.

“The NBA chairman published something and that I said the judge is biased but when we spoke this afternoon (yesterday), we understood ourselves.

“I say that the lawyers of PDP were the people that did the hatchet job. I am going to write to NBA to discipline them. The judge was misled.

“In the Bayelsa case, there was a defect in the deputy governor’s credentials but the Supreme Court said the votes cast belonged to the individuals, not the party.

“The lawyers knew about this, they misled the judge. So the blame is not on the judge; the blame is to the PDP lawyers.

“I am using this opportunity to let Nigerians know that nobody castigated the judge and we will not.

Governor, others file appeal 

Umahi, Igwe and 16 members of the state House of Assembly have appealed the judgment.

In two notices of appeal filed by their lawyer, Chukwuma Machukwu Umeh (SAN), Umahi, Igwe and others are praying the Court of Appeal to set aside Justice Ekwo’s judgement.

In the notice of appeal filed for Umahi and Igwe, 11 grounds of appeal were raised, while five grounds were raised in the notice of appeal filed for the 16 lawmakers.

The appellants argued that the trial court erred in law when it held that the provision of Section 308 of the Constitution was not applicable to the case.

“The Hon trial court was virtually setting aside the Supreme court of Nigeria’s decision in AG Federation v. Atiku Abubakar & 3 ORS (2007) LCN/3799(SC) to the effect that there are no constitutional provisions prohibiting President or vice and invariably the Governor and or deputy Governor from defecting to another political party,” they said.

They also contended that the trial court erred in law and misdirected itself when it relied on Sections 68 and 109 of the Constitution to hold that the appellants, having defected from the PDP to the APC, offended the provisions of the Constitution and must vacate their offices as governor and deputy governor respectively.

“There is no specific mention of governor and deputy governor in the provisions of sections 68 and 109 respectively of the 1999 Constitution (as amended)

“By relying on sections 68 and 109 of the Constitution the trial court assumed the role of the legislator and arrogated to itself the powers of amendment of the Constitution

“There is no provision in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which state that governor or deputy governor will vacate his office if he defects from his political party to another political party,” they said.

The appellants added that the trial court erred in law and overruled the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria when it held that the ownership of votes cast during the governorship election of 2019 belongs to the first respondent (the PDP) and not the appellants.

“The trial court relied on Amaechi v. INEC and Faleke v. INEC when same are no longer the law on the ownership of votes cast in an election,” they said.

The family of Bamise Ayanwola, the 22-year-old whose body was found on Monday after she boarded a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicle on February 26, has demanded autopsy on her corpse.

Brother of the deceased, Pelumi Ayanwola, told The Nation on Wednesday that the family would be following legal advice as regards the next line of action.

Pelumi said: “We want to be guided by the lawyer, so we are awaiting the next steps on the autopsy.”

He however noted Lagos Government was yet to physically commiserate with the family since Bamise was gruesomely murdered.

“I can authoritatively tell you that no one has contacted us from the governor’s office or the state government to visit or condole with the family,” The deceased brother told The Nation.

The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) resumed its operations across Lagos State on Wednesday.

The Nation reported that the Lagos State Government on Tuesday suspended Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) operations as a precaution after intelligence on “planned attacks” by persons yet to be identified following the death of Bamise.

The lead counsel to the family, Ayo Ademiluyi in an interview with The Nation on Wednesday, asked the Lagos State government to direct the Chief Pathologist of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), John Obafunwa, to conduct coroner inquest on the deceased.

He said: “We are going to have a press conference on Friday, and we are going to take legal steps to get justice for the deceased.

“We have demanded for autopsy to be conducted and we have demanded that Chief Pathologist of Lagos State must conduct the autopsy.”

Ademiluyi also questioned why the State Government was yet to visit the family since Bamise’s death was made public.

The State Government was yet to react as of the time of report.