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Tag: Oyegun

  • Party chieftain accuses Oyegun of creating crisis

    ALL Progressives Congress National Chairman (APC) John Oyegun has been accused of taking actions termed as civilian coup against the party and President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The Ebonyi State governorship candidate in the 2015 election, Senator Julius Ali- Ucha, stated this in Abakaliki while speaking to reporters on Saturday’s controversial ward congresses.

    He described the actions of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) as a civilian coup against the President and members of the party.

    He, therefore, called on the President to take steps to stop Oyegun and NWC members from such undemocratic actions to save the party and the country’s nascent democracy from descending into chaos.

    The former governorship candidate accused Oyegun and members of his NWC of orchestrating the crisis in various states of the party because they want to be re-elected back to their positions.

    The party in Ebonyi State has been enmeshed in another round of crisis after the ward congresses, which held across the country last Saturday.

    Two factions conducted parallel congresses in the state.

    Reacting to the crises in the state and other states, Ucha said the desperation by the Oyegun-led committee was responsible for the botched exercise.

    He said: “Congressional election is anchored on quick sand.  I say this because when you gave your trust on illegality, there is a tendency that such trust founded on illegality will eventually collapse. What is happening today, is like a civilian coup against the teeming APC supporters in Nigeria and also against the party leader, President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “I say this and I am serious about it. We have an NWC, which tenure expires in June, 2018 and the members of the NWC want to contest. The national convention committee was put in place, and members of NWC, who are also going to contest for their various offices, when the convention date is fixed, are now driving the process to jettison the convention”

    “That is why I call it a civilian coup against the system. These party officials at the national secretariat are now judges in their own courts. They are the people who have put in place the structures that are called congress committees that will elect delegates that will elect them.”

  • ‘Why Oshiomhole should replace Oyegun’

    Ntufam Hilliard Eta is the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice Chairman (Southsouth). In this interview, he speaks with reporters in Benin City, capital of Edo State, on the endorsement of former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole for national chairman and other partisan issues. Otabor Osagie was there.

    What informed your decision to hold the Southsouth meeting in Edo State?

    Let me start by saying that on April 9, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party met in Abuja and considered the report of the Technical Committee that was set up to look at what people considered as tenure elongation and the attendant implications for the party. The NEC at the end of that meeting made five resolutions. It is consequent upon those resolutions that the meeting of the zonal executive committee was convened and we were to deliberate on those resolutions. In the zonal executive committee, we have about 168 people as members of the zonal executive committee and the committee speaks on behalf of the zone. All members were invited to the meeting in Benin and I must also say that these meetings are always rotated in the states, except for Bayelsa that we have not had these meetings. The agenda of the meeting was circulated to the leaders and they were called to make comments or representations on the agenda.

    What happened?

    The attention of the meeting was drawn to the constitution of the party, which forbids any organ of the party tampering with any position of the NEC. To that effect, the zonal leadership affirmed the decision of the NEC and commenced deliberations. The second item of the resolution was the zonal pattern of the party be retained and it was put into deliberations and over twenty people spoke on the issue of respecting the position of the NEC and maintaining even the micro zoning of the zone. The interpretation of the zonal executive committee is that the zoning must be retained from even the ward level to the national level. It was at that point, that I personally suffered a loss because my leader and former governor of my state, Chief Clement Ebri, was at that junction precluded due to the NEC resolutions on the platform of the zoning. The resolution of NEC was to maintain zoning. It has historical comparism because in 2014, before the National Convention of the party, under the auspices of the former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, such a meeting was convened in his house. At that meeting, since the slot was ceded to Edo, the chairman of Edo State APC was called to come and present the position of Edo State. The chairman of the Edo APC presented the position of Edo, which endorsed Chief Oyegun as their choice. We followed the tune of Edo and endorsed Oyegun as our candidate. The same thing was done where we invited everybody for the meeting and we called on the state chairman of Edo to give us the position of Edo State. The chairman came to us that the Edo State APC caucus unanimously endorsed Oshiomhole as their choice for chairmanship of the party. At that point, people started speaking. People did not raise issues that the chairmanship should be moved from Edo, but they raised issues that we cannot consider the position of Edo caucus in 2018, whereas in 2014, we considered such position in the presence of Amaechi.

    But, they said four state chairmen kicked against the decision…

    I read on the pages of newspapers that four chairmen disassociated themselves. I know that Cross River State does not have a chairman as we speak,. So, it could not have been four chairmen. Let me say that the chairmen are members of the zonal executive committee just like the other 164 people. We are not holding a state executive meeting, we were holding a zonal committee meeting and in the zonal executive committee we have over  168 people including senators, governors, deputy governors, former senators, former House of Representatives members. So the chairmen who stormed out of the meeting were not speaking for their states. Let me tell you something, Senator Nelson Effiong was seated and participated in the voting when his chairman stormed out and said he disassociated himself. He could not have been speaking for Senator Effiong, he could not have been speaking for Hon. Robinson or Hon. Esieme Eyibo. When the chairman of Rivers State stormed out of the house, he could not have been speaking for Senator Magnus Abbe, because Abe after voting sat until the end of the meeting.

    Why the decision to pick Oshiomhole?

    Let me tell you, eveybody who has been monitoring the situation in Nigeria and our party understand what it means to have Oshiomhole as the chairman of APC. We are not stopping Oyegun from contesting and Chief Ebri. But, what we are saying is that the majority prefers Oshiomhole as our candidate. If you ask me my opinion, I am the national vice chairman for close to four years now and what I can say now is that this party, the APC needs rebranding, reinvigoration; we need new creativity, we need to build strong leadership. I can tell you that we have been lacking very seriously, leadership at the national level of our party. And in bringing in Oshiomhole on board, I can tell you that the party will have a new lease of life. The impunity that has crept in the APC will be halted and the laws of the party will be respected. For now, God forbid that Jesus Christ will come to the headquarters of the APC, he will not flog us with cane, he will flog us with thorns.

  • Southsouth APC leaders in stormy talks over Oyegun

    John Odigie-Oyegun’s political future was hanging in the balance yesterday.

    The Southsouth zonal leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) rejected Chief Oyegun’s return  as National Chairman.

    It rather backed the aspiration of the immediate past governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, as the choice of the zone.

    It was at a stormy meeting of APC leaders in the Southsouth held in Benin City, the Edo State capital. Vice Chairman (Southsouth) Mr Ntufam Hilliard Eta presided.

    At the meeting were Oshiomhole, Chief Timipreye Sylva, Senator Magnus Abe, Halims Agoda, Hon.Eseme Eyibo, former Akwa Ibom State Military Governor Sam Ewang, Mrs Miriam Alli, Senator Francis Alimekhena, Frank Ajobena, Chief Great Ogboru, Victor Ochei and Cairo Ojougboh.

    Also there were Senator Domingo Obende, Speaker Kabiru Adjoto, Comrade Frank Kokori and members of the APC caucus from the Southsouth in the National Assembly.

    Supporters of former governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi, who stressed that they were not at the meeting to adopt any candidate, were shouted down.

    They later claimed that they were railroaded into accepting Oshiomhole’s bid for the job.

    Oyegun and Amaechi were absent at the meeting.

    Oyegun was nominated for support but Oshiomhole’s nomination took the lead by a thunderous voice vote.

    Eta, who addressed reporters, said the voice of the majority prevailed at the meeting.

    He said: “You are all aware of the happenings in the party and luckily one of the decisions taken by NEC was that party positions should be retained in the various jurisdictions that are occupying those positions as at now. And you are aware that the Southsouth is occupying the number one position of the party.

    “And it is important that we proceeded from the premise of that meeting and begin to discuss and interact on the best ways that we can use those resolutions reached at NEC to impact positively on the Southsouth zone of the party, given that the zone is unarguably the fastest growing zone of the party. We also took into consideration the need to put our best forward.

    “It was on the basis of these reasons that we decided to meet today as the Southsouth zone of the party. And, in considering the retention of positions as regards the status quo, Edo state chapter of the party, led by its chairman availed us with the information that the party in Edo had come to the conclusion that a candidate in the person of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole be presented to carry the flag of the party. That decision was unanimous, which means every member of the state caucus not just participated but accepted that this must be the position of Edo State.

    “Having considered the position of Edo State, it was put to vote and majority of the members of the zonal executive committee decided that Edo State’s position must be affirmed by the zonal executive committee. We had some dissenting views, which is normal in a democracy. Majority will always have its way and minority its say.

    “In the course of the deliberation, somebody had also presented the candidature of Chief Oyegun, but through voice vote of the zonal executive committee, that vote was defeated. The position of Oshiomhole prevailed and that stands as the position of the zonal executive committee of the party.”

    “Oyegun was invited for the meeting but maybe he took excuse, which is normal. This is not the first time we are doing it in the zone. In 2014, a few days to the national convention, we also had a meeting of the zone where the position of Edo was canvassed they came to that meeting to tell us that they wanted Chief Oyegun against Chief Tom Ikimi and we followed them.

    “That time some people kicked against Oyegun but the majority prevailed and today, the majority have said that Oshiomhole is our choice,” Eta said.

    But Bayelsa State APC chairman Joseph Fafi said the endorsement was ‘an ambush” because the meeting was not set out to endorse anybody.

    He said since the party conceded the position to the zone, everybody shoud be free to contest

    Fafi said the chapter chairmnen had not consulted their leaders, which meant that they lacked the capacity to take a stand on the matter.

    “Even Oshiomhole told the meeting that anybody interested in the position should be free to contest,” he said

    Fafi added that APC chairmen in Delta, Rivers and Akwa Ibom were unamimous not to support the endorsement.

    Also, the Edo State caucus of the APC unanimously endorsed Oshiomhole for national chairman at the forthcoming convention.

    The state chairman, Mr. Anselm Ojezua, who disclosed the position of the state’s caucus after a meeting of party chieftains, said the party’s congress at the wards, local governments and state levels would hold.

    The member representing Egor/Ikpoba-Okha  Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma, said Oshiomhole has the charisma to lead the party at the national level, noting, “The state caucus has collectively done the needful by requesting Comrade Oshiomhole to assist in re-organising and preparing the party for the 2019 presidential election.”

  • ‘Oyegun should resolve Delta APC crisis’

    Some Delta State All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders have called on the party’s national leadership to resolve the crisis rocking the state chapter, if they want the party to win the 2019 governorship election.

    The leaders Chief Dafe Ogheneovo, Johnson Afejuku and Diokpa Joel Ugbaja gave the advice at a briefing in Warri.

    Specifically, they urged President Muhammadu Buhari to step into the matter or risk a repeat of the party’s 2015 poor performance in the state.

    They alleged that Chief Otega Emerhor was palnning to zone the governorship slot to Delta North, in violation of the party chairman’s, Prophet Jones Erhue’’s, statement to the contrary.

    The leaders recalled that the party’s state working committee, the highest decision making body, had through the party chairman, issued a statement declaring that the governorship position was open to  members in irrespective of tribe and senatorial district.

    They alleged that the call by Emerhor that the governorship ticket be zoned to Delta North was as a result of an alleged deal between him and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, that after the latter’s second tenure in 2023, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would support Emerhor to win the primaries and the governorship of the party of his choice.They claimed that part of the plot was to lure Chief Great Ogboru to the APC, which he had executed, to deny Ogboru the opportunity of building his structures within his former party for the 2019 race. The call for Delta North to do one term through zoning is to exclude the zone from the race in 2023, they argued.

    They said the reasons some political leaders in APC and PDP were fighting Ogboru was because of his political value to the state, urging the party leadership to ensure justice was upheld in the party.

  • Exposed: Oyegun’s ‘hidden agenda’ on tenure extension

    Party: no such plot

    Rather than go away, tenure elongation is still haunting the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Some of its members yesterday cried out over the content of a memo presented to the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Monday by Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun.

    They claimed that a portion of the memo was aimed at achieving tenure extension through the backdoor.

    But the party leadership denied having any hidden plan to extend its tenure.

    The NEC rejected tenure elongation for Oyegun and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC).

    It, however, granted them waivers to recontest at the party’s congresses and convention for which no dates have been fixed.

    President Muhammadu Buhari was at the NEC meeting to, according to him, “nail the coffin of tenure elongation and also declare my re-election bid”.

    But in his memo, Oyegun said the Simon Lalong Technical Committee recommended, among others, that: “if for reasons of inability to fulfil constitutional and or legal conditions requisite for the conduct of a valid elective congress or convention, then, the party may as a last resort leverage on the NEC resolution of February 27, 2018, which in our view is lawful in the circumstances.” The NEC, on February 27, approved tenure extension for Oyegun and his team, but reversed itself following the President’s intervention on March 27.

    Referring to the committee’s report, Oyegun insisted that the February 27 decision of NEC neither violated APC constitution nor the 1999 Constitution.

    Sources said yesterday that the adopted memo may “trigger problems”, especially if the proposed congresses and convention are not held.

    “I suspect a plot to frustrate and subvert the congresses and convention, especially since waivers have been given to the NEC to supervise the exercise and recontest in the intra-party elections. There may be no commitment to successful congresses and convention. The exercise can be programmed to fail to achieve tenure elongation through the backdoor.”

    Other recommendations approved by the NEC include a 21 days statutory notice for the holding of elective congresses and convention to be given to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) immediately; the current zoning formula for party offices be retained; requirements of Article 31 (111) be waived in line with the provisions of Article 13.4 (xv) to avoid disruptions in the management of party affairs at all levels; and all pending suits in respect of this matter be withdrawn.

    Oyegun recalled that on February 27, the NEC voted to authorise all elected officials to continue in acting capacities for a period not exceeding 12 months after the expiration of their tenure.

    He said the President observed that the NEC’s decision might have contravened the party constitution and the 1999 Constitution.

    The chairman noted that, following the President’s observation, the NEC authorised him to set up the Lalong committee to advise the party on the way forward.

    The 10-man committee, he said, was mandated to examine the President’s position and recommendations.

    Oyegun said the committee affirmed the “constitutionality and legality of the NEC Resolution of February 27” and the “need for elective congresses and convention.”

    Quoting the committee’s report, Oyegun said: “After citing relevant statutes and authorities, the committee concluded that the decision taken by the NEC at its meeting of February 27 did not violate either the constitution of the party and that of the federation.

    “In essence, APC is competent through its relevant organs, to constitute caretaker committees to run the affairs of the party upon the expiration of the tenure of its elected party officials where, for some reasons, it is impracticable to hold elections before the requisite effluxion of time.

    “The committee is of the view that it is the requirement of the constitution that the party should hold democratic congresses and convention every four years. The issue however, is whether or not this requirement accommodates certain exigencies or circumstances that might prevent or make the holding of the congresses and convention impracticable.”

    Oyegun said the Lalong committee recommended as follows:  “That although the decision taken by NEC on February 27 is legal and constitutional, and violated neither the party constitution nor that of the federation, it is still in the best interest of the party to conduct congresses and convention.

    “However, in doing so, all reasonable measures should be taken to minimise opportunity for acrimony or rancour while ensuring that all prescribed constitutional and legal conditions are met.”

    Dispelling fears of the NWC extending its tenure, APC spokesman Bolaji Abdullahi said the party was already preparing for its congresses and convention.

    He described the NEC’s decisions as a stop gap measure, pointing out that there is nothing constitutional about them. Abdullahi dismissed insinuations that the party leadership may leverage on that not to hold congresses and convention.

    He said: “I can assure you that we are preparing for congresses and convention. The congresses and convention will hold and so, there is nothing like anybody leveraging on that to ensure that congresses do not hold so that some people will remain in office”.

  • Oyegun and the Abuja disease

    Abuja disease is a peculiar affliction in Nigerian politics. It refers to the tendency of an actor with otherwise modest endowment or from humble station to transmute to a monstrous creature once he/she enters the nation’s capital and begins to frequent the power circles.

    Intoxicated by a new false sense of identity, such upstart does not consider it abominable to now point at their cradle with the proverbial left hand, mocking old benefactors, before their new friends.

    Chief Odigie Oyegun would appear the latest sufferer of this pathology. With a straight face, the National Chairman of ruling the All Progressives Congress (APC) toiled hard to deny allies who smoothed his path to office. Perhaps the most audacious of such exertions was an interview published by Vanguard where he sought to disavow a known truth: the decisive role played by both Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in his emergence in 2014.

    Specifically, the interviewer asked: “Some are alleging that you’ve not been fair to those who assisted you to emerge National Chairman of the party, especially Bola Tinubu. Is this true?”

    Hear Chief Oyegun: “Everybody assisted me to this position and I’m grateful to all of them. The only thing is my personality and integrity; I don’t joke with these two things because they’re the only currency that I’ve and I’ll defend them at any time. I don’t believe one particular person solely assisted me to this position.”

    And in what sounded more like a poor imitation of Buhari’s now famous inaugural “I belong to everybody and nobody” phrase, Oyegun added: “Some day, the story of how I became chairman of APC will be told. You will then see that everybody did assist me to become National Chairman. This means that I’m there for everybody. I don’t belong to any camp in the APC. I belong to all members of APC high and below.”

    With that, the APC chairman could, however, only be said to be deceiving himself in his desperation to impress a national following that does not exist. In the same interview, even more disturbing was his showcasing a poverty of ideas so blissfully over the reported insolvency of the party’s national secretariat. We shall return to this presently.

    Now luxuriating in the new-found glory, Oyegun must be assuming that the nameless – but nonetheless discerning – porters at Benin airport have forgotten the wilderness days of 2013 and early 2014 when they often would relieve an elderly man, regularly clad in French suit, of his little bag after rushing in from his hermitage on the sedate Reservation Road in Benin GRA to catch evening Arik Air flight to Lagos – tellingly at predictable intervals.

    Easily given away by the littleness of his luggage, no one needed further proof that his mission in Lagos could be other than political meetings, hosted by folks whose generous hospitality he now belittles.

    So, when Oyegun spoke in such imperial tone, he must also have assumed no one remembers how the Edo chapter of APC had unilaterally issued a statement endorsing his then arch rival, Chief Tom Ikimi, solely for the office in 2014, obviously to foreclose his (Oyegun’s) chances.

    Unhappy with what he considered “an anti-democratic maneuver” and “a crude attempt to close the political space”, then Governor Oshiomhole had to make a passionate appeal to the state party executive to shift ground. They were incensed that even with the convention barely few days away, Oyegun still had not thought it courteous to formally intimate them of his interest in the big job.

    Following Oshiomhole’s intervention, the Anselm Ojezua-led state exco backed down and granted Oyegun audience to make a presentation. Thereafter, the Edo APC recanted its earlier position by issuing a statement also acknowledging Oyegun and wishing both contenders good luck at the national convention ahead.

    That development would cost Oshiomhole his political relationship with Ikimi seen largely as the man to beat for his greater national visibility which he was too eager to flaunt to the point of hubris.

    If Oshiomhole ensured home anointing for Oyegun, Tinubu sold him to his allies at the national level, obviously out of a nostalgia for – and maybe over-romanticization of – their NADECO past. We are talking of the days of innocence of APC when key gladiators still related as comrades united by a shared resolve to oust Goodluck Jonathan from Aso Rock; when the atmosphere had not become poisoned by mutual suspicion and deep bitterness arising from a sense of alienation.

    Of course, it is open secret that over the years Asiwaju and Ikimi never got on well over the former’s memory of the brutal repression suffered as NADECO exile under dictator Sani Abacha in the 90s with the Oduma of Igueben serving as the voluble foreign minister.

    It is a measure of Tinubu’s blistering networking that Ikimi eventually faced stiff resistance from almost everyone who held the ace within APC then except Turaki Adamawa (ex Vice President Atiku Abubakar). Out-muscled, he had no choice than withdrawing few hours to the commencement of voting at the convention. In pulling out of APC eventually, Ikimi brought drama and a lengthy epistle dripping of bile and acid.

    Reminding the public how he had hosted several exploratory meetings that led to APC’s birth in 2014, Ikimi likened what happened to “someone taking away my pot of soup”, more or less dismissing Oyegun as a political merchandise with little or no electoral value.

    Indeed, in hindsight, Ikimi would now seem vindicated. At home, Oyegun has in the last three years been exposed as grossly impotent politically.  In the 2015 general polls, not only did the APC national chair fail to deliver his polling unit in Oredo, his ward, local government and the entire Edo South senatorial district were also lost to PDP. It was only Oshiomhole’s rally in his native Edo North that ensured APC eventually deliver 45 percent to Buhari’s victory in the historic March 28 polls.

    Even more humiliating was the outcome of the state governorship primaries in 2016. Oyegun’s anointed in the shadow polls came a distant third to Godwin Obaseki. In the September 26 governorship polls proper, Oyegun, the great national chair, failed again as PDP won his polling unit right there in Oredo, the heart of Benin City.

    Back in 2011, even as the presidential running-mate to Shekarau on the ANPP platform, Oyegun’s showing at home was no less disastrous. ANPP performed woefully across Edo. In fact, on account of the sparse number of votes recorded in Benin City, it would not be exaggeration to say no one outside Oyegun’s family members and few loyal neighbours came out to support a ticket that supposedly had “the son of the soil” as the vice presidential candidate.

    Taken together, no one is begrudging Oyegun whatever super stardom he thinks APC leadership now confers on him. But what we only expect of those whose palm kernel has been cracked by benevolent gods is simple – humility. While Oyegun now makes a fetish of self-declared “personality and integrity”, we only expect a demonstration of this very virtue in a fidelity to the facts of history, particularly when the memory is still fresh.

    Acknowledging those who provided you ladder to climb to a height will not in anyway dim your stardom. On the contrary, it confers greater nobility. Only those incurably afflicted by the Abuja disease would seek to belittle, without qualms, their key enablers of yesterday.

    On APC’s state of financial health, Oyegun also missed the point by dragging PMB’s name at all into the story of APC’s illiquidity. Contrary to his insinuation, no one is saying or expects Buhari to dip hands into public treasury to fund party’s activities. I think the issue is whether enough incentives are being created for party members or blocs to have a sense of ownership that will, in turn, ginger them into freely bringing their widow’s mite.

    How was the party able to finance itself before gaining power?

    Theoretically, a party is supposed to draw oxygen substantially from membership fees, dues and levies by those who subscribe to its charter of values.

    To be fair to Oyegun, party finance remains a sticky point even in the so-called mature democracies. In the United States, the corrosive influence of Wall Street was a big issue in the both the primaries and general polls last year. The challenge has been how to evolve institutional bulwark against kickbacks, influence peddling, embezzlement and extortion on party’s behalf.

    In the present circumstance, it is, however, debatable whether Oyegun has been able to draw on his much vaunted “personality and integrity” to provide an exemplary leadership that towers above the squalor of partisanship and therefore commands greater loyalty and trust of all and sundry. It then explains why the national secretariat appears increasingly deserted and the earth vanishing under Oyegun’s bare feet.

    Nothing illustrates graphically that loosening grip than the reported tumult in Abuja on Tuesday by state chairmen of the party. While Oyegun would typically choose to live in denial, the party’s chief spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, was forthright enough to admit that the state leaders were bitter over Buhari’s “lopsided appointments” which have only succeeded in casting the government as sectional; a total negation of the promise of 2015.

    With the deafening rabble at the door, the question now is whether Oyegun, as the embodiment of the heart and soul of APC, has the courage and the gravitas to convey the message to Buhari with a view to winning back those who genuinely feel alienated. That may be a tough call for a pensioner feverishly afraid of losing his own share of the spoils of office in Abuja.

    Meanwhile, with his kinsman now appearing to totter under the weight of office in Abuja, I can see Ikimi taking another sip from his favorite cognac this moment, smiling mischievously.

     

    • By popular demand, this piece, first published in April 2017, is rerun for its prophetic relevance

     

     

  • Oyegun, others get waivers to contest without resigning

    WILL the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, recontest for the top job at the party’s convention?

    This was the poser yesterday, following the party’s rejection of tenure elongation for Oyegun and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC).

    They and other party leaders at the ward, local government and state levels were, however, granted waiver to recontest, if they wished.

    Plateau State Governor and APC Technical Committee on Tenure Elongation Chairman Simon Lalong made these known yesterday after the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja.

    Observers last night described the waiver as “a soft-landing” for Oyegun and others willing to recontest at the party’s congresses and convention.

    No date has been fixed for the elections.

    Lalong said President Muhammadu Buhari informed the party leaders of his second term bid at the meeting, which was described as “the shortest NEC session ever”. It started at 11.02am and ended at 11:55 am.

    The Lalong committee report, which rejected tenure extension, was adopted at the meeting.

    Lalong, who addressed reporters with APC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi,  said his committee’s report was unanimously adopted by the meeting.

    He said: “We were given a task to work within a short time. Within that time, we considered those who were for and against. We looked at the issue extensively and did wider consultations and arrived at a point where we considered not only the legal point, but also the political options available.

    “That is why we came to the point that, if we are going to conduct that election within the time available, then the concern shown by other members on the issue of disenfranchisement and allowing others to contest was very genuine. We also considered the opinion of the President and we arrived at the point that it is constitutionally valid to conduct congresses.

    “We also decided that if, in conducting the elections, certain conditions are not going to be fulfilled, it means that some people will be disenfranchised. We spoke about the 21 days notice (to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before a congress) and the fulfilment of Article 31.

    “If we are going to comply with this, the constitution requires that certain waivers should be granted to those who are crying that they will be disenfranchised. We came to the conclusion that if these provisions are taken care of, then there was no need for anybody to say there should be no congress.

    “Our conclusion is that we must conduct congresses. We looked at the second aspect of the legality of the action and we said that in every constitution and the election of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we are not saints, we are not angels.

    “It is assumed that in the course of doing things, there may be unforeseen circumstances that will stop you or you reach a brickwall and therefore fail to conclude the exercise. That was the option that was made by the party, in creating an opportunity for there to be an option for you when you get to that brickwall. So, we married the two positions.

    “So, conducting the congresses will also create an opportunity for even those who are not yet members of the party or who have come to the party, but not yet registered because the constitution provides that you must be a registered member of the party and that for you to vote and be voted for, you must be a card-carrying member. There was also the issue of reconciliation.

    “With this, the constitutional notices are being provided and we will work within this short period. That is why we concluded that everybody be carried along and everybody’s interest be protected in this report. It was a unanimous decision to adopt the recommendations that was made to a point that the President felt so happy and excited and said that because of this reunion and unity in the party, he will now consider and also accept the appeal by several members of the society and the party that he recontests and he accepted to recontest. So, he is going to recontest for the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

    Article 31 1 (iii) of the APC constitution states: “Any party office holder interested in contesting for an elective office (whether party office or office in a general election) shall resign and leave office 30 days prior to the date of nomination or party primary for the Office he or she is seeking to contest”.

    Article 31(2) states: “Subject to the approval of the National Executive Committee, the National Working Committee may in special circumstances grant a waiver to a person not otherwise qualified under Article 31(1) of this Constitution if, in its opinion, such a waiver is in the best interest of the party.”

    Abdullahi said members left the meeting, smiling because it was a win-win for everybody. Those, who thought that the party would start breaking up after the meeting, were disappointed, he added.

    Abdullahi said: “This is the shortest NEC meeting that we have had. This is because the challenge before us has been clear all along and that what we want is a win-win situation for all and that is the work that the committee had done, to find a mid-course that will take care of the interest of everyone.

    “Those who have been clamouring that we must have congresses and those who were afraid that if we have congresses, they will be swept away. The committee’s recommendation has taken care of both; that you must do congresses and that the requirement of the law that you must resign 30 days before you can contest will have to be waived.

    “In essence, you don’t have to resign before you can contest. That way, the matter has been resolved and as far as APC is concerned, the storm that everyone was expecting to happen did not happen and the collapse that people were expecting to start from this NEC meeting today did not happen.

    “So we are leaving the NEC meeting reunited and  a strong family of progressive politics in Nigeria. We are also happy and you can see that our countenance has changed and we are happy that Mr. President has accepted and has announced his wish to recontest in 2019.”

    At the meeting were Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Governors Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Jubrilla Bindo (Adamawa), Lalong, Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto),  Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Tanko Al-makura (Nasarawa), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi) and Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo). Deputy Governor Phillip Shuaibu represented Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki.

  • APC NEC: Why El-Rufai, Akeredolu, Bello, others are backing Oyegun

    •Six issues which will dominate APC NEC meeting
    •Buhari, APC leaders set to determine Oyegun, others’ fate

     

    Fresh facts emerged yesterday that some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and some party leaders are adamant on the retention of the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) because of some personal reasons including survival for the 2019 polls.

    The governors are: Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna); Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo); Yahaya Bello (Kogi); Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi); Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun); and Simon Lalong (Plateau).

    Governor Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano) who used to be pro-Odigie-Oyegun, allegedly changed his mind at the March 27 National Executive Committee meeting.

    Others linked with Odigie-Oyegun are some leaders of the National Assembly; Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi, and the National Legal Adviser of APC, Dr. Muiz Banire (SAN).

    But following the President’s advisory, Amaechi has opted for elective convention too.

    Sources close to some of the governors said they are afraid that the congresses could be rancorous and that this can have a negative impact on the APC in next year’s election.

    Extensive checks however show that this is a smokescreen.

    The real motive is the fear that due to their dwindling influence, they may not produce the next executive committees of the party in their respective states.

    Some of the governors are said to be upset that President Muhammadu Buhari was allegedly conceding to some national leaders of the party, especially Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Their calculation is that they are already losing out in Buhari’s kitchen cabinet.

    The pro-Odigie-Oyegun governors are not happy that having invested so much in the APC national executive members they may not be there for them in the build-up to the 2019 elections.

    Some NWC members were said to be seeking favours from a few of these governors and leaders including juicy contracts and trips abroad.

    A highly placed source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Some of those governors rooting for Odigie-Oyegun and NWC members have virtually hijacked the structure of APC and thoroughly compromised the leadership.

    “The rot began gradually as soon as the NWC led by Odigie-Oyegun was inaugurated and a thanksgiving was done.

    “This was why the NWC was helpless on some issues including the now resolved June 2015 stalemate in the National Assembly over the choice of principal officers.

    “Some governors have also allegedly influenced decisions of the NWC on the legality of their State Working Committees.

    “There is more to the backing of Odigie-Oyegun than meets the eye. It is a case of he who pays the piper dictates the tunes. Many times, two Northern governors have bailed out the APC National Secretariat by paying the salaries of staff which is about N17million monthly.”

    For instance, findings confirmed that El- Rufai is Oyegun’s favourite. Many APC watchers don’t understand the basis for the cosy relationship.

    It was gathered that at a stage, Odigie-Oyegun was always using every opportunity to sing the praise of el-Rufai who he once described as “an achiever” to the envy of others.

    A source said: “If you look at Odigie-Oyegun, he is fond of putting el-Rufai in strategic committees of the party. He believes that as a favourite of the President, el-Rufai is a way to Buhari’s heart.

    “All interventions in Kaduna APC by the National Secretariat were mere cosmetics because el-Rufai is Odigie-Oyegun’s anointed political loyalist.  It is an open secret.

     

    El-Rufai

    “And el-Rufai in turn takes undue advantage of the party to seal the hope of his opponents, especially Senators Shehu Sani and Othman Hunkuyi.

    “As long as Odigie-Oyegun remains in office, el-Rufai will control APC machinery in the state and his second term ticket is assured. So, it is a case of survival in 2019 in Kaduna

    “With his loyalty to the President and backing for Odigie-Oyegun, el-Rufai can be likened to a polygamist managing two wives. He was one of those instrumental to the February resolution by NEC on tenure elongation for Odigie-Oyegun and the NWC.

    “The same el-Rufai dealt with the National Vice Chairman (Northwest) of APC, Inuwa Abdulkadir to check any attempt to use the zone to undermine his political aspiration.”

    A source in el-Rufai’s camp however said el-Rufai’s support for Odigie-Oyegun was meant to keep the APC united for the 2019 re-election bid of the President.

    The source said: “El-Rufai does not do things in half measures. He is only being a party man to the core by serving Odigie-Oyegun led NWC at any time.

    “He suspects that those who want to wreck the party were behind the elective congresses and National Convention so that APC will be in turmoil before the 2019 polls.

    “He also detests the attitude of some of his colleagues. For instance, the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Rochas Okorocha and the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Abdulaziz Yari invited el-Rufai and his colleagues to a meeting without any agenda on the invite. He only got to the meeting only to be confronted with the options of either tenure elongation or elective congresses and convention. He felt bad.

    “All I know is that he has no differences with the President. He is not opposed to the idea of the president on the conduct of state congresses. He will not be on a different wave length with the President.”

     

    Yahaya Bello

    For his part, Governor Yahaya Bello’s second home is the National Secretariat of the party since he became the governor.

    Having secured the confidence of Odigie-Oyegun and his team, the governor relates with only a factional APC in the state led by Ibrahim Ahovi.

    In spite of a pronouncement by the National Working Committee, the authentic state chapter of APC being headed by Hady Ametu has been operating largely from Abuja.

    It was gathered that the governor invested in the splitting of APC because of alleged desperation for a second term ticket.

    Another source said: “Left to Bello, he prefers Odigie-Oyegun’s retention in order to be able to take total control of the party’s structure in the state and seal his second term ticket.

    “Apart from assisting the party, the governor recently renovated the Press Centre in the APC National Secretariat. The renovation is causing ripples as those in the administration felt sidelined. But no one knows how much Bello gave to the party till date.

    “Bello is close to the first family but he has spread his tentacles to APC secretariat in order to cage his opponents who may have to look for another party. His only challenge is how to win his re-election bid because Kogi East, with a huge voting strength, is waiting in the wing to reclaim the mandate conceded to it through the late Prince Abubakar Audu.”

    But Bello on Wednesday made a volte face when he said: “I am an ardent supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari who has said that we must stick to the 1999 Constitution and APC Constitution. If Buhari asks me to jump into fire, I will not hesitate to jump into it.”

     

    Simon Lalong

    For Governor Simon Lalong, who is interested in a second term, he has been following the footsteps of his godfather, Rotimi Amaechi (the Minister of Transportation) who backed his election. Amaechi, who feels comfortable with any of the camps in APC, is only interested in a united APC and he wants to have a say in the party affairs to protect the interest of the President.

    A source close to Lalong said: “The governor has no personal commitment to Oyegun other than being a party faithful. He has no problem to be cringing at the doorsteps of either the APC National chairman or NWC members.

    “Lalong was for tenure extension to avoid the friction that comes with congresses and National Convention. He believes tension associated with elective convention can lead to bad blood which may cause the exit of some party leaders.

    “He said in an election year, no party can afford a convention crisis. He also said since it was a general decision in February to extend the tenure of Odigie-Oyegun and others, it is better to abide by it.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “There is no intra-party crisis in APC in Plateau State to warrant Lalong shuttling to Abuja for party protection. We had a noise maker who everybody ignored.”

     

    Mohammed Abubakar

    Concerning the Governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, it was learnt that he initially supported Odigie-Oyegun because  President Buhari was backing the man.

    A reliable source close to him said:  “My understanding which may be limited, the governor is a firm believer of Buhari and he was with Odigie-Oyegun because the president was also supporting him. It makes political sense to align with Buhari because the political climate here has shown that the President is still massively being followed. What will following Odigie-Oyegun fetch Bauchi State or the governor?

    “Locally there is a strong opinion that the state chairman of the party must go but people close to the governor want the status quo to remain. They are power brokers. A lot of people want to be party chairman but the current holder was the governor’s school mate.

    Amaechi

    Investigation revealed that Amaechi initially backed Odigie-Oyegun for continuity because as the Director-General of Buhari’s Campaign for 2019, he does not want any rumpus in the party.

    “But immediately the President stamped his feet on elective convention, he withdrew his support for tenure elongation”.

    Asked if Amaechi opted for Odigie-Oyegun to control the party structure in the state, the source added: “It is indisputable that the Minister is the leader of the party in the state.

    “What we are doing is to reunite everyone including Sen. Magnus Abe who felt aggrieved at some point.”

      Akeredolu

    Governor Akeredolu’s preference for Odigie-Oyegun  is described by a source, as a case of “one good turn deserves another.”

    Having gone through stiff opposition to secure the party’s governorship ticket, the governor is said to be overwhelmed by the “fairness of Odigie-Oyegun and the NWC.”

    The source said: “You know he contested for governorship primaries without the control of the party’s structure. He believes he owes the party leadership some support.

    “Also, Akeredolu and his strategists feel that it is time to consolidate their grip on APC in Ondo State more so when there are still issues in court by one of the gubernatorial aspirants, Dr. Segun Abraham, at the September 3, 2016 governorship primary election.

    “He believes some leaders of the party are behind the lingering court case on the primaries and he has to lean on the national leadership of APC in case of any upset.”

     

    Amosun

    To Governor Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), who is a close political ally of the President, there is no need changing Odigie-Oyegun’s NWC. He strongly suspects the anti-tenure elongation agenda is being floated by some leaders from the South-West.

    A party leader said: “Although efforts were made recently by the President to reconcile Amosun and some aggrieved South-West leaders, it is still a cat and mouse game.

    “His ultimate objective is to anoint his successor and he thinks the status quo can make it a reality. If a new leadership emerges, it can be a different permutation.”

    Six issues which may dominate APC NEC meeting

    Six issues will largely determine the course of events when the national executive committee (NEC) of APC convenes tomorrow in Abuja on the future   of Odigie-Oyegun and other members of the national working committee (NWC).

    President Buhari, whose intervention seems to have punctured the move to give Odigie-Oyegun a tenure extension, will be joined at the all important meeting by other top wigs of the party.

    Notwithstanding, last minute consultations are continuing by Odigie-Oyegun supporters, led by some state governors, to save the day for him.

    Party sources hinted yesterday of a plot by some APC members who feel threatened by Odigie-Oyegun’s possible exit to dump the party and form a New APC.

    The Nation gathered yesterday that Buhari’s speech at the last meeting of the APC NEC in which he drew attention to the illegality of tenure extension for Odigie-Oyegun and others will form the basis of tomorrow’s deliberation.

    The meeting, according to party sources, will also revolve around the report of the Governor Lalong-led Committee on tenure elongation and constitutional matters; the power of the NEC to establish a committee; the composition of the National Convention Committee and the timetable for state congresses and National Convention and whether or not Odigie-Oyegun’s NWC members will be asked to resign.

    Buhari at the March 27 meeting had said: “I have taken time to review and seek advice on the resolution and what I found is that it contravenes both our party’s constitution and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. While the APC constitution in article 17(1)  13.2 (b) and  limits the tenure of elected officers to four years, renewable once by another election, the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) in section 223 also prescribes periodic election for party executives at regular intervals which must not exceed four years.

    “Furthermore, Article 31 of our great party’s constitution provides that any principal officer wishing to re-contest, or contest for another post, must resign from his current post at least one month before the election. In this circumstance, what is expected of us, is to conduct fresh elections once the tenure of the current executives approaches its end.”

    Some sections of the APC Constitution which also be discussed are:  Articles17 (1), 13.2, 3 (b); 20 and 31

    Section 13.3 says: “The National Executive Committee of the Party shall be the Principal Executive body of the Party and shall perform the following functions:

    1. Summon or convene the National Convention and prepare its agenda;
    2. Discharge all functions of the National Convention as constituted in between National Conventions;

    iii. Decision of the National Executive Committee shall be binding on all organs and all, members of the Party, except the National Convention;

    1. Consider reports from National, State and Local Government Area/Area Councils Chapters of the Party and take such decisions as are necessary to protect, advance, and consolidate the gains and interests of the Party;
    2. Exercise control and take disciplinary actions on all organs, officers and members of The Party and determine appeals brought before it by any member or organ of the Party;
    3. Create, elect and appoint any Committee it may deem necessary, desirable or expedient and assign to them such Powers and functions as it may deem fit and Proper;

    vii. Examine the actions taken or legislation proposed or passed by any Government, Legislative House or Local Government Area/Area Council and determine what further actions the Party should take;

    viii. Secure at all elections the return of as many Party candidates as Possible, so as to generally have control of the Legislative and Executive arms of Governments in the Federation, States and Local Government Areas/Area Council

    1. Raise adequate funds for the management and sustenance of the Party;
    2. Ratify the type, nature and membership of Standing Committees to be set up by the National Working Committee;
    3. Approve the national budget of the Party;

    Article 17 (i) says: “Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, all officers of the Party elected or appointed into the Party’s organs shall serve in such organs for a period of four (4) years and shall be eligible for re-election or re-appointment for another period of four (4) years only, provided that an Officer elected or appointed to fill a vacancy arising from death, resignation or otherwise shall notwithstanding be eligible for election to the same Office for two terms.

    “No member shall serve in the same office for more than eight (8) years continuously, except a member of the Board of Trustees or a person who first came to the office by filling a vacancy.

    Article 20 reads: “All Party posts prescribed or implied by this Constitution shall be filled by democratically conducted elections at the respective National Convention or Congress subject, where possible, to consensus, Provided that where a Candidate has emerged by consensus for an elective position, a vote of “yes” or “no” by ballot or voice shall be called, to ensure that it was not an imposition which could breed discontent and crisis.’

    Article 31 borders on the omnibus provisions in APC Constitution which make it compulsory for Odigie-Oyegun and all NWC members to resign at least 30 days prior to the date of nomination or Party primary for the Office he or she is seeking to contest.

    The omnibus provisions of the APC Constitution stipulates thus  :  “Provided  always  that  in  pursuit  of  all  the  provisions  herein  contained  in  this Constitution, the following shall ensure that:

    1. No person shall be eligible to contest for any Party position, or be nominated by the Party to be its candidate at any election, if the person is not a member of the Party.
    2. All nominations into elective offices shall be supported by a specified number of  nominators  from  the  relevant  Constituencies  as  may  be  prescribed  or provided for in the Party’s Electoral Guidelines.

    iii.  Any Party office holder interested in contesting for an elective office (whether  party  office  or  office  in  a  general  election)  shall  resign  and  leave  office  30  days prior to the date of  nomination or Party primary for the Office he or she  is seeking to contest.

    The Lalong committee was set up last week to advise the party leadership on tenure elongation.

    It submitted its report on Friday but its recommendations have not been released by the party chair.

    A member of the NWC said: “Odigie-Oyegun has been cuddling the report like a baby; we have no access to even though we ought to be aware of the contents before the NEC meeting on Monday.”

    It was however gathered that the committee recommended that tenure elongation for the party’s executive committees at all levels  be jettisoned , and called for a  national convention.

    What is the third force in APC up to?

    More than anything is the quietness of some National Assembly leaders, a few former and serving governors who were instrumental to the merger of parties to form APC.

    These leaders were said to be giving tacit support to Odigie-Oyegun because they see recourse to congresses and National Convention as a ploy to edge out the defunct New PDP component from APC.

    It was learnt that those in this group have been plotting to spring surprises at the NEC session on Monday by insisting on voting or affirmation on vital issues especially tenure elongation.

    A member of the NWC said: “Some of these leaders are mobilizing to create tension which can make the meeting inconclusive or they will cause upset which will make them to walk out on Buhari.

    “We have got intelligence t that some of these leaders are out to form a New APC to portray the party as being in disarray. They are looking for excuses to defect to other parties.

    “The ability of the President and governors to manage the situation at the meeting can render such a plot a nullity.

    “Once they are frustrated, they will rely on their Plan B to protest against the outcome of the state congresses and National Convention in order to defect to another party.

    “The NEC meeting has to be devoid of ripples because of plans to overrule the President’s advice or rubbish the report of Governor Lalong Committee. They want to bank on a simple majority at the NEC session to cause confusion.”

    The APC Constitution says: “There shall be a National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Party consisting of: National Chairman; Deputy National Chairman (North); Deputy National Chairman (South) National Secretary; Deputy National Secretary; six National Vice Chairmen, one from each geo-political zones of the country (to be also known as Zonal Chairmen); National Legal Adviser; Deputy National Legal Adviser; National Treasurer; Deputy National Treasurer; National Financial Secretary; Deputy National Organizing Secretary; Deputy National Organizing Secretary; National Publicity Secretary; Deputy National Publicity Secretary; National Welfare Secretary; Deputy National Welfare Secretary; National Auditor; Deputy National Auditor; National Women Leader; Deputy National Women Leader; National Youth Leader; Deputy National Youth Leader; Special (Physically Challenged) Leader; Zonal Secretary; Zonal Youth Leader; Zonal Organizing Secretary; Zonal Women Leader; States’ Chairmen of the Party.

    Others are The President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who are members of the Party; the President of the Senate and the Deputy President of the Senate who are members of the Party; Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives who are members of the Party; Governors of the States of the Federation who are members of the Party; Majority or Minority Leader, Party Whip and their Deputies in the Senate and House of Representatives who are Members of the Party; Two serving Senators from each geo-political zone of the country, who are members of the Party, to be nominated by the Senators from such zone; Three members of the House of Representatives from each geo-political zone of the country who are members of the Party to be nominated by members from such zone.

    Also in NEC are six Ex-Officio members, of whom, one each shall be elected by the National Convention from each of the six geo-political zones of the country; serving Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Secretary of the Board of Trustees (BOT).

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Why we killed tenure elongation for Oyegun, others — Ganduje

    KANO State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, yesterday explained why he joined other party members to frustrate the bid by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and other party leaders to elongate their tenure.

    His explanation came ahead of another emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party, which is expected to end the ongoing controversy about the tenure of the party’s leaders at all levels.

    The governor, who spoke at an interactive session with select journalists in Abuja yesterday, said they were against the tenure elongation idea because it would affect the fortunes of the party and portray it as undemocratic.

    He said that those of them who were not in support of the idea had managed to convince the governors in favour of it to jettison it and embrace an elective convention where new leaders will emerge.

    Ganduje also declared his intention to seek re-election as Kano State governor in 2019, adding that the state has concluded plans to drag President Muhammadu Buhari to court if he fails to seek re-election for a second term.

    The governor said the contentious tenure elongation issue would be resolved at the party’s NEC meeting scheduled for Monday where a committee would be put in place to conduct congresses to elect leaders at all levels.

    He said that the few APC governors who were campaigning for tenure elongation, which he described as “illegal”,  had been convinced to see reasons why it should not be.

    Ganduje also revealed that Monday’s NEC meeting was expected to decide on the date and time table for congresses and convention of the party, which will bring in a new set of leaders at all levels.

    “Yes, there was controversy on this, even though we  were able to lay it to rest yesterday,” he said.

    “But let me tell you the issues involved: those who are advocating for tenure elongation are advocating on the premise that when we hold congresses and convention, according to their own perception, there will be a lot of problems and that problem will linger into election period.

    “Well, that is a perception. It could be that way, and it could be that some people wanted to retain power. Therefore, that reason is biased. However, I don’t belong to that school of thought.

    “The constitution of our party has made a provision for four years, and at the end of it, we have to hold congresses and convention.

    “The constitution of Nigeria has also provided for that, so we have no reason whatsoever.

    “If you are saying that there would be some problems, problems are part of ingredients of politics. There is no way you can practice democracy in a developing country without having some problems.

    “There must be problems. There must be divergent views and disagreements. There will never be a time that things will be 100 per cent normal. So even if there is a problem, that is part of democracy, and we will be able to move forward.

    “So, for those who thought they would be able to continue, we said no, and I think Mr. President finally hit the nail on the head by saying that he is not in favour of any tenure elongation.

    “Tenure elongation is undemocratic. It may lead us to litigation, which will not be good for the party.

    “We are happy that we have convinced the few governors who were for elongation, and on Monday, we hope to have our NEC meeting where the previous decision will be reversed, and by then, the timetable will be out for congresses at the ward level, congress at local government level, congress at the state level and finally convention at the national level.

    “I think that is the situation, and I am happy to say that the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum issued a statement,  the chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum also issued a statement and the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun, made a statement as well to say that all is well.”

    Speaking on his decision to seek second term in office, Ganduje said: “In Kano, people are saying four plus four, that is they are urging me to contest again.

    “But I too feel that in order to continue with the good development that we have started, development requires some time, and the constitution has given four years and another four years in order to consolidate what one has started.

    “I am convinced that I too will seek for second term and people are also urging me to do so. Eventually, it will be left to the people to decide whether I am qualified or not.”

    On why President Buhari must re-contest in 2019, the governor said: “APC governors want Mr. President to continue.

    “I am happy that it is not the President that said he wants to continue, it is the people that are saying continue.

    “But Mr. President has not made up his mind yet.

    “When he came to Kano, I told him that any time he decides not to contest, we will take him to court.

    “Kano State Government will take him to court any time he decides not to contest. So we are waiting for him.

    “In this country, we saw presidents who spent billions of naira for third term. So what is the ruse about a constitutional second term?”

  • Oyegun: APC committee puts final nail on tenure extension

    The Technical Committee set up by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to advise the party on the controversial issue of tenure elongation for party executives at all levels, submitted its report to the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, yesterday.

    The committee recommended that the issue of tenure elongation be jettisoned to allow for a national convention.

    The Nation gathered that the recommendations of the ten-man committee might have put the final nail on the coffin of tenure elongation to pave way for election of new leaders for the party.

    The tenure of the present executive is expected to end in June.

    The Governor Simon Lalong-led Technical Committee, whose setting up was directed by the National Executive Committee meeting on March 27, was mandated to examine the position of President Muhammadu Buhari on tenure elongation as contained in his statement delivered at the said meeting vis-a-vis the resolution of the NEC meeting of February 27, 2018.

    The committee was also asked to assess all the information available and recommend a course of action consistent with the provision of the party’s constitution, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and all relevant laws.

    Other members of the committee are Governors Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo and Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo, as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Senator Ben Uwajumogu, Hon. Kabiru Alana, Barrister Elisha Kurah, Barrister CJN Dakas, SAN and the National Legal Adviser of the party, Muiz Banire, who will serve as member and Secretary.

    A source who is in the know of what transpired during the committee’s sitting revealed that the decision of APC governors to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision might have influenced the recommendation.

    Submitting the committee’s eport, Chairman of the Committee and governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, told the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, that if the report of his committee was followed religiously, all the issue of leadership logjam in the ruling party would become a thing of the past.

    Lalong said: “The task appeared not easy when it was given to us. But with God on our side and the very wide consultations we made, this report has solved most of the problems that we were thinking was within the APC.

    “So, that is to tell you that there is democracy in the APC.

    “We looked at the meeting of February 27; we looked at also the passion and the commitment of Mr President towards keeping the party one and also cohesive, and at the end of the day, we made far-reaching recommendations.

    “We noticed that there were different interests, which is quite usual when you have a party like this that is progressive, and those interests were genuine.

    “But at the end of the day, we were able to marry those interests so that the party can move forward.

    “So, in this report, you will see a lot of it.

    “The report will also contain recommendations of certain issues that we think the party should do immediately, and one of them you have already started; that if these recommendations are going to be useful within the shortest time, the party must summoning a NEC meeting.

    “Already, we have received notices of NEC meeting for Monday, which is also in line with our recommendations, and we want to assure you that at the end of the day, APC is coming back to life.”

    Responding, Chief Oyegun, who appreciated the committee’s efforts, said: “Finally, the recommendations of your report will lay to rest the ghost that have been hovering over the leadership of APC.”