UPDATED: BUHARI SHOCKS APC NEC, WANTS TENURE ELONGATION FOR OYEGUN, OTHER OFFICIALS REVERSED
UPDATED:
BUHARI SHOCKS APC NEC, WANTS TENURE ELONGATION FOR OYEGUN, OTHER OFFICIALS
REVERSED
President
Muhammadu Buhari at the APC NEC Meeting
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday shocked members
of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of his party when he called for the
cancellation of tenure extension for party officials.
The APC
had at its NEC meeting on February 28 extended the tenure of members of
National Working Committee (NWC) led by John Odigie-Oyegun by one year.
The
decision did not go down well with a national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu,
who had been in conflict with the national chairman of the party.
Speaking
shortly before the commencement of NEC meeting Tuesday, Mr. Buhari told a
packed hall at the APC national secretariat to consider cancelling the tenure
extension decision because “it is against the party constitution and the
Nigerian constitution.”
He
therefore, presented the matter “for discussion” at the meeting.
Mr. Buhari
said he is having a change of heart because he doesn’t want the party’s
activities to be faulted by any court of law.
The
president’s request was not discussed at the national caucus meeting which held
at the Presidential Villa Monday night, Mr. Odigie-Oyegun had said.
Caucus
meetings are precursor to what would normally be discussed at NEC.
The
president noted that if the decision to extend party executive tenure can be
legally faulted, then any nomination and primary election can also be faulted.
“In
particular, I think it is important to talk on the contentious issues of the
tenure of our national and state executive officers. As we all know, the motion
was moved in the last NEC, February 27 2018, to the effect that when the tenure
of the current executive expire in June this year, they should be allowed to
continue for one year.
“This motion was moved by majority of members present at the last NEC meeting,
even though some of our party members have since spoken very vehemently against
it, others have even taken the matter to court.
“On my own
part I have taken some time to review and seek advice on the resolution and
what I have found is that it is contravenes our party constitution and the
constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
According
to him, while the APC constitution article 17, 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 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 election once the tenure of the current
executives approaches its end.
“If the
tenure of our party executive can be legally faulted then it means that any
nomination and primary election can also be faulted”, he said, adding that this
is not to talk of the (crisis) that will arise and is already arising within
the party when some of its members feel that they are being denied the right to
aspire to executive positions.
“I am
therefore of the firm believe that it is better to follow strictly the dictates
of our party and national constitution rather than put APC and its activities
at grave risk.
“The only
thing I feel too strongly about is that we should not allow our party to be
vulnerable to the opposition,” he said.
He also
revealed that a timetable for congresses and elections has been approved and he
hopes everyone will work towards making the timetable useful.
“Fortunately
we have already approved a timetable for the holding of congresses and
elections. I think this should be allowed to go forward and all efforts should
now be geared towards making them a great success,” he said.
