Prominent leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday, confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari actually approved the sack of the chairman of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State.
Some party leaders, including governors on the platform of the party, told The Guardian that the President approved Buni’s removal when he was confronted with various moves by the CECPC chair to thwart plans to hold the party’s national convention on March 26.
Specifically, Buni was fingered as the brain behind a legal action filed by a party member in court against the party to hold the national convention as scheduled.
A governor who does not want his name mentioned said, “If you like call it coup or sackbut the fact is that Buni is no more the chairman of CECPC. The President has been defending him despite all his moves against the party’s decision to hold its national convention on March 26, but when we confronted the President with all documents showing that Buni was against holding the national convention on March 26, Mr. President was disappointed and approved his sack.
‘‘That is why we convened today’s meeting (Monday) to swear in state chairmen and begin the move to hold the convention. Buni has a hidden agenda and he can no longer have his way in the party. And you can see a number of governors at the meeting to ensure things go as planned.”
The source also disclosed that notice for the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting will hold in the next seven days where Buni’s removal will be ratified.
But the Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, who has been approved to take over from Buni kept mum about the change of guard in the party during an emergency meeting of CECPC he conveyed at the Abuja Blantyre Street secretariat of the party, yesterday, amid heavy security.
Bello, who arrived at the party secretariat at about 12 noon, was applauded by scores of party supporters. He said that there was nothing unusual over the parley with his colleagues in the caretaker committee.
Interestingly, the official car of the Niger State Governor was positioned at the spot specially reserved for Buni, an indication that things have fallen apart for Buni.
Bello performed his first official duties by administering the oath of office on Chairmen of the 36 state chapters of the party, who were on hand for the event at about 1.30 p.m., and received the report of the party’s zoning committee for the forthcoming national convention.
Governors Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (Kwara), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Babagana Zulum (Borno), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe) and the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo Agege were on hand to lend support to the Niger State governor.
The event preceded the parley held behind closed doors between Bello and members of the Buni-led caretaker comprising the Secretary of the Committee, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, the Women representative in CECPC, Stella Okotete, the Youth Leader, Ismail Ahmed, Mr. David Lyon, Prof. Tahir Mamman, Senator Ali Abba, Senator Ken Nnamani and Senator Yusuf Yusuf.
Bello’s arrival at the party secretariat came against the backdrop of the rebuttal by Akpanudoedehe that there was no iota of truth in the news making the rounds over the purported sack of Buni, who is said to be in Germany to attend to his health.
Akpanudoedehe had maintained that media report on the purported sack remains fake news and should be disregarded.
He said, “The APC is a progressive political party guided by rules. Leadership changes are not announced by ‘sources’ through name-dropping in the media.
“We urge our teeming supporters, members and indeed the general public to remain calm and support the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led APC CECPC conduct a rancour-free and credible National Convention deserving of our great party, “ he declared.
However, Bello, who later fielded questions from reporters, acknowledged that he would be operating in acting capacity pending the return of Buni from Germany.
He noted: “I have been acting for a while since the Chairman travelled. The states chairmen took their oath of office today and we discussed progress made so far on convention and what needed to be done so that we would achieve the March 26 date for the convention.”
In spite of his actions, Bello, however, kept mum when asked to confirm the news that he had been appointed to take over from Buni. “You said news. No comment,” he said.
When prodded on the fate of Buni, Bello said: “Well, every time there is a major event, we beef up security. Today, we have a major event and all the chairmen came. The police are here to maintain law and order.”
Asked how often he will be overseeing the affairs of the party, he quipped: “Almost every day.”
On the presence of his fellow governors at the secretariat, he said: “Most of my colleagues are here to support me to receive the report. You know the zoning committee report is a very important one. And all the governors here are to support me. Now, at zonal level, they can go and do their work.”
On whether he has the blessing of President Buhari, he said: “Of course.”
Reacting, the former director-general of the Progressive Governor’s Forum (PGF), Dr Salihu Lukman, welcomed the development, saying it is in the best interest of the party.
In a statement titled, “Rescuing the APC: A task for all Party Leaders”, he said President Buhari deserves praise over the purported sack of Buni.
Giving an insight for the alleged ouster of Buni, he claimed: “The truth is that President Buhari, like most party leaders and members, is highly disappointed at the serial cases of deliberate efforts by Buni and his associates to block the APC convention from holding based on alleged personal ambitions.
“Between November 2021 and January 2022, the APC convention had to be postponed three times because of his deliberate refusal to initiate the processes required, such as booking the venue for the convention and serving the statutory three weeks’ notice to INEC.
Culled from Guardian
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