Supreme Court frees Saraki

They should make it faster

The senator representing Gombe South, Joshua Lidani, is currently being held hostage by protesters in his constituency.
A live Facebook update by an activist, Ibrahim Wala, monitored on Monday said Mr. Lidani paid an unscheduled visit to Talasse town, the headquarters of Balanga Local Government Area to meet with political associates.

However, one of the protesters who spoke on phone said Mr. Lidani, a former deputy governor, is currently hiding inside the residence of the traditional ruler of the town.
He said the protesters are asking the senator to come out and “answer some of their questions.”
He said the grouse of the protesters with Mr. Lidani is that “he refused to visit Talasse since his election despite several appeals.”
He also said the senator refused to answer or return calls from the people of his constituency “only for him to sneak in today.”

He said the police were invited to the scene but they had to retreat to a distance to avoid confrontation with the large crowd.
“Apart from those at the emir’s palace, several youth groups have also blocked all other roads the senator may seek to sneak out, not just in Talasse here, but other villages along the road as well,” he said.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/263753-breaking-senator-held-hostage-by-irate-protesters.html

….. Challenges APC to name convicted PDP members

By Dirisu Yakubu

ABUJA-The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed the list of alleged “looters” published by the federal government on Friday as hollow and laughable.
The party described the list as an extension of federal government media trial and challenged it to come up with names of its members against whom the federal government had secured convictions.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement yesterday said the list issued by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, only goes to show that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Presidency have no prove of corruption against the PDP.

“The Buhari-led federal government has manifested its frenzy by going after matters that are in court and in which none of the persons have been convicted, thus betraying their wickedness and desperation to mislead the public, the court and divert attention from the heavy looting involving their members.

“We are not in doubt that the individuals he has mentioned will take their legitimate stride and pursue appropriate action in the court.
“However, attacks on individuals who are members of our party, does not in anyway detract from the fact that the PDP, as a political platform, is not a party of corruption.

“It is unfortunate that the APC and its government under whose watch horrendous sleazes are happening on daily basis and a government that has failed to fulfill the littlest of its campaign promises, can spend a wholesome three years searching for flimsy allegations to discredit our party and its members.

“This is a government that is yet to account for $26 billion (N9 trillion) stolen through corrupt oil contracts in the NNPC, N1.1 trillion worth of crude diverted to service APC interests, N18 billion Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) intervention fund stolen by APC officials, including their former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, the N10 billion National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for which members of the Buhari cabal were indicted as well as the Mainagate, where the APC government recalled and reinstated an individual indicted for scam running into billions of naira.

“This is in addition to cover provided for serving ministers indicted for corrupt enrichment, among whom is a prominent former APC governor from the South-South, who was indicted by his State for stealing billions of naira to fund President Buhari’s campaign in 2015,” the statement read.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/03/looters-pdp-dismisses-fgs-list/

There was a mild drama, Thursday, at the State Command of the Nigeria Police headquarters, Lokoja, as the incoming Commissioner of Police, Esa Sunday Ogbu, was not available for handover.

The outgoing CP, Ali Jaga came to the office in company of AIG of Police Zone 8, expecting to see the new CP.
DAILY POST which has been monitoring developments around the state command gathered that the new CP had earlier been threatened a day to his resumption.
The Kogi Governor, Bello, reportedly told him to leave the state.

The new CP, as a result of the intimidation, left for Abuja Thursday morning.
Efforts to speak with the Force PPRO, Jimoh Moshood was not successful as he did not pick calls put across in his two lines.
The Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris, had ordered the immediate removal of Kogi State Commissioner of Police, CP Ali Janga over questionable circumstances that led to escape of two key suspects in a matter involving Senator Dino Melaye.

The new CP, Ogbu was Commissioner of Police, Federal Operations, Force Headquarters, Abuja before his posting to Kogi State.

http://dailypost.ng/2018/03/29/drama-kogi-police-command-incoming-cp-flee-without-taking/

Some bench warming senators should not dream about coming back in 2019 abeg.

Yet some zombies are still supporting the Dullard.

The Nigerian Ambassador to Chad, Mohammed Dauda, has gone underground, triggering a massive manhunt for him.
Sources familiar with the matter said the diplomat slipped into hiding after claiming his life was in danger following the testimony he gave a House of Representatives committee last month.

The government had sometime last year recalled Mr. Dauda from his post in N’djamena to take temporary charge of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) after the organisation’s Director General, Ayodele Oke, was suspended.
Mr. Oke was asked to step aside as authorities investigate a huge cash haul belonging to the NIA uncovered at an apartment in Lagos.
Mr. Dauda acted as head of the security agency from November 2017 to January 2018 when he was replaced by an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.

Sources told PREMIUM TIMES that after he was replaced as head of the NIA, Mr. Dauda was asked to return to his post in N’djamena to continue with his tour of duty.
The official however did not comply, saying his life would be in danger in Chad, his cover as a security operative having been blown with his appointment as acting head of the NIA.

Mr. Dauda is said to have also argued that having now been exposed as a spy, he could no longer function as an ambassador anywhere in the world.
While contending that he could be eliminated if he returned to Chad, the official also failed to report to the headquarters of the NIA for a possible fresh posting, our sources said.
“He is saying those he accused of corruption are after him as well,” one source said.

Mr. Dauda had appeared before a House of Representatives committee and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at separate times during which he made damaging allegations of corruption against members of a panel raised by President Buhari to recommend ways of repositioning the NIA.
Members of the panel, led by a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babagana Kingibe, have denied wrongdoings, saying Mr. Dauda was only trying to get back at them because he felt they were responsible for his removal.

Our sources said the NIA has now commissioned an intensive search for Mr. Dauda following his refusal to appear before a disciplinary panel raised to try him for allegedly bringing the NIA into disrepute.
As part of moves to arrest him, armed security men suspected to be from the NIA have continued a siege on the residence Mr. Dauda lived while in office.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how operatives stormed the house located in the upscale Maitama district of Abuja.
A PREMIUM TIMES reporter who visited the area Tuesday afternoon sighted two grey-coloured security vans parked on either sides of the house’s gate.
A dark-googled operative in mufti was also stationed at the turn to the close.

Mr. Mohammed and his family are said to be out of the house as at the time the operatives arrived.
It remained unclear Wednesday morning whether Mr. Dauda had fled abroad or remained in the country.
The NIA could not be reached to comment for this story Wednesday morning as the agency has no known spokesperson.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/260953-exclusive-nigerian-ambassador-goes-hiding-nia-launches-manhunt.html

The State Security Service has demanded that a Nigerian journalist must disclose his sources as a precondition for his freedom.
The secret police detained Tony Ezimakor in Abuja on Wednesday after honouring an invitation over a story he wrote detailing how the Buhari administration paid millions of dollars as ransom to Boko Haram for the release of some Chibok girls.
Mr. Ezimakor’s story also uncovered how ransom payments have become a lucrative source of extra income for Nigerian and Swiss intelligence officers who participated in the negotiations for Boko Haram hostages.

In May 2017, Boko Haram released 82 girls said to be amongst the over 270 girls abducted by insurgents in April 2014 at their school in Chibok, Borno State.
The Buhari administration was tight-lipped about how the terms of the girls’ release, despite demands for transparency. Several news reports, first by the BBC and later The Wall Street Journal, detailed how the Nigerian government paid between two €2-3 million to secure the girls.

The government avoided giving details about whether a ransom was paid or not, but
admitted a prisoner swap deal with the terrorists.
Two days after the latest mass kidnap of schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State, Daily Independent ran a behind-the-scenes story about the release of the 82 Chibok girls which was written by Mr. Ezimakor, its bureau chief in Abuja.

The frontpage story cited intelligence sources as saying that negotiations with Boko Haram for the release of hostages had become a “cash cow for some officials, working in concert with negotiators to squeeze scarce dollars from the government.”

But now the journalist is being locked up for his revelations and might not be released unless he unmasked his sources, Don Okere, editor of Daily Independent, told PREMIUM TIMES Sunday.
“They’re asking him how he got the story and want him to release his source,” Mr. Okere said by telephone based on the ongoing negotiation between their lawyers and the SSS.
Mr. Okere said the SSS had also demanded that the story be retracted with an apology or the matter would be charged to court.
“We asked them to charge the matter to court” because we’re not retracting our story “but they have refused to do that,” he said.

The secret police first disclosed its displeasure about the story in a letter to Mr. Okere seeking the editor’s presence at its headquarters in Abuja.
“They said I should come and see the director of operations at the SSS in Abuja. But when I told them I am based in Lagos where we have our head office, they started looking for me,” he said.
The editor said the SSS sent agents to look for him at the office in Lagos twice, but he was unavailable at both times.
“They later asked if we have a reporter in Abuja and I told them yes. I then asked our bureau chief to honour the invitation which he did last Wednesday and was detained,” he said.
Mr. Okere said based on their exchanges, it was clear that the SSS operatives did not know that the story carried Mr. Ezimakor’s byline.

The SSS has not issued any statement about Mr. Ezimakor’s arrest, and PREMIUM TIMES could not reach the agency for comments because it has
declined to name a spokesperson since September 2016 when Marilyn Ogar left the service. Text messages sent to Lawal Daura, head of the SSS, on Sunday afternoon were not replied as at the time of filing this report Sunday night.

Similarly, Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Information Minister, did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES’ requests for comments about the journalist’s detention.
Mr. Okere said Daily Independent and Mr. Ezimakor’s family are worried about his health. He is said to be treating hypertension and ulcer.

He demanded an immediate release of his colleague.
The Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER) said the SSS has violated the Nigerian Constitution by holding Mr. Ezimakor in its custody for more then 48 hours without filing charges.
If Mr. Ezimakor “is not charged to court after four days of detention and a needless raid on his house by armed state security men, it would then be clear that he has become a victim of government tyranny and official intimidation,” the group said in a statement signed by Frank Tietie, its executive director.
“It is in the interest of all Nigerian citizens, including the officials of State Security Service and, a progressive future, to adhere to the clear principles of law and justice as contained in the Nigerian Constitution, in order to guarantee freedom, liberty and a sustained practice of democracy in Nigeria,” the group said.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) described continued detention of Mr. Ezimakor without trial as “draconian, tyrannical, illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional.”
“We, therefore, demand his immediate and unconditional release,” MURIC said adding that the SSS had violated the Nigerian constitution and international charter on human rights.
The group said the Buhari administration may suffer credibility and human rights issues if it failed to rein in the SSS as the agency carries out “maltreatment of journalists” which could amount to “stifling of sources of information, undue censor, repression of activists and suppression of freedom of speech.”

The SSS has gone after journalists under successive Nigerian administrations for the past three decades.
In the 1990s, the military governments cracked down on journalists using the SSS, a tradition that continued under civilian governments.

Since July 2016, the SSS has detained Jones Abiri, a journalist based in the Niger-Delta, for alleged ties to militants. But the agency has neither charged nor allowed the journalist access to his lawyers and family members

In December 2017, Mr. Abiri was one of the two Nigerian journalists that the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said were part the 262 journalists detained across the world in 2017.
A month before in November 2017, the CPJ launched a major push to compel President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the SSS to release Mr. Abiri, whose detention would soon hit 600 days.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/260695-sss-wants-detained-nigerian-journalist-disclose-sources-release.html

The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres(MSF) said on Friday it had suspended its work in the Nigerian town of Rann and evacuated national and international staff after a deadly raid by Boko Haram guerrillas.
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen killed four Nigerian aid workers in an attack on a military barracks in the town in Borno state late on Thursday.

“Following a violent attack in Rann, Borno state, on Thursday 1 March, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) suspended its medical activities in the town and evacuated 22 national and international staff,” MSF said in a statement.

“It is still unclear how many people were killed and injured but before leaving, MSF medical staff treated 9 wounded patients.
” “This attack is a stark reminder that it is the people in Borno who are paying the price of this ruthless conflict””, MSF said.
“Leaving our patients without medical assistance is an extremely painful decision”, it added.

President Muhammadu Buhari and Senate President Bukola Saraki have condemned the attack on the town.
President Buhari said the attack on humanitarian workers in Rann more than ever showed Boko Haram insurgents as godless, brutish, and utterly to be despised.

“As I have always maintained, no true religion advocates hurting the innocent. To now further attack and kill those offering humanitarian aid is the height of bestiality. It is odious before both God and man,” the President said.
The Nigerian leader sympathised with the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies working at Rann, and in the country generally.
President Buhari affirmed that such cowardly attacks can only bolster the determination of government to bring the Boko Haram insurgency to a decisive end, in the shortest possible time.

President of the Senate, in a tweet on his personal handle ‘@BukolaSaraki’, described the attack as cowardly — while also calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
He said:“My prayers are with the people of Rann, Borno State at this time.
“Last night’s despicable attack that led to the deaths of several aid workers is a callous and cowardly act. Our security forces must not relent until they bring the perpetrators of this atrocity to justice.”


https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/03/boko-haram-medical-charity-medecins-sans-frontieres-quits-nigerian-town-rann/

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fact-finding team on alleged underage voting in the last Kano council poll said it has not received any evidence of underage voting.

The Chairman of the committee, Abubakar Nahuce, told journalists on Friday that from his team’s interaction with civil society organisations and media, no evidence of underage voting has emerged.

INEC set up the committee following public outcry that greeted videos and photos of underage voting believed to have been shot during the Kano election.

“From all what we have seen and discussed with you media men, none of you has seen any underage voter in the line or voting,” Mr. Nahuce said on Friday.
The team has so far met with the chairman of the Kano Sate Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), the media and other relevant bodies.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/260398-no-evidence-underage-voting-kano-inec.html

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has said he would not be intimidated by partisan pressure.
“I have passed the stage where someone can intimidate me to do what is wrong.” Mr. Yakubu said in the current edition of The Interview.

He made this statement in light of concerns about voter registration and accusations by politicians that INEC could not be trusted to conduct free and fair elections.
In a recent comment, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, said the report of under-age voting in Kano had damaged confidence in INEC.

Mr. Yakubu, however, said, “I have passed that stage, where I can be intimidated, with due respect. And the real test is in what we have done (178 ‘mini’ elections) so far. The most interesting thing for me is that both parties accuse us equally. So, that means we are doing something right.”

He said he had never faced any pressure from the Presidency, or any other quarters, to bend the rules.
“We know that poorly conducted elections are a recipe for disaster,” Yakubu said. “We will never tread that path.”

The MD/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview, Azu Ishiekwene, described the interview as “the first barometer of Yakubu’s INEC in the last three years.”
On the Kano underage voting, the INEC Chairman said, “These are elections that are not the legal and constitutional responsibilities of INEC. There are legal entities that conduct local and government elections in this country. So, on what basis are we going to prosecute electoral offenders in an election in which INEC is not legally responsible for?”

Reminded that potential abuse of INEC’s register was enough basis for prosecution, he said, the argument could also be stretched to other agencies involved in the process, including the police.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/260158-2019-i-wont-intimidated-inec-chairman.html

The Senate on Wednesday mandated its Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate alleged double voter registration by Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi.

The resolution followed the unanimous adoption of a Point of Order raised by Sen. Mohammed Hassan at plenary by the assembly.

Hassan said there was a need to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged double registration by the governor with a view to ensuring that the country’s electoral process was credible.

He said there was a need to investigate the process that allowed the governor access to multiple registrations.
“The governor of Kogi was involved in double voter registration and weeks after INEC confirmed that by sacking three of its staff.

“It was reported that he was issued another Temporary Voter Card (TVC) at his Okene ward.
“We are concerned about this and I think it is very important that the Senate Committee on INEC investigates and gets to the root of the matter.
“It is reported everywhere that he cannot be prosecuted because he has immunity but for the purpose of getting the picture right, I think the Senate Committee on INEC should investigate and get this matter right,’’ he said.
The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, said that credible electoral process was crucial in protecting the country’s democracy.

“The issue you are talking about is one that is important because the stability of our democracy depends on the credibility of our electoral process.
“And as such we must ensure that the process is one we must always be proud of, especially now that countries are looking at our electoral process.
“It is something the INEC committee should look into and report back to the Senate,’’ Saraki said.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/02/senate-investigate-yahaya-bellos-alleged-double-voter-registration/

The spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa State has been killed.
Sam Zadock and 13 others were among those confirmed killed on Tuesday in violence between herdsmen and farming communities in the state.
The party on Wednesday confirmed the killing of Mr. Zadock in a fight between Bachama militia and herdsmen in Numan-Demsa areas.
Speaking on Wednesday, PDP secretary in the state, Abdullahi Prembe, said, “It’s unfortunate that we lost our publicity secretary; it’s a great loss to our party.
“That’s why we kept calling on the government to take steps in solving the lingering crisis plaguing our societies,’’ he said.
Also confirming the incident, a Bachama youth leader, Euphraimu Turaki, said “they were on a rescue mission after Fulani herdsmen attacked some villages near Numan.
He said they were not aware the “attackers had laid ambush and before you know they opened fire sporadically during which Zadock, and three others were killed instantly.”
Earlier reports indicates the herdsmen, in a revenge mission on Tuesday, attacked two communities in Numan and Demsa, razing houses and leaving many residents injured and displaced.
But in a swift reaction, soldiers were deployed and the troops trailed the herdsmen and arrested six of them, while 10 others were shot dead, after “showing resistance,” the Director, Army Public Relations, Texas Chukwu, said.
The troops were deployed from 101 Special Forces Battalion.
“Troops deployed in the Numan Local Government Area of Adamawa State swiftly responded to a distress call and supported troops at Gwamba village, which was under attack by herdsmen on Tuesday. Despite the swift reaction to rescue the village from destruction, the notorious herdsmen set the village ablaze before troops could get to the community.
“The troops trailed the herdsmen and arrested six of them at Garigiji village while trying to escape. During the process of the arrest, the herdsmen showed resistance, which made the alerted troops to engage them and kill 10 of them,” he said.
According to the army, items recovered from the herdsmen included one AK-47 rifle, 41 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, one locally made rifle with 25 cartridges, one cutlass, looted clothes and one motorcycle.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/260138-pdp-spokesperson-13-others-confirmed-dead-adamawa-violence.html

Nigeria government said the Air Force has been unable to locate the 110 students taken from their school in Dapchi town, Yobe State on Monday, February, 19 by Boko Haram insurgents despite logging up over 200 flight hours and engagement of its various intelligence platforms in the search for the girls.
The Nigerian presidency announced this in a series of tweets in which it announced the relocation of Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Abubakar to Yobe State to lead efforts for rescue of the schoolgirls.
The tweets are obviously intended as a response to criticisms that government has not done much in terms of rescue of the 110 girls kidnapped from Government Girls Science and Technical Secondary School in Bursari local government area of Yobe State.
The Presidency through one its twitter handle, @NGRPresident said, “Today Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Abubakar @CAS_AMSadique relocated to Yobe State to personally superintend the search for the missing Dapchi girls.”
“The @NigAirForce had earlier deployed more platforms to the N/East, as security agencies ramp up efforts to locate & rescue the girls.”
“As at 6pm on Monday February 26, 2018, the @NigAirForce had flown a total of 200 hours conducting searches for the missing Dapchi girls.”
SaharaReporters had in an earlier report publish a report to indicated that Nigerian military authorities were informed of the impending Boko Haram attack in Yobe, weeks before the abduction of the girls.
But the military not only disregarded instruction to be on high alert, but also withdrew its troops from Dapchi, a situation which facilitated Boko Haram’s invasion and abduction of the schoolgirls.
It also took the Nigerian government six days to officially confirm the kidnap. The Police and the Nigerian military have been trading blames on the responsibility for the security lapses that led to the abduction of the girls.
Some sources had said girls have been taken to Kanama on the Nigerian-Nigerien border by their abductors.

http://saharareporters.com/2018/02/28/air-force-cant-locate-dapchi-girls-after-over-200-hours-sorties-nigerian-govt

The decision by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), to extend the tenure of members of the National Working Committee and other party leaders across the country was taken to avoid facing a destructive convention similar to that held by the opposition PDP in 2013, top officials told PREMIUM TIMES.
The NEC at its 5th meeting held Tuesday at the National Secretariat of the party agreed to extend the tenure of all elected and appointed officers of the party in the 36 states, Abuja and the national leadership.
The tenure of the party executives was expected to end on June 30, but has now been extended by a year.
A statement by the party’s spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, after the meeting stated that by this decision, “all affected officers will continue in acting capacity for another period of 12 months after the expiration of their current term”.
Signs that the tenure of the party executives will be extended first manifested on Monday when a forum of the state chairpersons of the party met in Abuja and called for the extension of their tenure by two years.
The chairmen in a communique they released said “In view of the short period between the time available for the proposed party congresses and INEC published time-table for conduct of party primaries and general elections, the forum resolved that the tenure of the present officers of the party at all levels be extended by 2 years to avert challenges in the party”.
This decision is, however, contrary to suggestions of some notable members of the party, especially the recently appointed chairman of the reconciliation committee, Bola Tinubu.
Sources within the APC said Mr. Tinubu expressed the view to President Muhammadu Buhari that fresh congresses should be held to elect new officers who would assume office after the expiration of the tenure of the current leadership.
“Tinubu actually opposed extension of tenure of executives and proposed fresh congresses in order to enhance internal democracy in the party,” a presidential source, who asked not to be named, said.
Sources at the presidency said Mr. Buhari initially shared Mr. Tinubu’s views until he was convinced by state governors.
Signs that the president shared the views of Mr. Tinubu emerged at a meeting of the National Caucus of the party which held at the Presidential Villa Monday night.
In his speech, Mr. Buhari said “Now that INEC has come out with the timetable for elections in 2019, the party should prepare itself for congresses at a. Wards, b. Local Governments, c. States and d. Centre.
He also told the party leaders that “we should strictly follow the constitution of the party in undertaking these party elections. We should ensure internal democracy and avoid short cuts and illegal manoeuvres which have characterized the opposition party with the consequences that they are now divide.”
However, majority of the governors elected under the platform of the party insisted that the tenure of the National Working Committee under Mr. Odigie-Oyegun as well as in the states and local governments should be extended.
“The governors were of the view that fresh congresses may lead to further crisis as a result of backlash from aggrieved members who may have lost out and that will have the potential of affecting the fortunes of the party in 2019
“The president finally agreed with the governors and made Asiwaju see reason which he believes is in the best interest of the party,” the source said.
A confirmation that Mr. Buhari changed his views overnight was reflected at the NEC meeting on Wednesday. By the time the president read his speech at the NEC meeting, he replaced ‘congresses’ with ‘primaries’, ostensibly now focusing on preparing for the general elections.
“Soon, primaries for; a. Wards, b. Local Governments, c. State and d. Centre will be due,” the president said.
“I urge all members to take account of the fact that APC has a history of conducting free and fair primaries whenever consensus about any position is not reached. Regardless of the outcomes of the primary processes, it is imperative that we all work together to ensure victory for our Party.”
LEARNING FROM PDP
Multiple sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the APC’s decision was primarily inspired by learning from the opposition PDP.
“Our party learnt from the mistakes of the PDP. That their (2013) convention eventually led to the collapse of the party and loss of the 2015 election and the problem they are still having,” a presidential aide said of his party’s decision on Monday.
The PDP convention referred to is that held in August 2013. Based on the shenanigans of that convention, ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar led seven serving state governors to walk out of the party . Many of the aggrieved eventually formed the ‘New PDP’ which eventually became part of the APC. The fall out of that convention is believed to have been a major factor that caused the party to lose the 2015 general elections.
The decision to jettison an elective party convention prior to the 2019 elections “is just like using a helicopter to fly over what would have been a very disruptive elective convention,” an APC senator told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday evening.
DECISION ILLEGAL?
The final decision to extend the tenure of the executives was first announced by the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, who briefed journalists midway into the NEC meeting on Tuesday. He said the NEC decision was based on Article 13 of the party which gives it such powers.
Article 13.3 (11) of the APC constitution states that the NEC can “discharge all functions of the National Convention as constituted in between National Convention.”
However, another source who attended the NEC meeting said before the decision to extend the tenure of the executive committees was taken, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a professor of Law, drew attention of the gathering to the consequences of the decision and harped on the need to carry out a constitutional amendment.
“The Vice President told NEC that the one year extension has no place in the APC constitution and advised for a quick amendment to the constitution to accommodate it.”
Article 17 (1) of the APC constitution regarding tenure states that except 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 reappointment for another period of four (4) years only…”
In other words, there is no place for a one year tenure extension for the NWC members or any other executives.
Our sources said Mr. Osinbajo emphasised that unless a constitutional amendment was done, any person trying to cause crisis for the party could latch on to it.
“The VP told NEC that any party members, even ordinary Nigerians who want to embarrass the party can go to court over the matter which could then lead to another round of crisis,” the source said.
CRISIS CONTINUES
With the tenure of the NWC members now extended, how that decision will affect Mr. Tinubu in his presidential assignment of reconciling members of the party is not clear.
Apart from the various crises affecting the APC, another major problem affecting the party is the mistrust between Messrs. Tinubu and Odigie-Oyegun.
Last week, Mr. Tinubu wrote to Mr. Odigie-Oyegun accusing him of frustrating his assignment. The national chairman in his response simply said he meant well for Mr. Tinubu and would love to see him succeed in the assignment given to him.
The feud between both men, however, predates Mr. Tinubu’s assignment of reconciling party members. The former Lagos governor had in 2016 called for Mr. Odigie-Oyegun’s removal as party chairman for his role in the crisis that trailed the APC governorship primary in Ondo.
On Tuesday, at the NEC meeting however, President Buhari cautioned all members to ensure they cooperate with Mr. Tinubu on his assignment.
“I implore all members of the party to give the Asiwaju Committee full cooperation to resolve differences existing amongst our members in the states affected,” he said.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/260099-pdp-inspired-apcs-decision-extend-tenure-oyegun-executives.html