The All Progressives
Congress (APC) national executive council (NEC) meeting may have come and gone,
but the twists from that event are still unfolding.
The meeting, which
was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, was held at the federal
executive council (FEC) chamber.
By using the
chamber, which is usually for official government meetings, Buhari drew the ire
of many Nigerians and groups including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which
accused him of violating his oath of office.
But the issue is not
just about the venue; there are also concerns about the proceedings such as the
swearing-in of Mai Mala Buni, governor of Yobe state, as the APC caretaker
committee chairman.
The NEC meeting was
not called according to laid-down rules, according to members of the dissolved
NWC, because the mandatory seven-day notice was not issued.
But Buni said it was
a continuation of the March meeting that was postponed.
Buni was appointed
the chairman of the caretaker committee which will run the affairs of the party
pending when it elects new officials.
But his appointment
is seen as a clear violation of the APC constitution which forbids officers of
the party from holding any executive position in government.
Section four under
article 17 reads: “No officer in any organ of the Party shall hold executive
position office in government concurrently.”
The legal logic is
that if you are not qualified to hold a substantive position, then you are not
qualified to act.
This is contained in
sections 11 (1) and (2) of the Nigerian interpretations act of 2004.
…MALAMI AS WELL
Also, by letting
Abubakar Malami, minister of justice and attorney general of the federation
(AGF), swear in Buni, the APC also violated another provision of its
constitution which states how party officers should be sworn in.
Article 29 of the
party’s constitution forbids its officials from taking oath of office before
any person other than “an appropriate principal officer of the party.”
The article reads:
“Every Officer elected or appointed as an officer of the Party shall subscribe
to the Oath of Office as provided in Schedule II to this Constitution before an
appropriate Principal Officer of the Party as may be approved by the National
Working Committee.”
Is Malami a
principal officer of the party? Not by any stretch, according to the party’s
constitution.
In a statement on
Saturday by Umar Gwandu, Malami’s spokesperson, the AGF said it is not out of
place for him to administer oath of office on anyone whether at the federal
level, political or to private individuals.
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