*You’re an illiterate former senator tells Buni
*You’ve committed political suicide, Buni replies
*Stakeholders plan mass protest against CECPC
By Ezeocha Nzeh
Crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may have reached a consuming crescendo as chairman of the party’s caretaker and Extra Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Gov. Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State and party chieftain, Sen. Kabiru Marafa, have engaged in atteocious attacks following last Saturday’s APC congress in Zamfara State, as well as the delayed National Convention of the party
Marafa, who briefed the media Sunday in Abuja, described the Buni-led CECPC as “an illegal contraption, unknown to law”, even as he alleged that the Yobe state governor has no academic pedigree to lead the party to success.
Marafa said: “Mai Mala Buni’s CECPC is an illegal committee. It cannot conduct anything. Whatever it does is a nullity and it cannot stand in this country.
“We are going to challenge him on that in court and I don’t care what anyone will say. Buni looked for my trouble and I will give him ten times of that.“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very clear that you cannot hold an executive position and hold party position at the same time. “Our APC constitution is also very clear in Article 2 which is the supremacy of the constitution.
“In S. 17(4), it says no officer of the party shall hold any executive position in government concurrently with the party position. He is an executive governor.“He cannot be the Chairman of APC and if he can, let the courts tell us. I am going to court, I am going to challenge that.
“And whatever he did from the time he was appointed to this time will be questioned. We have one APC.“Remove this man so that he doesn’t bring everybody down. I am on a salvage mission.
“Article 20 of the same constitution says all party posts prescribed by this constitution shall be filled by democratically conducted elections at respective national convention or congress subject where possible to consensus.“Who elected Buni and his committee? At which convention or congress? Are we throwing away this constitution?
“Then the judgment of the Supreme Court on the Ondo election is a clear indication of where APC is headed but because some people who have never gone to school but who God has elevated to certain positions, have forgotten how they got to the positions.“For God sake and with all sense of modesty, I and Gov. el-Rufai of Kaduna state almost single-handedly with the help of some people made Buni the National Secretary of the party some years ago.
“We will force him to resign and I am sure the President will also do that”, he added.
Sen. Marafa also declared last Saturday’s congress of the party in Zamfara state as “an exercise in futility” saying it was dead on arrival.
According to him, the law requires the party to give a 21-day notice to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC for the conduct of such Congresses.
Marafa recalled how the CECPC had earlier appointed one Ahaji Ibrahim Kabir Masari as Chairman of the State Congress committee for Zamfara.
He said; “Another letter was issued on the 5th of November. It was addressed to the same Alhaji Kabir Masari and it reads ‘suspension of ward congresses’.
“By that letter, that committee was suspended, the congresses entirely were suspended and it said the action was for further consultations to engender a seamless exercise. This was a welcome development because there were problems on ground.
“This was on the 5th November. Then, just on Friday, some of our friends called us to tell them that there would be congresses in Zamfara.
“They said they saw a letter addressed to the INEC chairman intimating him of congresses in Zamfara for the 12th.
“Less than 24 hours. We said that was not possible but we sent our people to INEC and verify, and they (INEC) said that they are in receipt of a letter and the letter said notice for the conduct of state congresses.
“This confirms to us that the Mai Mala-led APC, as it is today, is on a mission to destroy APC but we don’t care, they have a right to destroy APC but in Zamfara we have interested parties and it is our state and we are not ready to destroy our own house and anybody desirous of doing so, we have a right to say no.
“I don’t know where Mai Mala got this thing but I’m not surprised because he didn’t go to school. I googled everywhere, I didn’t see the primary or secondary school he went to.
“They are operating the party as if they are operating an ‘Amalanke’ (local toy truck). What they are doing is wasting the party’s resources and the people’s time.
“This cannot hold anywhere in the world but we only joined them to show them that look, ‘you don’t have a monopoly of madness.’ This 24 hours notice, cannot stand in any court of law.
“We participated just to tell everyone that madness is not an exclusive preserve of some people.
“It appears APC national headquarters is at loggerheads with rules and procedures. They want to prove at every point that they are lawbreakers and uneducated.
“Like I said, we cannot see the schools they attended. Look at what happened in the state Congresses.
“Two different committees were sent to Sokoto, Kano and I think Osun. We have participated in the congresses, after this I am going straight to court.”
In his response, Gov. Buni described the former senator as “a ranting ant who has committed a political suicide”.
Buni in a statement by his Director-General (Press and Media Affairs), Mamman Mohammed, stated, “Sen. Kabiru Marafa’s vituperations on the Zamfara Congress and leadership of APC are nothing but an empty ranting of an ant. He described the Zamfara Congress as an illegality, if it is so, why did he participate and if he is in doubt of the party’s leadership why did he adhered to every directive it issued?
“He is only complaining now because his camp failed the congress and lost out. He wouldn’t have been shouting if he had won.
“Marafa is a sinking politician who lost out and holding everyone responsible for his self inflicted political misfortune.
“As a responsible politician, he should just approach the court and stop being the complainant and juror.”
.Meanwhile, barely one week after a group of APC stakeholders called for the resignation of the Governor Buni-led CECPC, over alleged delay in conducting the party’s National Convention, a major crisis is currently looming in the ruling party as some stakeholders have concluded plans to stage a mass protest against the Committee in its push for the convention to be held without further delay.
Sources close to the plots said the organizers would use the protest to demand for the release of the zoning arrangements and the time table for the National Convention, which they said would reposition the party ahead and on time before the 2022 primaries that would produce its candidates for the 2023 general elections
The source who preferred not to be mentioned regretted that the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee has shifted the Convention twice, noting that the Electoral Act provides for 90 days for the conduct of political party’s National Convention after the conduct of its congresses.
“With this provision, our National Convention must hold on or before January 15, 2022
“On the bases of this, members have started agitating for the date of the Convention. Those who are aspiring to contest one position or the other in the NWC have flooded their posters at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja and the CECPC is delaying.”
However, reacting to the threat, the Caretaker Committee has sued for peace, while assuring that it s would conduct a Convention that would be generally acceptable to all.
A top CECPC member who craved for anonymity noted however any Convention conducted without putting the necessary structures and excluding some persons would not stand litigation.
He noted further that the committee was yet to complete the series of party congresses, noting that congresses are yet to be held in Anambra, and Zamfara states. He stated further that the committee had just received reports of its Appeals committee that was set up to address petitions that trailed the state congresses, adding that it will also receive the reports of its reconciliation committee, headed by Senator Abdulahi Adamu and ensure that all aggrieved members are united ahead of the convention
“When somebody is trying to run for an office, he doesn’t care about the party. If we leave this party the way it is, it will collapse. So, we are trying to do congresses in Zamfara, Osun, Oyo, Anambra. If we do Convention now without those states, what kind of Convention would that be. Somebody can go to court and quash it. In Oyo State there is a lot of trouble and we are going back there and in Taraba we doing Appeal. We are just trying to put the right thing in place, we are not doing something that would not last. You cannot put something on nothing.
“We are going to do congresses in all the states, otherwise which delegates are you going to exclude. What really happened in the past was the National Working Committee (NWC) not carrying everybody along. In Zamfara, those that are causing trouble there, were they not people that took the party to court and made us to lose everything to the opposition PDP.?
“Nobody can bully us out because God has given us a job to do and we are doing everything right. We are sincere because there is nothing we do that we don’t take most people into consideration. We are in the process of conducting the Convention.”
In another development, the party has released its timetable and schedule of activities for next year’s (2022) Governorship Elections in Ekiti and Osun states.
According to the Party’s official notice signed by the National Secretary of the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudodehe, sale of nomination forms for Ekiti begins 16th November, while Osun will begin on 18th November 2021.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier fixed June 18, 2022, for the Ekiti governorship election and July 16, 2022, for the same exercise in Osun state.
