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Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, has been appointed to chair a 10-man technical committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to look it into President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent decision to reverse the one-year tenure elongation granted to the National Working Committee (NWC) led by John Odigie-Oyegun and the other executive members across the state.
Recall that President Buhari had during the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in February endorsed the tenure elongation granted the NWC members but declared it illegal and unconstitutional during the NEC meeting in March even as he asked members whose tenures have elapsed to seek reelection as the constitution of the party stipulate.
The committee, which has four days to submit report to the NEC of the ruling party is also expected to find ways to address matters concerning members, who took the party to court over the tenure elongation.
Other members of the committee includes the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, Governor Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (Kaduna), Senator Ben Uwajomogu, Rep Kabiru Ajana, Elisha Kurah, C.J.N Dakas and the National Legal Adviser of the party, Muiz Banire who is also the secretary of the committee.
The National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun while inaugurating the committee at the party’s secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday said some of the issues that have been remitted to the committee for resolution are strongly legal, adding that the matter also impacted dramatically on political considerations.
“Therefore, your job is to bring these two together and advise us on the way we can implement our activities in the next few weeks and months in a way that is politically advantageous to our party, the APC and at the same time face due difference to the niceties of the law.
“We must observe the law and at the same time emphasis that we try to do things that will be advantageous to the party. We will furnish you with all the documents like the resolutions of NEC, the party’s constitution and the Nigeria constitution to help you do a good job.
“You are also at liberty to request for additional material like the statement of Mr President during last NEC meeting and every other thing to guide you achieve the task you are about to undertake. I am praying, hoping that this is the kind of thing you can accomplish in about three to four days.
“Getting answers from you is crucially time sensitive and depending on which way you advise, we may have to put in motion very serious activities in the party virtually within a week of getting the report and taking decisions. I thank you for accepting this onerous assignment and wish you the very best of luck.”
Governor Simon Lalong, while fielding questions from reporters during exercise, faulted the insinuation that the talks centered around the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is opposed to the tenure elongation decision.
He said “The discussion there was not anything against Tinubu. Tinubu’s name was not mentioned in that discussion. The discussion was a NEC decision on the way forward on the position of the President who is also a member of the NEC and that was subjected to discussion. So the issue of whether it is satisfying somebody is not there. Our decision is not going to be final. We will only advice the NEC on the issue.”
Also reacting, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state, said the controversy was needless since the NEC did not extend the tenure of the Oyegun led NWC and party officials across the country.
According to him: “Let me let everybody know that the issue has nothing to do with tenure elongation. You journalists are the ones to advice or lead in the discussions. By law, nobody can extend their tenure. The usage of that word is totally wrong.
“There was no time at our NEC we took the decision to get their tenure to be elongated. There was a clear resolution of NEC and all it asked for is for the existing committee not to extend their tenure.
“We cannot in law extend their tenure but we can have them work in an acting capacity or work as caretaker for some time not over twelve months. That on its own is not tenure elongation. It is not the intention of APC to elongate anybody’s tenure,” he added.
Innocent Odoh, Abuja
