No Law Says FEC Meeting Must Be Held Every Week – Femi Adesina.

The Senior Special Adviser to President Muhammadu
Buhari, Mr Femi Adesina, has defended the President’s decision to
cancel the Federal Executive Council Meeting on
Wednesday.
A statement by Mr Adesina in the morning announced the
decision but gave no reason for the cancellation of the
meeting which would have been the first attended by the President
after his return from a more-than-100 days medical vacation.

Asked about the decision in a telephone interview
on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the
presidential spokesman said there was nothing to it and that
concerns about its implications were uncalled for.

“There is no law that says the Federal Executive Council meeting
should hold every week. There is no law that says it must be
weekly. Under a past administration, it used to hold once every two
weeks,” he said.

“So, there is no law that says it should hold every Wednesday.
It depends on what you have on the agenda to discuss. The President
is the Chairman of that meeting. So, he has the discretion to hold
or not to hold (the meeting).”

President Buhari’s decision to cancel the meeting had led to
more questions about his fitness to resume work and carry out his
duties effectively.

On Tuesday, news that he would be working from home because
rodents had damaged items in his office and that it was under
renovation caused a stir and went viral on the social
media.

But Mr Adesina dismissed the concerns, saying that the President
is strong enough to perform his duties and that the office in
his home and the one in his office complex were only a short
distance apart in any case.

“The fact that FEC does not hold in one week does not mean
anything significant because the President has the discretion to
hold or not to hold FEC (meetings),” he said.

Asked if the cancellation of Wednesday’s meeting meant that FEC
would no longer be meeting weekly, he said it wasn’t the case,
before going on to say that the meeting had not held every week
over time in the first case.

“That is not correct. It did not hold every week; when this
administration began, it did not hold every week. And right from
then, it had been understood that the FEC would hold as often as
there are things to discuss,” Mr Adesina said.

Had today’s FEC meeting held and the President attended, it
would have been the first he would be presiding over in more than
three months.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who was the Acting President while
he was away presided over the weekly meeting in his absence.

Professor Osinbajo also presided over the FEC meetings that the
President missed before travelling to London.

The Senior Special Adviser to President Muhammadu
Buhari, Mr Femi Adesina, has defended the President’s decision to
cancel the Federal Executive Council Meeting on
Wednesday.
A statement by Mr Adesina in the morning announced the
decision but gave no reason for the cancellation of the
meeting which would have been the first attended by the President
after his return from a more-than-100 days medical vacation.

Asked about the decision in a telephone interview
on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the
presidential spokesman said there was nothing to it and that
concerns about its implications were uncalled for.

“There is no law that says the Federal Executive Council meeting
should hold every week. There is no law that says it must be
weekly. Under a past administration, it used to hold once every two
weeks,” he said.

“So, there is no law that says it should hold every Wednesday.
It depends on what you have on the agenda to discuss. The President
is the Chairman of that meeting. So, he has the discretion to hold
or not to hold (the meeting).”

President Buhari’s decision to cancel the meeting had led to
more questions about his fitness to resume work and carry out his
duties effectively.

On Tuesday, news that he would be working from home because
rodents had damaged items in his office and that it was under
renovation caused a stir and went viral on the social
media.

But Mr Adesina dismissed the concerns, saying that the President
is strong enough to perform his duties and that the office in
his home and the one in his office complex were only a short
distance apart in any case.

“The fact that FEC does not hold in one week does not mean
anything significant because the President has the discretion to
hold or not to hold FEC (meetings),” he said.

Asked if the cancellation of Wednesday’s meeting meant that FEC
would no longer be meeting weekly, he said it wasn’t the case,
before going on to say that the meeting had not held every week
over time in the first case.

“That is not correct. It did not hold every week; when this
administration began, it did not hold every week. And right from
then, it had been understood that the FEC would hold as often as
there are things to discuss,” Mr Adesina said.

Had today’s FEC meeting held and the President attended, it
would have been the first he would be presiding over in more than
three months.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who was the Acting President while
he was away presided over the weekly meeting in his absence.

Professor Osinbajo also presided over the FEC meetings that the
President missed before travelling to London.