APC And Impunity Of Arrogant Power

By Dr.Muiz Banire SAN

Active political seasons are here again among political parties
as we warm up in preparation for elections in 2023. While most
states of the federation await 2023 to elect all political office
holders, impunity in our political landscape, which has seen itself
as a permanent occupant of our land, has changed the fortunes of
some states so that their own governorship elections come at times
other than the general election. Examples are Kogi, Osun, Anambra,
Ekiti and Ondo. Thus, while other states are preparing for 2023,
the above-named states have obligations to prepare for elections at
other times than what is applicable to others. A political party
that has an obligation to meet the democratic requirement of
populating its offices with elected representatives is All
Progressives Congress, whose congresses are purportedly on-going to
elect officials of the party.

This situation has pushed the party to the edge of a precipice
as its customs and traditions do not seem to align with its
constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, as far as internal democracy is concerned. Now that it is
imperative to carry out congress to elect its officials, the
question that has been seeking an answer is whether the Caretaker
Committee of Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, presiding over
the affairs of APC, is a lawful body. Further to that is the query
whether any act carried out by such a caretaker committee is lawful
in view of the fact that its existence may be ultimately declared
illegal. The cause of all these agitations is the Supreme Court’s
judgment handed down last week in the election appeal of Eyitayo
Jegede v. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in which the Appellant challenged
the validity of the election of the Respondent on a ground, inter
alia, that the nomination of the Respondent as governor of Ondo
State was invalid due to the fact that same was not done under the
supervision of democratically elected executives of APC as decreed
by the constitutions of the country and the party.

While the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999,
provides in Section 183 thereof that “The governor shall not,
during the period when he holds office, hold any other executive
office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever”, the
Attorney-General of the Federation decreed in a supposed opinion
that the APC should proceed to conduct its congress holding three
days after the Supreme Court judgment on July 31, 2021. One would
expect that the provision of the constitution of APC in Article
17(iv) “No officer in any organ of the party shall hold executive
position office in government concurrently,” shall be a signal for
APC to exercise caution in proceeding to hold its congresses last
Saturday. It is baffling that the party rather went ahead,
dismissing the possibility of the Supreme Court coming to a
conclusion invalidating the leadership of the Mai Mala Buni’s
executive committee, which might affect acts carried out during his
leadership of the party. It is impunity of this nature that has
been characterizing the activities of the party and which has been
affecting its fortunes. Examples of what happened in Rivers in
2015, Zamfara in 2019 and Edo in 2020 are still too fresh for any
sane people to forget in a hurry. But he whom the gods would kill,
they first make mad.

The party is gravitating towards internal explosion, which I
have warned about several times in the past. While national and
“international” godfathers of the party keep on dictating what
happens at the apex of the party, local demigods do not feel they
should be displaced by sanity and internal democracy as to allow
popular opinions of the members to prevail. That does not even seem
to be conceivable to them, more so that they had appropriated huge
sums for the purpose of the congresses of which they have shared a
larger part anyway. Why are they going to return the money if the
congresses were to be halted simply because some justices of the
Supreme Court expressed what the powers-that-be think is mere
opinion and not binding orders? Is it not better for them to go
ahead, waste the money appropriated and, if the court nullifies the
congresses as having been conducted under an illegal leadership,
then it would be an opportunity to redo the congresses and
appropriate another tranche of funds to swell the pockets of the
leaders?

The most unfortunate aspect of it is that the office of the
Attorney-General of the Federation, if the legal opinion in
circulation truly emanated from him, has taken up the position of
legal adviser of the ruling party, forgetting that the Constitution
did not make him an adviser of a political party but rather the
legal officer of the government of the federation. It is sad that
when wisdom dictates counsel to arrogance, it shrugs off sense and
continues with impunity. Right now, APC has purportedly held
congresses in thousands of wards across the federation of Nigeria.
The said congresses were allegedly conducted under the auspices of
a caretaker committee presided over by a serving governor and aided
by other governors from other states. The process is not free from
acrimony and bitter politics, as members in some states insist on
election being democratically conducted to elect their leaders,
while incumbent powers in those states insist on imposing leaders
of the party by what they tag “consensus.”

Remember, as I said elsewhere, that ‘consensus’ in the party
connotes imposition. The consequence is that, in a large number of
wards, the process was characterised by gunshots, violence and
bloodshed. What the constitution of the party intends to avoid by
encouraging consensus in producing leaders of the party has now
become the inevitable consequence of a process fraught with
irregularities, tyranny and dictatorship. The intention of the
founding fathers of party politics in Nigeria in recommending
consensus is to avoid discriminatory imposition, which could breed
discontent within the party. Unfortunately, this has been the
outcome of most of the purported party congresses of APC in recent
times. I can remember in 2018 when I quit service in the executive
position of APC as national legal adviser and, ultimately,
membership of the platform, we recommended turning the executives
of the party to caretaker committees to avoid a situation where the
party could descend into unnecessary acrimony as the general
election was drawing nearer. Some self-seeking individuals insisted
on having elections in order to kick out the John Oyegun-led
executives. Yes. The so-called elections held and new executives
emerged. It did not take two years before it was realised that the
caretaker committee recommended by Banire would have prevented the
crises of monumental proportions that the party was plunged into.
Wise after the events!

They hurriedly dissolved the executive committee presided over
by Adams Oshiomhole in cn ignominious process and a caretaker
Committee was put in place. However, the culture of impunity and
self-interest that had been the bane of the party did not allow it
to see the constitutional loophole of appointing serving governors
into the caretaker committee, which, ultimately, would be presiding
over the affairs of the party and exercising executive powers and
carrying out executive functions. The constitutional challenges
have now arisen as the nomination of candidates carried out under
the caretaker committee wrongly composed is being questioned. It is
almost certain that the combination of Article 17(iv) of the APC
constitution and Section 183 of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria will invalidate the caretaker committee of my
good friend, Governor Mai Mala Buni, and this might lead to
nullification of candidate nominations carried out under such a
caretaker executive.

Although several opinions have been expressed on the implication
of the apex court’s judgment, to the extent that the official
judgment is yet to be read by the commentators, I regard them as
premature and speculative. However, in the midst of this cloud, it
is reasonable to defer further steps premised on the questionable
validity of the caretaker committee. The failure to do so, most
likely, will result ultimately in wasteful congresses and resources
in all ramifications.

It is trite constitutional rule that any act done at variance
with the Constitution is a nullity. The Constitution of Nigeria is
a jealous document that will not share the glory of its potency
with any other law, organ of government or principality.

My personal experience of the Party as a body in the past is
such that at least, it listens to well considered advice from its
legal adviser before taking a step. Chief Bisi Akande, Chief John
Oyegun, with whom I worked at different times, would not just
pander to a self-seeking opinion from anyone but would exhaust its
own internal research on the position of the Nigerian law as
regards any step to be taken. It is disappointing that with
mercantilism having taken over party affairs in this country, the
ideological essence of party politics has taken flight.

What remains is mere façade of qualitative representation and
good governance as often boasted of by APC which qualities are the
logic behind party politics. The decision of the Supreme Court in
Jegede v. Akeredolu has become a flash point for the consideration
of whether a sitting President or Governor can at the same time
occupy an executive position of a political party. while we await
an authoritative pronouncement on this issue, it is certain that
missteps in APC have made this question important for determination
and this will definitely feature either as a pre-election matter or
as a qualification ground for presentation of election petition
against the 2022 governorship in Osun, Ekiti and the general
elections in 2023. It is high time APC retraced its step towards
constitutionalism which is the spirit behind the making of
constitutions.

Where a ruling party refuses to be governed in accordance with
its own constitution and the supreme law of the land, it is certain
that the nation cannot expect good governance under such a
deceitful structure midwifing its democracy. It would have been
better for the ruling party to avoid unnecessary chaos which may
rob it of victories in the on-coming elections and may render the
precious votes of the electorate to be wasted by court decisions.
It is impunity of imposition that defeated the party in elections
in some States in 2018 like Benue and even in Edo in 2019. A
political party that has experienced such nasty outing in Edo State
in which its sitting Governor cross-carpeted to go and contest in
an opposition party ought to have displayed more discretion. Where
it fails to put its house in order and ensure sustenance of public
confidence in its capacity to govern, it is clear that the future
may not guarantee better days than it did for the Peoples’
Democratic Party in 2015. As my mother (of blessed memory) used to
say: eni a wi fun, Oba je o gbo (May the counselled be amenable to
good advice).

By Dr.Muiz Banire SAN

Active political seasons are here again among political parties
as we warm up in preparation for elections in 2023. While most
states of the federation await 2023 to elect all political office
holders, impunity in our political landscape, which has seen itself
as a permanent occupant of our land, has changed the fortunes of
some states so that their own governorship elections come at times
other than the general election. Examples are Kogi, Osun, Anambra,
Ekiti and Ondo. Thus, while other states are preparing for 2023,
the above-named states have obligations to prepare for elections at
other times than what is applicable to others. A political party
that has an obligation to meet the democratic requirement of
populating its offices with elected representatives is All
Progressives Congress, whose congresses are purportedly on-going to
elect officials of the party.

This situation has pushed the party to the edge of a precipice
as its customs and traditions do not seem to align with its
constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, as far as internal democracy is concerned. Now that it is
imperative to carry out congress to elect its officials, the
question that has been seeking an answer is whether the Caretaker
Committee of Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, presiding over
the affairs of APC, is a lawful body. Further to that is the query
whether any act carried out by such a caretaker committee is lawful
in view of the fact that its existence may be ultimately declared
illegal. The cause of all these agitations is the Supreme Court’s
judgment handed down last week in the election appeal of Eyitayo
Jegede v. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in which the Appellant challenged
the validity of the election of the Respondent on a ground, inter
alia, that the nomination of the Respondent as governor of Ondo
State was invalid due to the fact that same was not done under the
supervision of democratically elected executives of APC as decreed
by the constitutions of the country and the party.

While the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999,
provides in Section 183 thereof that “The governor shall not,
during the period when he holds office, hold any other executive
office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever”, the
Attorney-General of the Federation decreed in a supposed opinion
that the APC should proceed to conduct its congress holding three
days after the Supreme Court judgment on July 31, 2021. One would
expect that the provision of the constitution of APC in Article
17(iv) “No officer in any organ of the party shall hold executive
position office in government concurrently,” shall be a signal for
APC to exercise caution in proceeding to hold its congresses last
Saturday. It is baffling that the party rather went ahead,
dismissing the possibility of the Supreme Court coming to a
conclusion invalidating the leadership of the Mai Mala Buni’s
executive committee, which might affect acts carried out during his
leadership of the party. It is impunity of this nature that has
been characterizing the activities of the party and which has been
affecting its fortunes. Examples of what happened in Rivers in
2015, Zamfara in 2019 and Edo in 2020 are still too fresh for any
sane people to forget in a hurry. But he whom the gods would kill,
they first make mad.

The party is gravitating towards internal explosion, which I
have warned about several times in the past. While national and
“international” godfathers of the party keep on dictating what
happens at the apex of the party, local demigods do not feel they
should be displaced by sanity and internal democracy as to allow
popular opinions of the members to prevail. That does not even seem
to be conceivable to them, more so that they had appropriated huge
sums for the purpose of the congresses of which they have shared a
larger part anyway. Why are they going to return the money if the
congresses were to be halted simply because some justices of the
Supreme Court expressed what the powers-that-be think is mere
opinion and not binding orders? Is it not better for them to go
ahead, waste the money appropriated and, if the court nullifies the
congresses as having been conducted under an illegal leadership,
then it would be an opportunity to redo the congresses and
appropriate another tranche of funds to swell the pockets of the
leaders?

The most unfortunate aspect of it is that the office of the
Attorney-General of the Federation, if the legal opinion in
circulation truly emanated from him, has taken up the position of
legal adviser of the ruling party, forgetting that the Constitution
did not make him an adviser of a political party but rather the
legal officer of the government of the federation. It is sad that
when wisdom dictates counsel to arrogance, it shrugs off sense and
continues with impunity. Right now, APC has purportedly held
congresses in thousands of wards across the federation of Nigeria.
The said congresses were allegedly conducted under the auspices of
a caretaker committee presided over by a serving governor and aided
by other governors from other states. The process is not free from
acrimony and bitter politics, as members in some states insist on
election being democratically conducted to elect their leaders,
while incumbent powers in those states insist on imposing leaders
of the party by what they tag “consensus.”

Remember, as I said elsewhere, that ‘consensus’ in the party
connotes imposition. The consequence is that, in a large number of
wards, the process was characterised by gunshots, violence and
bloodshed. What the constitution of the party intends to avoid by
encouraging consensus in producing leaders of the party has now
become the inevitable consequence of a process fraught with
irregularities, tyranny and dictatorship. The intention of the
founding fathers of party politics in Nigeria in recommending
consensus is to avoid discriminatory imposition, which could breed
discontent within the party. Unfortunately, this has been the
outcome of most of the purported party congresses of APC in recent
times. I can remember in 2018 when I quit service in the executive
position of APC as national legal adviser and, ultimately,
membership of the platform, we recommended turning the executives
of the party to caretaker committees to avoid a situation where the
party could descend into unnecessary acrimony as the general
election was drawing nearer. Some self-seeking individuals insisted
on having elections in order to kick out the John Oyegun-led
executives. Yes. The so-called elections held and new executives
emerged. It did not take two years before it was realised that the
caretaker committee recommended by Banire would have prevented the
crises of monumental proportions that the party was plunged into.
Wise after the events!

They hurriedly dissolved the executive committee presided over
by Adams Oshiomhole in cn ignominious process and a caretaker
Committee was put in place. However, the culture of impunity and
self-interest that had been the bane of the party did not allow it
to see the constitutional loophole of appointing serving governors
into the caretaker committee, which, ultimately, would be presiding
over the affairs of the party and exercising executive powers and
carrying out executive functions. The constitutional challenges
have now arisen as the nomination of candidates carried out under
the caretaker committee wrongly composed is being questioned. It is
almost certain that the combination of Article 17(iv) of the APC
constitution and Section 183 of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria will invalidate the caretaker committee of my
good friend, Governor Mai Mala Buni, and this might lead to
nullification of candidate nominations carried out under such a
caretaker executive.

Although several opinions have been expressed on the implication
of the apex court’s judgment, to the extent that the official
judgment is yet to be read by the commentators, I regard them as
premature and speculative. However, in the midst of this cloud, it
is reasonable to defer further steps premised on the questionable
validity of the caretaker committee. The failure to do so, most
likely, will result ultimately in wasteful congresses and resources
in all ramifications.

It is trite constitutional rule that any act done at variance
with the Constitution is a nullity. The Constitution of Nigeria is
a jealous document that will not share the glory of its potency
with any other law, organ of government or principality.

My personal experience of the Party as a body in the past is
such that at least, it listens to well considered advice from its
legal adviser before taking a step. Chief Bisi Akande, Chief John
Oyegun, with whom I worked at different times, would not just
pander to a self-seeking opinion from anyone but would exhaust its
own internal research on the position of the Nigerian law as
regards any step to be taken. It is disappointing that with
mercantilism having taken over party affairs in this country, the
ideological essence of party politics has taken flight.

What remains is mere façade of qualitative representation and
good governance as often boasted of by APC which qualities are the
logic behind party politics. The decision of the Supreme Court in
Jegede v. Akeredolu has become a flash point for the consideration
of whether a sitting President or Governor can at the same time
occupy an executive position of a political party. while we await
an authoritative pronouncement on this issue, it is certain that
missteps in APC have made this question important for determination
and this will definitely feature either as a pre-election matter or
as a qualification ground for presentation of election petition
against the 2022 governorship in Osun, Ekiti and the general
elections in 2023. It is high time APC retraced its step towards
constitutionalism which is the spirit behind the making of
constitutions.

Where a ruling party refuses to be governed in accordance with
its own constitution and the supreme law of the land, it is certain
that the nation cannot expect good governance under such a
deceitful structure midwifing its democracy. It would have been
better for the ruling party to avoid unnecessary chaos which may
rob it of victories in the on-coming elections and may render the
precious votes of the electorate to be wasted by court decisions.
It is impunity of imposition that defeated the party in elections
in some States in 2018 like Benue and even in Edo in 2019. A
political party that has experienced such nasty outing in Edo State
in which its sitting Governor cross-carpeted to go and contest in
an opposition party ought to have displayed more discretion. Where
it fails to put its house in order and ensure sustenance of public
confidence in its capacity to govern, it is clear that the future
may not guarantee better days than it did for the Peoples’
Democratic Party in 2015. As my mother (of blessed memory) used to
say: eni a wi fun, Oba je o gbo (May the counselled be amenable to
good advice).