APC NEC: Never Has Governance Been So Devalued In Nigeria – PDP

…Berates Buhari for violating oath of office and holding illegal NEC meeting

BY GRACE ANYANWU, ABUJA – The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday said that never in the history of the nation has governance been so devalued to the extent of using the hallowed chamber of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Chambers, where high-level executive decisions are taken, for an illegal, wrongly constituted and Nicodemus meeting of a political party.

It said that significantly, the kind of marshal orders and threats which President Buhari issued out at the so called NEC meeting without allowing for a debate was a sad reminder of his days at the Supreme Military Council in 1984.

The Party pointedly aid that the development raised questions on the democratic content of “the charade” called a NEC meeting by the APC.

This is as the PDP berated President Muhammadu Buhari for violating his oath of office by using the FEC Chambers and government resources to conduct the affairs of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The party described this action of President Buhari, in using public facilities and resources for APC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, as the height of corruption as well as a desecration of the sanctity of the seat of power and our national values.  

The PDP noted that the “shameful” development is a further manifestation of the level of impunity, recklessness, disrespect for rules and disdain for the laws of the land by the APC administration, whose latest action exposes a move towards instituting the art of running processes and programmes through illegality, illicitness, illegitimate and unlawful means driven by crude force and naked power.

The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan stressed that it is an indefensible double standard for President Buhari, whose administration has been hounding and prosecuting innocent Nigerians for allegedly using public resources for activities of their political parties, to use the resources and facilities of the FEC chamber for his party’s NEC meeting.

According to the PDP; “It is even more distressing that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, is part of this desecration of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) by functioning as a Notary Public to a political party and using official facilities of FEC chamber to administer oath of office to a functionary of a political party, in total disregard to his oath of office, the code of conduct prohibitions under the 5th Schedule and extant public service rules.

“This is the same Attorney General, who has been prosecuting others for alleged but unsubstantiated use of public resources for activities of their political parties”. 

The PDP further said that it holds that by using government facilities and resources to promote the activities of his party, the Attorney General has become culpable of the same offence for which he has been prosecuting innocent Nigerians.

The Party noted that Malami has therefore become ethically challenged to continue in office as the Chief Law Officer of our nation thus demanded that the Attorney General should immediately resign from office and surrender himself for prosecution

“It is even more disgraceful that the furtive APC NEC meeting at the FEC Chamber was convened in total violation of the APC Constitution, which prescribes 14 days notice for regular NEC meeting and 7 days notice in the case of an emergency meeting under Article 25 (b) (i) and (ii) respectively.

“Such a coup against their own party’s constitution renders the purported APC NEC meeting illegal and decisions taken therein, a complete nullity.

“Moreover, now that the Governor of Yobe state, Mai Mala Buni, has been sworn in as the Chairman of APC Caretaker Committee, he has made himself a full administrative officer of the APC and as such, should immediately resign as the Governor of Yobe state, in keeping with Article 17 (iv) of the APC Constitution which prohibits such dual mandate.

The PDP counseled APC leaders to note that Nigeria is a nation governed by law and as such their party will not be allowed to use their crisis to destroy the nation democratic order.