The national leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has carpeted President Muhammadu Buhari for his role in the dissolution of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the setting up of an interim caretaker committee to run the affairs of the ruling party.
The PDP also knocked the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and the Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni for lending their offices to acts of illegality.
President Buhari had, on Thursday, directed the dissolution of the NWC of the APC at a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held at the Federal Executive Council Chambers in the Presidential Villa.
Following the dissolution of the NWC, Governor Buni was appointed as caretaker committee chairman of the APC and Malami had sworn him in there and then.
But in a statement on Friday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the main opposition party described the action of the trio as shameful and manifestation of impunity and recklessness.
The PDP further said that Buhari, through his actions, had shown disrespect for rules and disdain for the nation’s laws, which it said, typified the President’s leadership style.
The President’s latest actions, the party noted, exposed 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.
It also berated the President for violating his oath of office for using the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Chambers and government resources to conduct the affairs of his party.
The PDP said, “Our party describes this action of Mr. President, 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.
“Never in the history of our nation has governance been so devalued to the extent of using the hallowed chamber of the highest executive body in the country, where high-level executive decisions are taken, for an illegal, wrongly constituted and Nicodemus meeting of a political party.
“This shameful development is a further manifestation of the level of impunity, recklessness, disrespect for rules and disdain for our laws 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.
“Furthermore, 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.
“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 for 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 party also stated 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.
“Malami has therefore become ethically challenged to continue in office as the Chief Law Officer of our nation. Our party therefore demands that the Attorney General should immediately resign from office and surrender himself for prosecution,” the party added.
The PDP further said that it’s 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.
Continuing, the PDP said, “Such a coup against their own party’s constitution renders the purported APC NEC meeting illegal and decisions taken therein, a complete nullity.
“Significantly, the kind of marshal orders and threats which President Buhari was issuing 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. This raised questions on the democratic content of the charade called a NEC meeting by the APC.
“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 party called on the 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’s democratic order.
