BY MAYOWA SAMUEL
Senior lawyers have disagreed with their fellow colleague, Festus Keyamo,SAN on his comments regarding the outcome of the Supreme Court judgement on Jegede-Akeredolu suit.
Analysing the judgement, Keyamo had raised the alarm, warning the All Progressives Congress to find a way of ensuring that nobody in future uses the judgment against the party.
He had suggested among other things that the congresses of the party be suspended for now and the present Caretaker Committee be made to give way to an official party executive.
He urged the party to adopt any of two options, one of which was for the National Executive Committee to urgently consider reconstituting the CECPC to exclude, not only Gov. Buni, but anyone holding any executive position in any government establishment as stipulated in Article 17 of the APC Constitution.
The other option was for the Board of Trustees of the Party, which includes Mr. President, to be activated and organise a National Convention in line with Article 13 of the APC Constitution where it is given such powers which can be delegated at the meeting to a Committee in line with the Constitution which will run the Party and plan the Convention. The new Exco can then plan for Congresses.
He based his argument on the provisions of Section 183 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 17 (4) of the APC constitution which states that a sitting Governor shall not, during the period when he holds office, hold any other executive office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever.
But other senior lawyers would not have any of Keyamo’s sentiment. The legal expert’s, while describing his recommendations as laudable, opined that the Supreme Court decision was a clear misconception of the provision of Section 183 of the Constitution. One of the senior lawyers said, “Mai Mala Buni by virtue of being the Caretaker Committee Chairman is not in a paid employment and neither is he holding any Executive office, but merely fostering the good cause of a political party which he is a member of in an interim capacity.
Another legal expert, Dele Aiku, expressed shock at Keyamo’s comment as he cited the cross-examination of the APC principal witness and Director, Legal Services of the party, Dare Oketade Esq.Aiku noted that Oketade had told the court that “Gov Mai Mala Buni was not drawing salary from the Party, was never occupying the office of the National Chairman of the Party, but only existed in Caretaker capacity by virtue of the Constitution of the APC which empowers the NEC to appoint any committee, give it any name and give it any power as it may deem fit and this was the basis of setting up the Caretaker Committee.”At an emergency media briefing on Thursday, the National Secretary of the Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, also declared that there was nothing to worry about.
He said, “We stand with our National Chairman, we will go ahead with the congresses as planned. “Also commenting on the development, Niyi Akintola, SAN, the lead counsel for the party during the trial, discarded insinuations that the party was playing with fire if it ignored some interpretations of the judgment.
He said there was nothing to be worried about as the Tribunal had said Governor Buni did not contravened any law by occupying the post of Party Chairman.
