Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday, 25th June 2020 appointed Yobe State Governor Mala Buni as the chairman of its Caretaker Committee and Extraordinary National Convention (CECPC). Buni’s appointment came after the APC dissolved the National Working Committee of the party during its National Executive Council meeting on Thursday, 25th June 2020.
The meeting convened by Victor Giadom whom President Muhammadu Buhari recognised as the acting chairman of the party, also had vice president Yemi Osinbajo in attendance. Others at the meeting were Senate president Ahmad Lawan, the speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila and 15 APC governors from Nasarawa, Niger, Jigawa, Yobe, Plateau, Kogi, Imo, Gombe, Osun, Ogun, Lagos, Kwara, Ekiti, Kano and Kebbi State.
The issue of the legality or otherwise of the leadership of H.E, Governor Mai Mala Buni, as the Chairman of CECPC of the Party has been a fall-out from the judgment of the Supreme Court in favour of Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN and the All-Progressives Congress (APC/the Party) in the Appeal filed by Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, SAN and the People’s Democratic Party challenging the victory of Mr. Akeredolu and APC in the October 2020 Gubernatorial Elections.
The crux of Mr. Jegede/PDP’s case was the provision of Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) on the Disqualification of a Governor from Other Jobs which provides 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 Supreme Court however did not determine the justice of Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution vis-à-vis the peculiar position of H.E, Mai Mala Buni as the Chairman of APC Party’s CECPC but only dismissed the case on the ground that the Governor being a necessary party to the suit was not joined as a party. For emphasis, it is important to quote the Supreme Court, per Agim, JSC where the Court held that:
“The Appeal was based on the ground that Mai Mala Buni, the Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the party, that is, the Second Respondent (APC) was holding office as Governor of Yobe State, contrary to section 183 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999)’’..
‘’All the issues raised, revolved around Mai Mala Buni. But, Mala Buni, who is at the centre of the dispute was not made party to the petition. It is obvious that the determination of the said issues will affect him.’’..
‘’Therefore, the Court below was right to have held that he was a necessary party to the Suit. Failure to join him renders the determination of the matter impossible. To proceed to do so would have violated the fair trial of the case.’’
Assuming the Supreme Court examined Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution as it affects the current position of Governor Bai Mala as the Chairman of APC CECPC, I am of the firm view that his double role violates the clear provision of Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution as well as the Article 17(iv) of APC Constitution.
I will start by stating that the 1999 Constitution is supreme and any Law or Act contrary to the provisions of the Constitution is null and void to the extent of its inconsistency. See Section 1 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended). Article 2 of the APC Constitution also acknowledged the supremacy of the 1999 Constitution and provides that the Party’s Constitution is supreme, however, subject to the provision of the 1999 Constitution. The Article provides as follows:
“Subject to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and any other Laws for the time being in force in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the provisions of this Constitution shall be supreme PROVIDED that where any Rule, Regulation or any other enactment of the Party is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, such a Rule, Regulation and Enactment shall, to the extent of its inconsistency, be null and void and of no effect whatsoever.”
Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution clearly states that “The Governor shall not, during the period when he holds office, hold any other executive office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever”. Also Article 17(iv) of the APC Constitution clearly state that “No officer in any Organ of the Party shall hold executive position officer in Government Concurrently”. We should take notice that the two provisions used the word word “Shall” which makes it mandatory and compulsory.
The key words in section 183 of the 1999 Constitution are “other executive office” or “paid employment”. There is no doubt that the APC Party has maintained that the Governor is not being paid salary for his current position as the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee but can he be said not to occupy an executive office?.
An x-ray of the word “executive office” will be helpful at this moment. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 7th Edition at page 508 defines Executive as a noun to mean a person who has an important job as a manager of a company or organization. As an adjective, Executive means connected with the managing a business or an organization and with making plans and decisions; it also means having the power to put important laws and decision into effect.
From the definition above, it is deducible that Executive office is an office that is connected with the managing a business or an organization as the case may be or the office that has the power to put important laws and decision into effect. The questions that now beg for answer are: whether the position occupied by the Governor can be said to be managing the affairs of APC party? Does His Excellency Hon. Mai Mala Buni as the Chairman of Caretaker Committee of APC have the power to put important laws and decision into effect?
I most humbly submit that the above questions are in the affirmative. The Caretaker Committee led by the Governor was set up to usurp the role played by the National Working Committee of APC Party though temporarily. The APC Party’s CECPC is now administrative body of the party responsible for putting into effect the decisions of the National Executive Committee and performs the roles as enshrined in Article 13.4 of the APC Constitution. The APC Party’s CECPC was set up to temporarily replace National Working Committee, the officers of the party. The APC Party’s CECPC was also set up to temporarily carry out the day to day running of the affairs of the Party which is an executive function.
Furthermore, contrary to Article 17 (iv) of the APC Constitution, His Excellency Hon. Mai Mala Buni is an officer of the Party by virtue of his position as the Chairman of the APC Party’s CECPC and he is also holding an executive position as the current Governor of Yobe State.
In conclusion, it is my humble opinion that the dual position of His Excellency Hon. Mai Mala Buni as the Executive Governor of Yobe State and Chairman of the APC Party’s CECPC, temporarily carrying out the day to day affairs of the APC Party along with other sitting Governors who were also appointed as members of the Caretaker Committee in charge of their respective Zones all violates Section 183 of the Nigeria Constitution and Article 17(iv) of the APC Constitution. Therefore, any act carried out by them is any nullity in law and has no legal consequences. The act is not only bad but incurably bad. That is why I concluded in many of my interviews that APC is an NGO and not a political party. A party that has no functional National Working Committee and no Board of Trustees in six (6) years lacks the basic ingredients that makes up a political party by law. This will give birth to an implosion that must come.
We await when the Supreme Court will be faced with the interpretation of Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution to give its import, until then, our fingers are crossed.
Senator Dino Melaye
A graduate of law from Baze University, Abuja.
