By Uche Amunike
Yobe state governor and Caretaker Chairman of the ruling APC, Mai Mala Buni has five pending cases in different courts against him. These cases question his eligibility in holding the posts of Caretaker Chairman Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee of the All progressive Congress, APC and state governor at the same time.
Three out of the five pending cases were filed by APC members while the remaining two were filed by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP and New Nigeria People’s Party, respectively.
Okosisi Ngwu, who initiated one of the cases filed by party members demanded the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to dismiss the Buni-led CECPC and declare all the actions it has taken so far, recent Ward Congress inclusive, as null and void.
This demand is part of the reliefs in suit marked FCT/HC/ 1824/2021
The defendants listed in the suit are the APC and all CECPC members, including Buni, Governor of Osun state, Adegboyega Oyetola; former Senate President, Ken Nnamani; Senator Abubakar Yusuf; Abba Ali; Senator John Akpanudoedehe; Prof Tahir Mamman; Stella Okorete; Akinyemi Olaide; Dr James Lalu; David Leon; Ismail Ahmed; Governor of Niger state, Abubakar Sani Bello.
APC chieftain, Bashir Bolarinwa who was sacked by the CECPC as party chairman in kwara state has also filed a case against Buni. On his part, he asked that the entire panel be declared illegal, claiming that Buni and his counterparts from Niger and Osun States had no business presiding over the affairs of the AAPC
He also asked the court to review the appointment of the chairman and members of the CECPC to find out how legal it was without notifying the Board of Trustees of the first defendant with due respect to article 18(ii) of the Constitution of the APC.
The application was filed August 16, 2021 with suit number CV/2006/2021.
About 100 members of the APC in Benue state also sued Buni and the party, asking that the 13-member committee be dissolved and all their actions considered null.
The co-defendants in the summon FHC/ABJ/CS/938/2021 are the Attorney General of Federation, Abubakar Malami, INEC and others. It was filed by their lawyer, Samuel Irabor at the Federal High Court, Abuja, August 18 2021.
As for the PDP, it demanded Buni’s sack for taking another executive position as chairman CECPC, saying that it amounted to a constitutional violation as it was wrong to combine the office of the governor with another executive position.
It declared in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/885/2021 that the officers of the state governor and the deputy governor became vacant with Buni’s acceptance of the APC appointment.
The NNPP, on its part sued the APC to the Federal High Court, Abuja demanding that they are disqualified from being part of the forthcoming position of chairman in the election which will hold in the Abuja Municipal Council on February 12, 2021.
The joined INEC, APC, Buni and Muhammed Ikwa as defendants in the originating summons in July 28, 2021 with suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/514/2021, saying that the caretaker committee set up by the APC after dissolving the elected National Working Committee by the NEC on June 25, 2020 lacked powers to handle the affairs of the party. The suit stated that Buni becoming Caretaker Committee Chairman is null and void.
As for the APC, 100 members stopped the Federal High Court, Abuja demanding for the dissolution of Buni’s Caretaker Committee and asking that their actions are declared null.
They argued that the 13-member committee of Buni was unconstitutional as membership is legally 24 members.
Bunn they said, had no business standing in as Caretaker Committee Chairman since he already held executive position of state governor.
They also declared that the Accountant General of the Federation, Malami, lacks the power to administer the Oath of Service on Buni since he was neither a member of the National Working Committee or National Executive Council.
The suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/ 938/2021 was filed by their lawyer, Samuel Irabor.
