Politics

APC Crisis Worsens As Sen Marafa Slams Gov Buni, Says He Didn’t Go To School

Published

4 years ago

November 14, 2021

The crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, assumed a curious twist on Sunday following the declaration by a chieftain of the party from Zamfara state, Senator Kabiru Marafa that the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee CECPC is an illegal contraption, unknown to law.

At a media parley, Sunday in Abuja, Marafa who represented Zamfara Central in the Senate for eight years, said Gov. Buni cannot operate as a governor and also superintend the party.

Marafa said; “Mai Mala Buni’s CECPC is an illegal committee. It cannot conduct anything. Whatever it does is a nullity and it cannot stand in this country. We are going to challenge him on that in court and I don’t care what anyone will say. Buni looked for my trouble and I will give him ten times of that.

“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very clear that you cannot hold an executive position and hold party position at the same time. Our APC constitution is also very clear in Article 2 which is the supremacy of the constitution.

“In Section 17(4), it says no officer of the party shall hold any executive position in government concurrently with the party position. He is an Executive Governor.

“He cannot be the Chairman of APC and if he can, let the courts tell us. I am going to court, I am going to challenge that.

“And whatever he did from the time he was appointed to this time will be questioned. We have one APC.

“Remove this man so that he doesn’t bring everybody down. I am on a salvage mission.

“Article 20 of the same constitution says all party posts prescribed by this constitution shall be filled by democratically conducted elections at respective national convention or congress subject where possible to consensus…

“Who elected Buni and his committee? At which convention or congress? Are we throwing away this constitution?

“Then the judgment of the Supreme Court on the Ondo election is a clear indication of where APC is headed but because some people who have never gone to school but who God has elevated to certain positions, have forgotten how they got to the positions.

“For God sake and with all sense of modesty, I and Gov. el-Rufai of Kaduna state almost single-handedly with the help of some people made Buni the National Secretary of the party some years ago.

“We will force him to resign and I am sure the President will also do that”, he added.

Senator Marafa also declared last Saturday’s purported Congress of the party in Zamfara state as an exercise in futility saying it was dead on arrival.

According to him, the law requires the party to give a 21-day notice to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC for the conduct of such Congresses.

Marafa recalled how the CECPC had earlier appointed one Ahaji Ibrahim Kabir Masari as Chairman of the State Congress committee for Zamfara.

He said; “Another letter was issued on the 5th of November. It was addressed to the same Alhaji Kabir Masari and it reads ‘suspension of ward congresses’.

“By that letter, that committee was suspended, the congresses entirely were suspended and it said the action was for further consultations to engender a seamless exercise. This was a welcome development because there were problems on ground.

“This was on the 5th November. Then, just on Friday, some of our friends called us to tell them that there would be congresses in Zamfara.

“They said they saw a letter addressed to the INEC chairman intimating him of congresses in Zamfara for the 12th.

“Less than 24 hours. We said that was not possible but we sent our people to INEC and verify, and they (INEC) said that they are in receipt of a letter and the letter said notice for the conduct of state congresses.

“This confirms to us that the Mai Mala-led APC, as it is today, is on a mission to destroy APC but we don’t care, they have a right to destroy APC but in Zamfara we have interested parties and it is our state and we are not ready to destroy our own house and anybody desirous of doing so, we have a right to say no.

“Now, notice is very key. Section 85 of the Electoral Act made it mandatory. It says INEC must be given a notice of 21 days. This is the provision of the Electoral Act. The law supersedes the APC guidelines. The Electoral Act comes second to the Nigerian constitution.

“I don’t know where Mai Mala got this thing but I’m not surprised because he didn’t go to school. I googled everywhere, I didn’t see the primary or secondary school he went to.

“They are operating the party as if they are operating an ‘Amalanke’ (local toy truck). What they are doing is wasting the party’s resources and the people’s time.

“This cannot hold anywhere in the world but we only joined them to show them that look, ‘you don’t have a monopoly of madness.’ This 24 hours notice, cannot stand in any court of law.

“We participated just to tell everyone that madness is not an exclusive preserve of some people.

“The essence of this briefing is to tell Nigerians why there is a faction again in Zamfara. Let everyone know that this faction came about because of the way and manner APC national is trying to suppress us in Zamfara state.

“We want to tell Mai Mala, Zamfara is not Yobe state. In an interview I granted recently, I sent a direct warning to him, he should learn to leave the sleeping dog lie. They didn’t heed that warning.

“Now APC looked for our trouble, we did not look for APC trouble. We did everything possible to accommodate our new visitor (Gov. Matawalle) but APC at all the points frustrated us.

“It appears APC national headquarters is at loggerheads with rules and procedures. They want to prove at every point that they are lawbreakers and uneducated.

“Like I said, we cannot see the schools they attended. Look at what happened in the state Congresses.

“Two different committees were sent to Sokoto, Kano and I think Osun. We have participated in the congresses, after this I am going straight to court.

“I told Buni to let sleeping dogs lie but he felt it was an empty threat. He has pressed us to the wall.

“We are going to fight back, whatever the consequences will be and we want the president to be aware of the illegalities that Buni is perpetrating”.

(VANGUARD)

Up Next

APC Crisis: Buni, Marafa Feud Gets Messier As Party Threatens Sanction

Don't Miss

Anambra APC Sacks Publicity Secretary

Comments

Politics

Ambassadorial Nominees: Ndume Asks Tinubu To Withdraw List

Published

12 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

Ahead of the Senate’s screening and confirmation of the ambassadorial nominees sent to the Red Chamber by the Presidency, former Senate Leader Ali Ndume has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to withdraw the list from parliament.

The federal lawmaker declared that the composition of nominees was in clear breach of the Federal Character principle, as enshrined in the Constitution.

Checks revealed that while certain states have three and four nominees, states like Gombe have no representation, while the only nominee from Yobe, Senator Adamu Garba Talba, died last July.

The entire North East state has 7 nominees in the list.

Further checks revealed that the South West geopolitical zone has 15 nominees, while the North West and South East have 13 and 9, respectively.

North Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominees, while South South region has 12 nominees.

The Senate President at plenary on Thursday formally read the list of nominees and referred it to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs for further legislative action.

The Senator representing Borno South in a statement issued on Saturday maintained that the list of nominees was in clear breach of Section 14(3) of the Nigerian Constitution which mandates that the composition and conduct of the federal government must reflect the “federal character of Nigeria” to ensure national unity and loyalty.

The section reads: “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.”

The former Chief Whip of the Senate admonished President Tinubu to avoid taking decision that will fuel ethnic tension and promote distrust in the country, amidst the wrong narrative being promoted by the Western world against his administration.

He said: “My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical time in the life of his administration, he should avoid missteps that could endanger national unity and promote ethnic distrust.

“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholders in the country.

“He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on Federal Character Principle that government’s structure and operations must represent the diverse states and peoples of Nigeria.”

Politics

PDP Issues Certificate Of Expulsion To Wike, Fayose, Anyanwu, Others

Published

4 days ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it has issued certificate of expulsion from the party to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and other 10 members earlier expelled from the party.

The party National Chairman, Tanimu Turaki, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen after the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

The other members, according to him, include the embattled National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, the Legal Adviser, Kamarudeen Ajibade, former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose.

They also included Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa, Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah Nnanna, George Turna and Chief Dan Orbih, expelled during the party National convention in Lagos.

Turaki said that the original copies of the certificate had been dispatched to the owners through a courier service to serve as proof that they were expelled from the PDP.

“We have taken note of the fact that Nigerian law frowns on dual membership of political parties, and so we have sought to make it easy for them.

“Now that they are no longer members of our party, and now that the National Convention, which is the highest decision-making organ of our party, has expelled them, we have decided to issue them certificates of expulsion.

“So, when they go to register with other political parties in Nigeria, they will show these certificates as proof that they are no longer members of the PDP.

“By that, those parties will not accuse them of trying to belong to more than one political party,” he said.

He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies, including the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services, and other government agencies, to take note.

“Very soon, members of the society will be informed via proper disclaimers that any person henceforth who decides to do business with them, any or all of them, does so at his or her own risk.

“They are no longer members of the PDP. They have been expelled,” he added.

He added that the NWC also reviewed some of the cases filed against the party and lawsuits instituted by the party, particularly the one that related to the “unlawful and illegal” closure of the party’s national Secretariat, the Legacy House, and the Wadata Plaza.

“The brief we received from our lawyers is that we are on sound ground, and that very soon, the law will take its course,” he said.

Turaki said the NWC was prepared to be saddled with the responsibility of performing its functions as the leading opposition party in Nigeria.

“We are going to provide a credible alternative to Nigerians. We are going to provide credible leadership to Nigerians by the special grace of God from 2027,” he said.

Politics

Adebayo Adedamola Wins Osun PDP Governorship Primary

Published

5 days ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola, popularly known as FRYO, has emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate for the August 8, 2026 governorship election in Osun State.

The primary election took place in Osogbo on Tuesday amid heavy security presence.

Announcing the result, chairman of the primary election committee, Humphrey Abba, stated that Adebayo secured 919 votes out of 957 accredited ballots, giving him a clear victory in the contest.

Explaining that there were 20 void votes following the withdrawal of one of the candidates, believed to be Governor Ademola Adeleke, Abba added, “The candidate that got the remaining votes is Adebayo Adedamola with 919 votes and he stands elected and returned.”

DAILY POST reports that despite announcing his resignation from the party, Adeleke’s name appeared on the ballot paper for the PDP governorship primary.

Party officials said the exercise was conducted in accordance with established guidelines, with accredited delegates participating in the voting process.

Adeleke announced his resignation in a letter dated November 4, 2025, and addressed to the PDP leadership at his ward.

On Monday, Osun PDP chairman, Sunday Bisi, had announced that the governorship primary slated for Tuesday, December 2, 2025, has been postponed due to leadership crisis at the national level.

But a faction of the party went ahead with the exercise in Osogbo on Tuesday.