President Muhammadu Buhari has asked Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to meet with other senior lawyers in his cabinet to save the soul of the All Progressives Congress.
APC has been thrown into commotion following a ruling by the Supreme Court which hinted that the appointment of Yobe State Governor, Mai Buni, as chairman of the party was a nullity.
The president, who was worried by the development, ordered Osinbajo to intervene in the matter with other lawyers.
Meanwhile, Osinbajo had summoned a session with the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN), Works Minister Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Minister of State for Labour and Employment Festus Keyamo (SAN) and Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed.
A reliable source said the majority of participants at yesterday’s session “spoke in the right direction” and supported the suspension of the party’s congresses fixed to hold this Saturday (today) in order to avoid any consequence on the party’s fortunes in 2023.
“They also favoured a proposal to ask Buni to step aside in the light of the judgment.
“But Malami at the meeting said there won’t be any legal or constitutional obstacles if Buni leads the caretaker committee to conduct the congresses. They were of the strong opinion that the judgment does not affect the status of Buni or APC.
“Those concerned also pleaded that Buni should not be disgraced out of his seat. They demanded an ingenuous way of resolving the aftermath of the judgment of the Supreme Court.”
“The VP is expected to get back to the President on the aggregate opinion of the meeting. Although the President mandated him to take appropriate decision, he will still defer to the number one leader,” the source said.
However, Buni, in a statement through his Director-General for Press and Media Affairs, Mamman Mohammed, insisted that the ward congresses would go ahead.
He pleaded with APC members nationwide to be peaceful during the congresses.
He asked members to “place the party and members interest above personal interests” and warned that the APC would “not hesitate to take decisive measures against anyone who deliberately sabotages the congresses.”
“We have come a long way repositioning the party. We have reconciled many groups and individuals. We must not allow personal interests in this election to divide us and draw us back,” he said.