El-Rufai, Fayemi, Malami Expose Buni, His Plot To Scuttle APC Convention, Succeed Self

By Oluwafemi Adeyeye

By the time dust settled on the drama that took place at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, a few facts had crystallized.

The most significant of which was that Governor Mai Mala Buni had been kicked out as the chairman of the party’s caretaker committee, and Niger State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello had taken over.

Reason? THE WITNESS learnt that Buni had planned to scuttle the party’s national convention billed for March 26, but was exposed by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Kaduna State governor; Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti; Abubakar Malami, Attorney General of the Federation, among others.

It was not until late evening on the eventful day that the real facts behind the Yobe governor’s downfall began to emerge. President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered his sack and sanctioned Sanni Bello’s take over of the party’s leadership; a decision he put finishing touches to when he returned to Nigeria from Kenya on Friday, March 4.

But it would sound odd to anyone in the know that Buhari, who had used Buni and his committee to take firm control of the party in the aftermath of what was a battle between his camp and that of former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, for the party’s soul ahead of its convention and ultimately the 2023 presidential election, would turn around to order his sack and indeed ensure that he was booted out unceremoniously. However, as they say in politics, there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends.

Buni had overstepped his boundary; driven by a desire to perpetuate himself in power as the party’s de facto chairman, he plotted to ensure that no convention is held before 2023; a plot that was destined to put the party’s hopes of retaining power in jeopardy.

By THE WITNESS account, the final stroke that broke the camel’s back and turned President Buhari sharply against his hitherto ally, was Buni’s possession of a secretly obtained court order temporarily restraining the ruling party from holding its convention until a substantive suit has been heard and determined.

Having delayed the party’s planned convention since he was appointed as chairman of its Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) in June 2020, with a mandate to organise a national convention in December 2020, Buni and John Akpanudoedehe, National Secretary of the committee, it was learnt, obtained a court injunction using a third party, which they kept as a secret weapon to finally scuttle the party’s convention billed for March 26; what would have meant that the ruling party would not meet INEC deadline and therefore be forced to ask them to continue in their roles going into 2023 elections.

The suit, filed by one Salisu Umoru at the high court in the federal capital territory (FCT), had the APC and Buni as respondents.

“That the 1st Defendant/Respondent can only conduct its national convention after the hearing and determination of the substantive suit pending before this honourable court,” the court order read.

“That in the interest of justice accelerated hearing of the substantive suit is hereby ordered.

“That this matter is hereby adjourned to the 10th day of January 2022 for hearing of the substantive suit at High Court No. 15, Kubwa, FCT-Abuja.”

But the plot was blown open by no less influential governors of the ruling party than Fayemi of Ekiti, El-Rufai and Malami, among others, who were said to have approached the president on Saturday last week with the court documents. The plot apparently infuriated the president who immediately, it was learnt, decided that it was time for the Yobe governor to go, and immediately.

Indeed, before the president left for a climate submit in Kenya on Tuesday last week, he had held a meeting with some governors and other key stakeholders of the party, during which he ordered Buni to hand over to Sanni Bello. But the Yobe governor was said to have opted to leave the country in anger, even as he had allegedly plotted to put spanner in the works regarding the president’s sanctioned consensus candidacy arrangements using third parties.

The president thus had to make a surprise return to Nigeria from Kenya – he had been scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom for medical reasons from the East African country – to ensure that everything is sorted out; that Buni is replaced by Sanni Bello, before eventually jetting out to the UK on Sunday.

However, part of the reason for his return to the country before making the UK trip, according to sources, was to beat the 21-day deadline beyond which a president cannot stay outside the country; what he would have failed to meet had he travelled directly from Kenya. But in any case, he transmitted power to the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, before making the trip.

The whole theatrics got to a climax Monday when the Niger governor, amid tight security, stormed the APC national secretariat and resumed duties as acting caretaker committee chairman of the ruling party.

Speaking with reporters at the national secretariat, Bello said he has been acting as the party’s chairman “for a while.”

When asked if he has taken charge of the party, he said, “Acting chairman, I have been acting for a while since the chairman travelled.”

When he was pressed further, he said: “No comment.”

Meanwhile, while at the APC secretariat on Monday, the governor posted an update on his facebook page describing himself as acting chairman of the party’s caretaker committee.

“APC: Governor of Niger State and Acting Chairman of APC CECPC, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello is currently presiding over a meeting of the Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee of the APC at the National Secretariat of the Party with the members of the committee,” TBD post read.

In another post on the Facebook page, Bello said he received a report on the party’s zoning arrangement from the Chairman of the Committee and Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman who led other members of the committee, including DSP Ovie Omo Agege, to the secretariat.

“Acting Chairman of APC CECPC, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello receives the Report of the Party’s Zoning Committee from the Chairman of the Committee and Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman who led other members of the committee including DSP Ovie Omo Agege, Governors of Lagos, Gombe, Imo, Kogi, Ogun, and Borno as well as Deputy Governor of Anambra State for the submission of the report of the committee,” the post read.

Bello’s takeover had come moments after Akpanudohedehe, perhaps unaware that the party was over for him and Buni, issued a statement dismissing the latter’s reported removal as caretaker committee chairman.

Akpanudoedehe had in the said statement, denied any planned change of leadership in the party, describing it as fake news.

“Our attention has been drawn to sponsored media reports on an imaginary leadership change in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC),” he had stated.

“The media report is fake news and should be disregarded. The APC is a progressive political party guided by rules. Leadership changes are not announced by ‘sources’ through name dropping in the media.”

Buni: From Hero to Villain?

Until now, the Yobe governor had been a darling of the Aso Rock power brokers. His appointment as the party’s caretaker committee in June 2020, signaled the take over the party structure by Buhari and his inner circle.

The Buni led CECPC, with the president’s backing, had been running the party almost single-handedly since it was inaugurated following the removal of the Oshiomhole-led NWC.

The committee had gradually morphed into a powerful cabal, dictating decisions for the party while other stakeholders grudgingly trudged along.

CECPCs formation, as noted earlier, was the highlight of years of battle for the control of the party between the Tinubu led ACN faction of the party and Buharis CPC. The battle had consumed the partys first national chairman, Chief John Oyegun who had ditched Tinubu upon APC taking power and joined forces with Abuja to undermine the former Lagos governor in Ondo and Ekiti.

Oyegun’s removal in 2018, and the subsequent emergence of Oshiomhole, a core Tinubu loyalist, as national chairman, was seen as a win for the former Lagos State governor, and an indication that he could go on to control the party structure heading into 2019 general election and beyond.

But it had been a strategic concession by the Buhari clique to enlist Tinubus full support for the presidents second term bid in 2019. The former Lagos governor had become disillusioned by what seemed to be an attempt to undermine him in the party; what his wife, Senator Remi, had described as the trashing of her husband by the Buhari government.

It worked. Tinubu, convinced that he was back in business with Oshiomhole as national chairman, became fully committed to the presidents reelection bid. But soon after the election was won, the Aso Rock clique moved to take back the party.

Oshiomholes rift with his successor in Edo, Mr. Godwin Obaseki which culminated in his suspension by a High Court in Abuja, provided an opportunity for Buhari to step in. Oshiomholes NWC was kicked out and the president, acting on the advice of Malami, constituted the CECPC to be led by Buni in spite of Tinubus initial protestations.

Obaseki was duly rewarded by being allowed to return for second term in 2020, in an Edo governorship election whose outcome was more of a crushing defeat to both Oshiomhole and Tinubu, if not a shot in the arm by Abuja.

But Buni has gone from a hero who ensured the take over of the party by Abuja to a villain who The Witness learned, has been isolated by his fellow APC governors.

Such governors El-Rufai of Kaduna, Muhammad Badaru of Jigawa, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi governor; and Yahaya Bello of Kogi governor, are said to have turned their backs on the Yobe governor.