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Osinbajo, APC governors, ministers seek safe option after Supreme Court ruling on caretaker chairman

By Eniola Daniel
03 August 2021   |   3:11 am
On the instruction of President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is working out a safe option to resolve the internal political crisis that followed the Supreme Court ruling

Yemi Osinbajo

On the instruction of President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is working out a safe option to resolve the internal political crisis that followed the Supreme Court ruling, last week, on the fate of the current All Progressives Congress (APC) national caretaker leadership.

Informed sources within the party explained, last night, that the Vice President has already been holding consultations with party leaders and governors on a solution that would save the party from future legal traps and at the same time be acceptable to all within the APC.

As early as Friday, last week, Osinbajo first held a legal review session with lawyers in the federal cabinet where the issue was discussed and later also engaged in wide consultations with APC governors just before the ward congresses of Saturday.

The caretaker committee chairman was also reported to have rushed down to the Villa over the weekend with the Kogi State governor to explain the stance of the current party leadership to the Vice President after earlier efforts to reach him on Friday failed.

It is believed that Osinbajo, who has been asked to resolve the matter by the President, is intent on ensuring that the party benefits from what seems to be a legal warning from the Supreme Court ruling, which had a four/three verdict with justices questioning the constitutional validity of a sitting governor holding an executive post such as national party caretaker chairman.

While a last-minute cancelation of the congresses was on the table on Friday night, APC governors explained to the Vice President that majority of them would rather prefer to go on with the congresses even though some felt an outright cancelation of the exercise would be inevitable if it went ahead.

A source that is aware of the ongoing consultations, said it was not true that the Vice President directed the Attorney General (AGF) on the matter, especially since the AGF is not a party official.

As for Governor Buni, there was no communication between the Vice President and him until late Friday when he reached out to the Vice President around midnight. But by then, the governors had already argued for the continuation of the congresses, although some governors including one from the North strongly argued against proceeding with the exercise.

A top Villa source said last night: “The Vice President is of the firm view that the Supreme Court ruling, last week, is a clear legal ditch which is best avoided. And he wants to ensure that the interest of the party is what is paramount, hoping that all stakeholders would eventually find a way in the interest of Nigerians who have reposed so much confidence and support in the party.”

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