Tinubu, Akande absent at APC caucus meeting
Buhari to attend party’s NEC meeting today
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, last night said the call for his removal was a thing of the past as the party has moved forward.
Oyegun who said this when he spoke with journalists after the National Caucus meeting of the party presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, said the meeting was held to conclude the agenda of the previous meeting.
He said: “The meeting was actually beautiful, lively, it is a meeting to conclude the agenda we started last time which we didn’t conclude. Today, we are discussing true federalism and something more serious.”
On whether the issue of the court case against his removal instituted by some party members over tenure elongation of members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and that of state executives was discussed, he said: “We didn’t discuss anything like court case, courts are for lawyers.”
On the call for his removal, he said, “Ahh, can’t we move forward, that brings to history.”
Also speaking, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, said: “We had a good meeting. We deliberated on a number of issues to do with the constitution of the party which are very important issues. The constitution and to prepare for NEC tomorrow, it was a good meeting.”
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said they had a routine meeting and that the caucus meeting was held to set up the agenda for the NEC meeting.
According to him, “And all I can tell you is that the agenda is set. I believe that it will be the responsibility of NEC to decide and after a decision is taken, some of our faithful members will address the press.
“I don’t think it is in my place to divulge what was discussed. Tactically, it is an agenda setting meeting and we have had that meeting but the main meeting will take place tomorrow.”
On the crisis over the elongation of party chairman’s tenure and whether he was not worried, he said: “It is not a question of my being worried because I am just one perhaps of millions of APC members.
“Like I said, certainly it’s going to be an agenda for the consideration of NEC, whatever NEC decides, that will be binding all of us as faithful members of the party.”
In his remarks, the Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, said the caucus of the party discussed so many things, one of which was the amendment of the constitution. “We are united as a party,” he added.
The national caucus meeting had in attendance, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dogara.
Also present at the meeting were other members of the NWC and ministers.
Present and past state governors, federal lawmakers, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, and other cabinet members were at the meeting.
However, the National Leader of the APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, and the pioneer chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, were absent.
Meanwhile, President Buhari is expected to attend the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting today.
Governors elected on APC platform, members of its Board of Trustee (BoT) and National Working Committee (NWC) members among others, are also expected attend the meeting.
“It is going to be a routine NEC meeting which is a final leg of the meeting that was held last month.
“If you recall after the NEC meeting last, month, I told you that two issues were outstanding and that members asked for more time to study those issues.
“These are the issues of constitutional amendment and the true federalism committee report.
“These are the two key items on the agenda for the NEC meeting,” Bolaji Abdullahi, the APC spokesperson told journalists in Abuja yesterday.