Keyamo’s position on Buni-led APC exco faulty — Sen Abbe

The senator who represented Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Magnus Abe, has picked holes in the position of the Minister of State, Labour, Festus Keyamo, on the Governor Mala Buni-led All Progressives Congress (APC) committee, saying the senior lawyer’s opinion will lead to “self-immolation.”

In a statement he signed on Thursday, the board member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) expressed surprise over Keyamo’s stance on the matter, especially his insistence that the APC must immediately halt all preparations for the forthcoming congresses.

He said Keyamo’s argument premised on his interpretation of the judgement of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Jegede Vs Akeredolu was baseless since the defence of Buni, who heads the National Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party was never heard.

According to Abe, most members of the APC accepted the reality of the CECPC as a decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party with President Muhammadu Buhari as leader of the party in attendance.

He noted that party leaders who had reservations about the constitution of the caretaker committee were informed that the decision to establish the Committee was reached after extensive legal examination of the issues confronting the APC at that time by a body of eminent lawyers in leadership positions in the party.

“That is why I was taken aback by the quick and sudden volte-face of Mr. Keyamo in the face of Jegede Vs Akeredolu. There is a popular saying that sometimes where you stand on an issue is determined by where you sit.

“The Buni- led caretaker committee in the determined effort to reposition the party and carry out its difficult assignment has adjusted the seating arrangements in a lot of states and this may explain the stand that some party leaders will take on this issue. But it is important that we deal with facts and the law,” he said.