As fallout from internal power struggle, APC suspends Banire

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Executive Committee, Mushin Local Government, Lagos, has suspended the party’s National Legal Adviser, Muiz Banire, over alleged anti-party activities.

Calls for the suspension and subsequent sack of Banire became heightened in the build-up to last Saturday’s local government election in Lagos State. Mushin APC members had stormed Alausa, Ikeja, demanding for his immediate suspension and sack.

Following the demands, and the poor performance of APC in Banire’s ward– Ward C, Ilasamaja, Mushin, members were said to have recommended his suspension.

Confirming the development in a statement on Thursday, the acting secretary of the ward, Taofeek Ajani-Balogun, explained that the party finally decided to suspend Banire in a resolution reached at the ward meeting held to review the last Local Government elections in the Ward.

He said, “After a critical assessment of individual activities and the performance of the party during the last elections, members of the party in Ward C, Ilasamaja, Mushin unanimously voted for the immediate suspension of Banire from participating in party activities in the Ward and his removal from office as National Legal Adviser.”

He went further to say that at the meeting decision to suspend the ward and LGA chairmen and executives was reached as APC recorded poor results in the ward at the last local government election in the state.

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According to him, the decision regarding those suspended has been forwarded to the LGA for further deliberations and recommendations to the state chapter of the APC.

During the protest againt Banire last Tuesday, the protesters had demanded that Banire shold be expelled from the party in accordance with Article 21 of the constitution of the party.

They had, among other anti-party activities, accused Banire of causing a Legal Representative to renounce the APC in a lawsuit before the elections and working towards the electoral failure of the party.

The reasons adduced for his suspension notwithstanding, the decision which will not come to many political watchers as a surprise, will instead be likely interpreted as the fallout of Banire’s audacity to challenge the power brokers in the party, especially Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, and attempt to limit their influence.

Many would argue that Banire had landed into troubled political waters when he stood with some party members in opposition to what they believed was imposition of candidates by the so-called godfathers in the party, insisting on an open and competitive democratic process instead.

His opposition which spurred a legal battle that saw the party repeat its candidate nomination process in a disputed outcome, was seen by many as the last straw.

By Ebere Ndukwu …

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