The Banire drama moves to court, as Lagos Dep Speaker seeks his ouster

The unfolding political drama surrounding Muiz Banire’s role in the All Progressives Congress (APC) local government primaries leading up to the just-concluded polls, has assumed a new dimension, as the Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Wasiu Sanni, and two other members of the party, have urged the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja to expel the partry’s national legal adviser over alleged anti-party activities.

Sanni filed the suit alongside Babatunde Kehinde and Alhaji Kazeem Olatunji.

This development is coming after the Lagos chapter of the APC vehemently disagreed with its national leadership for overruling Banire’s suspension which was executed by his Mushin local government chapter.

The quick intervention of the national leadership, as well as the equally swift and scathing reaction of the state chapter of the party, appeared to confirm the suspicions of many political watchers that all along, Banire’s travails had not been a local chapter affair.

Many view the turn of events so far as indicative of a larger power tussle between the state and national chapter’s power blocs over longstanding clash of interests, with Banire, being a national executive with deep disagreements with the state chapter, at the centre of a proxy war.

Read also: Rift in APC deepens, as Lagos flays Abuja over Banire

In the suit filed through their lawyer, Mr. Wahab Shittu, the plaintiffs alleged that Banire had violated Articles 12.3, 12.4, and 12.5 of the APC Constitution 2014, among other provisions of the law and should be expelled.

They alleged that Banire, in December of 2015, “orchestrated forgery by facilitating the use of false document by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

Sanni, who is the first plaintiff in the suit, said that the alleged forgery was intended to rob him of the victory he won at the December 2014 APC primary for the Lagos State House of Assembly.

He alleged that his name was substituted with that of Hakeem Masha, who was the first runner-up in the primary, stating that though he won the primary by scoring 186 out of the total valid votes of 279, Banire authorized a letter, dated January 9, 2015, to be written to the Independent National Electoral Commission that he (Sanni) had withdrawn from the contest.

He said that this led INEC to substitute his name, adding that it took the intervention of Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos to restore his mandate.

The plaintiffs are urging the court to declare that Banire flouted “Article 21 (a) (2) of the provisions of the Constitution of the All Progressives Congress 2014 by engaging in anti-party activities likely to embarrass or have adverse effect on the party or bring the party into hatred, contempt, ridicule or disrepute by reasons of the several actions of the defendant before, during and after the entire process of APC local government primaries in Lagos State.”

They want the court to, among others, declare that “having breached the established legal principles, including but not limited to the provisions of the Constitution of the APC 2014, the defendant be removed as the National Legal Adviser of the APC.”

In the alternative, they are praying the court to make an order,“directing/mandating the leadership of the APC to take appropriate disciplinary measures against the defendant with a view to forestalling a situation likely to cause a breach of peace in the Lagos State chapter of our party and Nigeria in general.”

As this drama continues to unfold, some have pointed to controversies surrounding the conduct and outcome of the party’s recently concluded local congresses to elect delegates in Rivers and Kaduna states, as additional proofs that all may not be well with the party.

They argue that the party might struggle to consolidate on its recent electoral gains if it fails to rein in the many interests rocking it from within and threatening to limit its influence as one united political front.

 

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