21st July, 2017
The National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress( APC), Dr. Muiz Banire SAN said his insistence that the party must comply with the constitution of the party by holding primaries to elect candidates for tomorrow’s local council elections in Lagos State was what pitched him against the leadership of the party in the state.
In a public statement published in a national daily on Friday, Banire said his offence which necessitated the hiring of demonstrators by his detractors to call for his removal was because he advised the Lagos State chapter of the APC to comply with the mandatory provisions of the constitution on the emergence of party candidates which require the holding of primaries.
The embattled politician said that as the party’s national legal adviser, no amount of protests, demonstrations, harassment or victimization would make him dump the principle of adherence to the rule of law.
”In the past few months APC has lost not less than four cases in the Supreme Court in which our candidates’ victories were nullified due to lack of valid primary election.
”As a democratic and a loyal party member, I state that unlike our brethren who engaged in anti-party activities at the Ondo State gubernatorial in 2016, I am not interested in the emergence of any particular candidate but the success of the party in any election. Consequently, I am not in the league of those who violate the constitution of our great party. These violators are those who ordinarily ought to be going through disciplinary process but are still indulged for now,” Banire stated.
The APC Legal Adviser invited those he called ”rented demonstrators” to the Abuja headquarters of the party, ”and possibly Aso Villa for further demonstrations.
”At least, they have unrestricted access to peoples’ resources at present. I also wish to appreciate the protesters for helping to escalate the matter to the national level, the concept that has now developed its own life. I am not afraid of removal if my acts merit same but I know that it is the violators of our constitution that deserve to be punished. Let me remind them again that I am not a professional politician but a professional in politics. I serve the party gratuitously in the interest of good governance,” he added.
But some observers who reacted to Banire’s outpourings on the pages of newspapers described them as the rantings of a failed politician who failed to get his supporters in Odi-Olowo, Mushin picked as the party’s candidates for the council polls in the area.
”Don’t mind Banire. Is he not a beneficiary of the same ”crooked process” which he is now condemning. Why is he kicking against the system now. He is a failed politician who failed to get his candidates picked in Odi-Olowo Mushin by the APC. It s too late for him to be crying foul when the bird is already out of the cage,” an observer told PMNEWS.