TheNewsGuru

Tag: Tenure

  • 2019: Opposition parties threaten nationwide protests should Buhari extends IG’s tenure beyond Jan 15

    Opposition political parties in the country on Sunday have resolved to begin nationwide protests should President Muhammadu Buhari retains the incumbent Inspector Gemeral of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris beyond January 15 when he (Idris) would have attained 60 years in service and also the compulsory 35 years in service.

    The parties, on the platform of the Coalition of United Political Parties, hinged their decision on the claim that the current IG, Ibrahim Idris, ceased to be a policeman since January 3 after 35 years in service.

    The coalition’s position was contained in a statement by its first national spokesman, Imo Ugochinyere, in Abuja.

    Ugochinyere said the position of the IG was currently vacant since Idris was deemed to have retired having served for 35 years, adding the nation’s constitution did not make provision for a former police officer to be an IG.

    He claimed that by parading himself as the IG after January 3, Idris was committing a crime of impersonation, describing the act as a threat to national security.

    Ugochinyere said the protests would start once Idris was seen in police uniform around the force headquarters from January 15.

    He added that the protests would be held in front of the police command headquarters of every state and would continue till the right thing was done.

    The CUPP’s spokesperson called Buhari’s attention to the provision of Section 215(1)a of the 1999 Constitution which he said held that the President could only appoint a serving police officer as the IG.

    Ugochinyere said, “This means that with the reaching of the mandatory retirement age of 35 years of active service on January 3, 2019 and the mandatory retirement age of 60 years while in service by the IG (which comes up on January 15, 2019), the IG is constitutionally barred from being retained or reappointed as the IG as he is no longer a serving police officer.

    “His continued stay in office is illegal and an act of impersonation as there is no legal or documentary evidence to back up his stay as the IG.

    “We call on President Buhari to be courageous to announce the replacement and not bow to the pressure to cement illegality in the core of the nation’s security architecture due to his desperation to rig himself back to power knowing he has been rejected by the Nigerian people.

    “The uncertainty in the leadership of the police in such auspicious moment emboldens persons with sinister motives and demoralises senior officers of the force due to this abrupt and unlawful halt to their career progression.

    “The law is clear on who can be appointed as the Inspector-General of Police and who cannot be appointed as Inspector-General of Police and Mr Ibrahim Idris is now in the latter group.

    “It is flowing from this and to save our dear country from further drift from a government that lacks capacity to provide leadership to our country that the secretariat of CUPP hereby directs all coalition members in the 36 states to begin preparation for nationwide protests from January 15 if the retired IG is seen dressed in police uniform around the Force Headquarters.

    “The protests will be in front of the police command headquarters of every state and shall be continuous till the right thing is done.”

    He added, “During the protests, there shall be a declaration that since Mr Ibrahim Idris is no longer a police officer, he cannot be addressed as the IG and a call to him to steer clear of the Force Headquarters.

    “By January 15, Mr Ibrahim Idris would have attained both 35 years (January 3, 2019) in service and 60 years of age (January 15, 2019) and he would have been roundly unqualified to occupy the office of the Inspector-General of Police.

    “Finally, we call on President Buhari that he should realise now that he would be held personally responsible if there is a breakdown of law and order, loss of lives and property if he continues down this path of noxious plots to rig himself into power. A word is enough for the wise!”

    On its part, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, asked the President to ensure that Idris proceed on retirement after his statutory age of 60 years on January 15, 2019.

    HURIWA on Sunday in a release by its National President, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said, “The IG, who ought to retire on reaching the statutory retirement age of 60 on January 15, must proceed on pre-retirement leave immediately. We suspect that he has been positioned to use his operatives to manipulate the conduct of the February elections in favour of the authorities.”

    Meanwhile, the Presidency in a reaction said the IG still had a few more days for his tenure to expire.

    A Presidency source stated, “The IG has a few more days. He has a few days still.”

    When the source was reminded that Idris turned 35 years in service on January 3, the source asked, “Was it 3rd?”

    The IG will turn 60 years in service on January 15 by which time he would have met both retirement requirements on length of service and age.

    By the service rule, an officer is deemed to have completed service if he has spent 35 years in service or turns 60 “whichever comes first.”

  • 2019: Political parties reject Buhari’s plan to extend IGP’s tenure for six months

    Indications have emerged that President Muhammadu Buhari may have approved a six-month tenure extension for the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.

    Officially, Idris is due to retire from the Nigeria Police Force on January 3, 2019, having put in the mandatory 35 years in service. But he was said to have lobbied some senior Presidency functionaries, who, in turn, got Buhari to extend the IG’s tenure.

    However, the opposition political parties, under the aegis of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), are threatening to drag President Muhammadu Buhari before the court over the planned tenure extension.

    The President was said to have agreed in principle to grant the IG additional six months in office to enable him to coordinate and supervise the forthcoming general elections in the country.

    A top source, who confirmed the development to newsmen in Abuja on Saturday, explained that the IG might get the official confirmation of the tenure extension “any moment from now.”

    He said, “It is a done deal; the IG’s tenure has already been extended because the Presidency has confidence in him. He would get the official confirmation any moment from now; that is if he hasn’t received it already.

    “Extending the IG’s tenure is not unexpected. The other service chiefs had their tenure extended by a year. So, giving Idris the same privilege is nothing out of the ordinary.”

    Meanwhile, the planned extension of tenure, the CUPP claimed, would only afford the police boss the opportunity to do the President’s bidding and work for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 general elections.

    They have therefore resolved to resist the move, claiming the nation’s constitution does not make any provision for tenure extension.

    The first national spokesperson for the CUPP, Imo Ugochinyere, in an interview on Friday, said the opposition parties were shifting their attention to the leadership of the force following Buhari’s decision not to sign the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill and the inability of federal lawmakers to override his veto.

    He said, “We are insisting that the Inspector-General of Police, whose tenure is expiring in January, must leave the office.

    “So, we are demanding that the President should not extend his tenure because there is no such provision in the constitution. A former police officer cannot be an Inspector-General of Police. We will be filing an action in court to ensure that he leaves office in January.”

    Also, the Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution has kicked against the alleged tenure elongation, noting that Idris had so far “demonstrated lack of capacity and inability to effectively police Nigeria as the IG.”

    The CDNDC Coordinator, Dare Atoye, argued that wanton killings and criminality had increased under Idris leadership of the police, adding that there were more competent officers in the NPF that could do the job better.

    He said, “The only good thing that can happen to the Nigeria police is for the government of President Buhari to look for a competent replacement; somebody who has the discipline and the character to lead the force. I believe many Nigerians would agree with me that the wanton killings in the country and the lack of training without equipment have been aggravated under his leadership.”

    Appraising the alleged reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, the activist observed that no reform had taken place, noting that the impunity being carried out by the squad was merely suppressed.

    He cited the arrest and arraignment of an Abuja-based activist, Deji Adeyanju, by the police for homicide, a charge for which he was discharged and acquitted by a Kano High Court in 2009.

    The Secretary-General, Basic Rights Enlightenment Foundation, Ikechukwu Maduike, also kicked against the government’s decision, stressing that “the police had become worse under the IG.”

    The lawyer said, “We need someone who has new ideas so we can see something new in the force. I don’t think this IG has what it takes to transform the police force.”

     

  • UPDATED: Buhari addresses APC NEC, rejects Oyegun’s tenure elongation

    UPDATED: Buhari addresses APC NEC, rejects Oyegun’s tenure elongation

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday addressed members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and insisted that the recent tenure elongation of executives of the party was against the party and Nigeria’s constitution.

    Recall that the APC had in its NEC meeting on February 28 extended the tenure of members of National Working Committee (NWC) led by its chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun by one year.

    The decision, however, did not go down with some powerful members of the party who had since been mounting pressures that the decision be reversed.

    Speaking shortly before the commencement of NEC meeting Tuesday, President Buhari told party members at the APC national secretariat to cancel the tenure extension decision because “it is against the party constitution and the Nigerian constitution.”

    He therefore, presented the matter “for discussion” at the meeting.

    The president noted he is having a change of heart because he doesn’t want the party’s activities to be faulted by any court of law.

    NEC members were shocked because the issue of tenure extension is not in the agenda circulated to members.

    It was also not discussed at the national caucus meeting which held at the Presidential Villa Monday night, Mr. Odigie-Oyegun had said.

    Caucus meetings are precursor to what would be discussed at NEC.

    Read the president’s full speech below:

    REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE APC ON TUESDAY, 27TH MARCH, 2018

    I am delighted to once again welcome you to this National Executive Committee Meeting of our great party. As we usually do, I hope we will take the opportunity of this gathering to resolve outstanding issues and consolidate our plans towards making APC the strongest defender of the interests of our people.

    2. In particular, I think it is important for me to speak quickly on the contentious issue of the tenure of our National and State Executive Officers. As we all know, a motion was moved at the last National Executive Committee meeting of February 27, 2018, to the effect that when the tenure of the current executives expire in June this year, they should be allowed to continue for one year.

    3. This motion was duly carried by a majority of members present at the last NEC Meeting, even though some of our party members have since spoken up very vehemently against it. Others have even taken the matter to court.

    4. On my own part, I have taken some time to review and seek advise on the resolution. And what I found is that it contravenes both our party Constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    5. While the APC Constitution, in Article 17(1) and 13.2(B), limits the tenure of elected officers to four years, renewable once by another election, the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), in section 223, also prescribes periodic elections for party executives at regular intervals, which must not exceed four years.

    6. Furthermore, Article 31 of our Party Constitution provides that any principal officer wishing to re-contest or contest for another post, must resign from his current post at least one month before the election

    7. In this circumstance, what is expected of us is to conduct fresh elections, once the tenure of the current executives approaches its end. A Caretaker Committee cannot remedy this situation, and cannot validly act in place of elected officers.

    8. Furthermore, I think if we deviate from the constitutional provisions, we might be endangering the fortunes of our party. If the tenure of our party executives can be legally faulted, then it means that any nominations and primary elections that they may conduct, can also be faulted.

    9. This is not to talk of divisions that would arise, and is already arising within the party, when some of our members feel that they are being denied the right to aspire to executive positions, or that internal democracy is not at play within the party.

    10. I am therefore of the firm view that it is better to follow strictly the dictates of our party and national constitutions, rather than put APC and its activities at grave risk.

    11. Fortunately, we have already approved a timetable for the holding of congresses and elections. I think these should be allowed to go forward and all efforts should now be geared towards making them a great success.

    12. Once again, I welcome you all to this meeting with the hope that we will promote, always, the highest interest of the party and of our people.

     

    Thank you.

     

  • Court urged to void extension of Oyegun, other NWC members’ tenure

    The Federal High Court in Abuja has been urged to void the extension of the tenure of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by its National Executive Committee (NEC).

    The request formed part of the prayers in a suit by Okere Uzochukwu, who described himself as a member of the APC in Imo State.

    Uzochukwu, in the suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/219/2018, said he was an aspirant to the state chairmanship position of the party in Imo State and that the tenure extension violated provisions of the Constitution, the Electoral Act and the Constitution of the APC.

    The suit filed by his lawyer, Nnamdi Okere, has APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as respondents.

    Uzochukwu is of the view that the extension of the tenure of officials of the party at various levels was “the primary function and responsibility of the national convention” by virtue of the provisions of Article 13 and 13 (3) (ii) of the Constitution of the APC 2014 (as amended).

    He stated, in a supporting affidavit, that “the plaintiff is a registered and card carrying member of the All Progressives Congress who registered at Ulakwo, OAU ward of Owerri North, membership card number 11013379 and has been participating in all programmes and activities of the party.

    “The said APC membership card is hereby pleaded and shall be relied upon as exhibit 1. The plaintiff is aspiring and contesting the Imo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress slated to hold during the party elective convention in July 2018.

    “The four-year tenure of the present National Working Committee, State Working Committee, Local Government Area Executive Committee and Ward Executive Committee of the party will expire in June 2018 and new elective conventions ought to be conducted to elect party leadership at the various levels.

    “On Tuesday, February 27, 2018, the National Executive Committee of the Party met and purportedly usurped the constitutional powers of the National Convention by unconstitutionally extending the tenure of the present National Working Committee, State Working Committee, Local Government Area Executive Committee and Ward Executive Committee of the party which will expire in June 2018. ”

    Uzochukwu wants the court to among others, declare that the purported one year extension of the tenure of the John Odigie-Oyegun-led NWC, the state working committees as well as the local government and ward executive committees of the party commencing from June 2018 to June 2019 “is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effects”.

    He said APC’s national convention “never and did not meet to delegate and has not delegated any of its powers to the National Executive Committee, to warrant the unconstitutional tenure extension”.

    The plaintiff also wants the court to compel “the incumbent John Odigie- Oyegun-led National Working Committee”, and others to vacate their respective offices with effect from June 1, 2018.

    He noted that the beneficiaries of the extension will complete their four-year tenure on June 1, 2018 and urged the court to compel them to vacate their offices by then “pending the election of new officers of the party at all levels through democratically elected conventions.”

    Uzochukwu is also seeking an order compelling INEC “to reject, cease to recognise and stop dealing with or having official communications with the incumbent John Odigie- Oyegun-led the National Working Committee” and others effective from effective from June 1, 2018 “for having spent the constitutionally allowed tenure of office”.

    He equally seeks an order declaring that he as registered and card-carrying member of the party, “has been denied the right to aspire and contest the Imo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, a position he is aspiring and canvassing, and has spent enormous resources, to warrant and justify the extant action.”

    Uzochukwu raised the following questions for the court’s determination:

    *Whether the NEC of the party lacked the “constitutional and statutory powers” to alter the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act” by “undemocratically” extending the tenure of the officials of the party.

    *Whether or not the NEC of the party “has the constitutional powers to extend the tenure of the National Working Committee, State Working Committee, Local Government Area Executive Committee and Ward Executive Committee of the All progressives by one year howsoever purported in view of Section 223 (1) (a) and (2) (a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and section 85 (3) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) .”

    *Whether or not the purported one year extension of the tenure of John Odigie- Oyegun led the National Working Committee, State Working Committee, Local Government Area Executive Committee and Ward Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress by the National Executive Committee (NEC), commencing from June 2018 to June 2019 is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effects whatsoever; in view of the combined reading of Section 223 (1) (a) and (2) (a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Section 85 (3) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended)”.

  • BREAKING: APC extends Oyegun, other party officials’ tenure

    The National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress has approved a one-year extension of the tenure of all its elected and appointed party officials.

    Details later…

  • Niger Delta, other regions will witness increased investments throughout my tenure – Buhari

    …appreciates region for producing Itse Sagay, others

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday assured the people of Niger Delta that his administration would continue to support rapid development in the region.

    He said he would consolidate on all ongoing projects and initiate new ones to create more economic opportunities and jobs for the people.

    According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President spoke while receiving a delegation led by the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwoli, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Adesina quoted the President as reiterating the Federal Government’s commitment to maintaining peace and security in the Niger Delta for economic and social activities to thrive.

    “The President told the delegation led by the Olu of Warri that developing the region remained a priority for his administration, adding that under his watch, every region in the country would witness increased investments in critical infrastructure.

    “The President appealed to the people of Niger Delta to complement ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to bring more development to the region by maintaining peace, security and harmony,” the statement read.

    Buhari also promised to look into some of the concerns raised by the delegation, including the dredging of the Escravos bar for Warri and Koko ports, the gas revolution industrial park and EPZ project in Ogidigben, the ecological challenges in Ode-Itsekiri, Ugborodo, Orere/Yanagho and Ogheye-Eghoroke, among others.

    The President also used the occasion of the visit to commend the Itsekiri people for producing men of strong convictions like the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay.

    He said, “Thanks for producing a man like Prof. Itse Sagay, who is defending us robustly and stepping on many toes in the process. If he’s not a man of conviction, he couldn’t have done that.

    “What he is doing is exceptional. Despite coming from a minority area, he’s showing overwhelming influence at the centre. Prof, I never had the opportunity to thank you personally for all you’re doing. Thank you very much.”

    The Olu of Warri had on Friday urged the Federal Government to tackle insecurity in the Niger Delta region and activate Warri and Koko ports in Delta State.

    He said that the activation of the ports would go a long way in providing job opportunities, thereby reducing youth restiveness in the region.

    He regretted that while other ports in the country were active and contributing to the economic activities in the states where they were located, those of Warri and Koko had remained unused.

    He also made a case for the actualisation of a planned gas industrial park (gas city) that is valued at $20bn, through a Public-Private Partnership model.

  • Why I travelled to 97 countries during my two term tenure as president – Obasanjo

    Why I travelled to 97 countries during my two term tenure as president – Obasanjo

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday explained why he visited 97 countries during his tenure as a two-term president of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007.

    The former president explained that he decided to reach out to the countries in order to repair the country’s poor image following years of brutal military regimes.

    Obasanjo stated this in a speech on Monday at Oxford University. The former Nigerian leader insisted that the trips, which was widely condemned as a waste of resources brought significant economic benefits to the country.

    “I was elected as President of Nigeria in February of 1999 and was inaugurated as president in May 1999, when Nigeria was a pariah nation.

    “Everywhere people had poor opinion about us. We were scorned at and viewed as a liability in the comity of nations,” he said.

    “The situation demanded that I worked to stave off that perception. As a country under political transformation, I applied myself scrupulously to the task at hand.

    “For the eight years that I served, I reached out to world leaders and continue to do so beyond my presidency. That was termed shuttle diplomacy in governance.

    “I travelled extensively, canvassing global understanding and our mainstreaming into the New World Order – not only for Nigeria, but for the whole of Africa. By the time I finished my two-terms, I had travelled to 97 countries,” he said.

     

  • Ekweremadu: Reviving single-term tenure debate, By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Ekweremadu: Reviving single-term tenure debate, By Ehichioya Ezomon

    By Ehichioya Ezomon

    From true to fiscal federalism; from devolution of power(s) to creation of state police and prisons; from local council autonomy to self-accounting State Assembly; from Nigeria’s “feeding bottle economy” to N50,000 workers’ take-home pay; and from decentralized anti-corruption agencies to abolition of security vote, Dr. Ike Ekweremadu is like a lone voice in the wilderness, propounding issues that have profound effects on today’s mutually-distrustful Nigerian society.

    Whether debating at the plenary, hosting delegations in his legislative office, delivering lecture at an institution, or meeting with constituents at community town hall, the Deputy President of the Senate is perpetually on the political circuit, returning now and again, but from different perspectives, to the issues germane to the polity he’s been tracking and tackling for many years.

    His latest advocacy, which he has visited twice in weeks, is a six-year single term for the President and Governors, and this time, including members of the Legislature, both National and State Houses of Assembly that have no term limit, as per the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    A fresh angle, though, to the propagation is the rotation of the presidency among the six geopolitical zones in the country, which he rationalized in a discourse on “Restructuring and the Nigerian Youth” in Nsukka, Enugu State, last Friday.

    At the 3rd Adada Lecture organized by the Association of Nsukka Professors, Ekweremadu said that besides stopping the problem caused by the quest for a second term in office, the “single presidency tenure of six years that rotates among the six geopolitical regions will promote unity and loyalty to the nation.”

    He said single-tenure has stabilized democratic practice in countries in South America, particularly referencing Mexico, whose Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Garcia Moreno Elizondo, he hosted in Abuja in October.

    On that occasion, Ekweremadu said: “I’m aware that Mexico runs a six-year single term presidency, known as the Sexino. This is something Nigeria will be looking at because what we are doing now has a lot of difficulties.

    “So, we are looking at the possibility of a constitutional reform that can guarantee a single term so that the money we spend in running elections and the problem of chief executives struggling and concentrating to come back, using resources and instruments of state, can be overcome.”

    The single-term advocacy is part of a broader concept of the debate for the restructuring of Nigeria, which has hundreds of components as there are tribes and tongues in the society. Without specifically mentioning “restructuring” then, although he was later (in 2014) to convoke a National Conference in that realm, former President Goodluck Jonathan was to give some fillip to the solicitation in 2011.

    Hitherto, the hypothesis of single term of office only received staccato promotion over the years, but Dr. Jonathan made a big show of the proposal to send an amendment bill to the National Assembly, for its enactment into law, in order to “reduce the costs of elections, make politicians less focused on being re-elected and be more concerned with governance.”

    A statement on his behalf said that, “President Jonathan is concerned about the acrimony, which the issue of re-election, every four years, generates both at the federal and state levels. The nation is still smarting from the unrest, the desperation for power and the overheating of the polity that has attended each general election.”

    Although it said the change would not affect Jonathan’s tenure, and would come into effect from 2015, the motion, nonetheless, went up in smoke, as critics alleged it was a ploy to get his tenure elongated beyond 2015 when his election in 2011 would expire.

    Awaking the ghost of the “Third Term Agenda” reportedly pursued by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to prolong his tenure to 12 years (some said for life), politicians bandied un-evidenced reports of a secret “pact” Jonathan entered into with the hierarchy of the prior ruling Peoples Democratic Party, “for him to rule for one term of four years, ending in 2015.” He denied the said pact.

    Yet, as that presentation for action fell through, sceptics were almost proved right when Jonathan, “in spite of pressures and protestations from the North, stood for re-election in 2015,” and thus “bringing into play another possibility: the North ruling for more than eight years in a row.”

    All these assumptions, calculations, permutations, presumptions and probabilities are the militating problems in Nigeria’s political system that advocates say could be amicably resolved by restructuring, including a single-term tenure that Senator Ekweremadu has placed in the public domain once more.

    It holds water to accuse the Deputy President of the Senate of aiming to elongate his tenure, as the Legislature has no term limit. But by including lawmakers in the list of single-tenured elected officials, he’s saying it was time to give every segment of the Nigerian community equal hearing and participation, which a holistic restructuring of the polity could resolve by devolving more powers to the federating units.

    But will the Ekweremadu kite fly, especially among first term elected officials already eyeing second or more term(s) in power? Well, a better starting point would be to enlist the support and cooperation of members of the National Assembly for his profound proposition.

    * Mr. Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • JUST IN: Buhari extends tenure of Service Chiefs

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday approved the extension of the tenure of the Chief of Defence, Army, Air and Naval Staff.

    This was revealed in a statement signed by Col. Tukur Gusau, the Public Relations Officer to the Hon. Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali.

    Ali was quoted as saying the President took the decision, “having carefully reviewed the on-going military operations across the nation and the efforts of the Chief of Defence staff and the Service chiefs in the counter insurgency operations in the North East coupled with the security situation of the Niger Delta region, has graciously approved the extension of tenure of service of General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, the Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, Chief of Army Staff; Vice Admiral Ibok-EteIkwe Ibas, the Chief of Naval staff and Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar, the Chief of Air staff,” the statement said.

    While citing the constitutional powers to carry out the decision, the statement said, “This extension is pursuant of the powers conferred on the President and Commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by section 218 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and section 09.06 of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions for Service for officers (2012) Revised”.

    The Honourable Minister of Defence Mansur Muhammad Dan-Ali congratulates the Chief of Defence Staff and Service Chiefs for earning the confidence of the President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Force of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the people of Nigeria leading to their extension of service.

  • PDP extends Ahmed Makarfi’s tenure

    PDP extends Ahmed Makarfi’s tenure

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday extended the tenure of its Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee by four months.

    The tenure extension, which is effective from Saturday, TheNewsGuru gathered was one of the resolutions of the party at its non-elective National Convention held in Abuja.

    The caretaker committee was constituted on May 21, 2016, at the party’s National Convention in Port Harcourt, after the dissolution of the Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff-led National Working Committee.

    Its mandate was to organise an elective convention within 90 days, but the tenure was extended by 12 months in another convention in Port Harcourt on Aug. 17, 2016, following leadership crisis that engulfed the party.

    This is the first national gathering of the party members since the Supreme Court judgement that reaffirmed Senator Ahmed Makarfi as the Caretaker Committee Chairman after ousting the former chairman, Ali Sheriff.

    Minority Leader of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who moved the motion for the new extension, said it would enable the committee to organise an elective convention that would produce elected national leaders of the party.
    The motion, which was seconded by a former governor of Jigawa, Sule Lamido, was unanimously adopted by the convention delegates.

    The delegates also ratified the dissolution of the factional executive committees of the party in Anambra, and authorised Mr. Makarfi’s committee to set up a caretaker committee in the state.

    The motion on the Anambra issue was moved by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers, and in adopting it, the delegates mandated the national caretaker committee to organise congresses at all levels in the state as soon as possible.

    Also ratified at the convention was the dissolution of executive committees of the party in Adamawa, Borno, Kebbi, Ogun, Kwara, Osun and Lagos, and fresh congresses were ordered to be in the states within three months.

    The delegates agreed that the crises in the states should be resolved within the period but prior to the congresses.

    The convention also ratified and reaffirmed the election of the party’s executive committees in zones and states where congresses were successfully conducted.

    The motion on this was moved by Prof. Jerry Gana and supported by Emeka Ihedioha, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.