The Punch Newspaper has said that the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is obsessed with plot to oust the National Legal Adviser of the party, Dr Muiz Banire, SAN for speaking the truth.
The leading newspaper in its last Saturday edition, Eavesdropper Column writes, ‘ And we also know about his obsession to remove his party’s national legal adviser at all cost for speaking the truth.
“Anyway, Oga Lion or Jaga or Ban, it appears that this is the day of your so-called naysayers, we have won today’.
It will be recalled that in the build up to the July, 22 Local Government elections in Lagos, Banire had insisted that the state Chapter of the party must comply with the Article 20 of the APC Constitution that stipulates mandatory primaries for aspirants into all elective offices.
The party orchestrated botched centralized primaries on May 27 that ended in fiasco when Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi who chaired the APC electoral committee attempted to impose preferred candidates.
Banire’s gut ostensibly irked the party leadership in Lagos APC who has allegedly been sponsoring media attacks, protests and failed attempts to oust him out of office as National legal adviser of the APC.
On 18th July, hundreds of alleged hired protesters were mobilized to protest against Banire at the party’s secretariat on ACME road, Ikeja and terminated their protest at the Governor’s office, Alausa where they delivered a letter calling for the sanction and removal of the national legal adviser.
The Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Habib Haruna wrote and circulated press release on the protest, an action that suggested that the protest could have had the backing of the state government.
On July 27, it was reported that Mushin APC has suspended Banire over alleged anti-party activities. Meanwhile, the APC chairman in Mushin, Aremo Michael Ikufisile dismissed the purported suspension stressing that the fellows are announced the suspension were not elected party executives in Mushin.
The National Working Committee of the APC quashed the purported suspension describing it as illegal. The party maintained that a local chapter of the APC cannot suspend substantive national officer of the party.
Shortly after, deputy speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Wasiu Eshinlokun dragged Banire to court for alleged forgery and anti-party activities. When reached for comments on the suit, unperturbed Banire described Eshinlokun as inconsequential adding that he was expecting the service of the court process.
Apparently hell bent in their plot to oust Banire out of office, last Monday 14th August, the Ward C of the APC in Mushin Local Government Area set up the committee to look into allegations of anti-party activities and misappropriation of campaign materials and logistics leveled against Banire.
