APC's NEC is above President's authority - says Rep member

Honourable Yunusa Abubakar, a member of the House of Representatives, has revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari does not have the authority to overrule the decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC)

During the party's NEC meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, President Buhari said the committee's February decision to extend the tenure of executive members by a year is unconstitutional.

He advised the party to conduct fresh elections according to its constitutional provisions and urged members to contribute to its success.

While speaking on Channels Television on Wednesday, March 28, Hon. Yunusa said the president's statement is not enough to nullify the position of the party's NEC.

He said, "In as much as the NEC is the most constitutional body to make a pronouncement on behalf of the party, Mr President in his own capacity cannot make a categorical statement because NEC is really above Mr President, according to the party's hierarchy and constitution.

"In this context, Mr President is only giving his own personal opinion. You can take it as an advice to the NEC because the National Working Committee (NWC) has already made a pronouncement.

"After that pronouncement, some people felt that something is wrong with that pronouncement and they rushed to the court. So, it is a kind of pre-judicial issue. Nevertheless, Mr President in his own capacity can advise the NEC.

"Probably during the NEC decision, he was not in a better position to have advised that Feb 27 declaration. After that, he must have made some consultation and was fully convinced that the process if it remains as it is, is really wrong from his own perception."

Tinubu reacts to Buhari's position on tenure extension

Even though the committee had made the tenure extension decision in anticipation of the 2019 general elections, there'd been a lot of opposition to it from within the party.

After President Buhari made his position known on Tuesday, the party's National Leader, Bola Tinubu, said his action will save the party from serious legal troubles.

"While it would have been easy to allow the ill-conceived motion of 27 February to stand, President Buhari showed principle and courage by steering the party back to its original and correct path," he said.