The duo of Mr Kehinde Babatunde and Mr Tayo Williams, Leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Mushin have called on the National Working Committee of the party to consider as a matter of urgency, the removal of Dr Muiz Banire as the National Legal Adviser and subsequently expel him from the party.
A press statement signed by the two prominent party stalwarts, said the urgent call was predicated upon several embarrassing morally deficient situations he had exposed himself to which has largely affected the image of the party and some other anti-party activities which according to them was unbecoming of a principal officer of the party.
Some of the untoward activities listed by the leaders are the court judgement against the party in Odi- Olowo in which the leaders alleged that Banire said he would go to court to contend and speak against the party.
“The build up to the judgement as regards the Local Government Elections in Odi-Olowo was not lost on us. In suit No ID/1838/GCM/2017 before Honourable Justice Okuwobi, Dr Banire as the National Legal Adviser assigned a legal representative for the defence of the party in the suit, and instructed the legal representative to disavow the party”, they said.
According to the leaders, it was evident from his response to the party chairman’s statement against his highly unethical behaviour, wherein he categorically stated that he instructed the legal representative in total disregard of the possibility that his action could cause the party losing the forthcoming elections.
They also noted that, Banire deliberately failed to furnish the Lagos State APC Secretariat and the Odi-Olowo Constituency with details of the matter in court.
“It would have been most reasonable that he requests a legal representative from the state APC to join the legal team. This deliberate dereliction of duty to ensure the party lost the case speaks volumes,” they alleged
They also accused Banire of using his political allies for publications against the party and its leadership in the State.
They mentioned a close ally of and ex-PDP member, “Ayo Adeluola who sponsored a full page advertorial in Punch newspaper referring to the party and our esteemed leaders as 419, amongst other uncomplimentary remarks.”
According to the release, they also accused a member of MEF, Niyi Akinsiju as also sponsoring a full page advertorial in the Punch eulogising Banire while repeating the same uncomplimentary remarks about party leaders in the State, calling them names and disparaging them.
They also alleged that Banire, in an interview published in Sunday Punch referred to the parties hierarchy in Lagos State as thieves, alleging that they sold tickets to candidates among many other issues he raised.
“In the said interview, he also disregarded and referred to a two-time Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi and the Chairman of the state party electoral committee as a nobody” they said
The also accused members of Dr Banire’s Group (MEF) in Mushin, as not only threatening to work against the party in Mushin but had actually defected to Labour Party and picked tickets to contest the forthcoming Local Government elections.
This, according to them clearly showed the motive and intentions of Banire to destroy APC.
They also urged the good people of Mushin and Odi-Olowo to urgently take the issue of recall of Funmi Tejuosho and Layi Olawale (Members representing the 2 constituencies), who are also members of MEF, expeditiously, as both of them had evidently shown in the recent past that they were no longer in support of the party on which platform they became representatives.
“For instance, Hon Lai Olawale had referred to leaders of the party in Mushin as “so called leaders” using unprintable words to describe them in the social media” How then does he lobby the political leaders in government to the advantage of his people?” They wondered.
