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The National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has said the meeting of the party’s National Caucus on Monday night discussed more serious issues but not about his removal from office.
Odigie-Oyegun, who fielded questions from State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, which was chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, said the meeting discussed the party’s report on true federalism.
He dismissed the insinuation that the members of the National Caucus deliberated on a court case instituted against him by some aggrieved members of the party.
Some members of the APC had dragged the national chairman to court over what they described as “illegal tenure elongation”.
Others alleged that Odigie-Oyegun had been running the accounts of the party without recourse to majority of national officers of the party.
But the party chairman said the issue of his removal from office as being advocated by the aggrieved members had now become history.
He said: “No, the meeting concluded the agenda we started the last time we met, which we did not complete.
“Today, we discussed true federalism, something a lot more serious, a lot more serious.”
Also commenting on the outcome of the meeting, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said it was a routine meeting of the party to set the agenda for the NEC holding on Tuesday.
Dogara said: “All I can tell you is that there is a meeting which is routine and the caucus meeting is determined to set up an agenda of the NEC meeting tomorrow.
“And all I can tell you is that the agenda is well set.
“I believe that it will be the responsibility of NEC to decide and after a decision is taken, some of our faithful members will address the press.
“I don’t think it is in my place to divulge what was discussed.
“Tactically, it is an agenda setting meeting and we have had that meeting but the main meeting will take place tomorrow.”
Asked whether he was worried over the elongation of the tenure of the party chairman, Dogara said: “It is not a question of my being worried because I am just one perhaps of millions of APC members.
“Like I said, certainly it’s going to be an agenda for the consideration of NEC.
“Whatever NEC decides, that will be binding on all of us as faithful members of the party.”
Also, the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, described the meeting as “a good meeting”, adding that members deliberated on a number of issues to do with the party’s constitution.
He said: “We deliberated a number of issues to do with the constitution of the party, which are very important issues here, the constitution, and to prepare for NEC tomorrow.
“It was a good meeting.”
Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State expressed delight with the attendance and comments of members at the meeting.
Masari said: “We discussed so many things – one of them is the proposed amendment of the constitution.
“We are united as a party and we believe the amendment of the constitution would unite us more and we are happy with attendance and comments by members of the caucus.”
The meeting was attended by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; past state governors of APC; members of the National Assembly; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; and other cabinet ministers
Two chieftains of the party: a former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Chief Bisi Akande, as well as Governors Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State and Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State were absent at the meeting.
