Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s backers in the All Progressives Congress on Thursday pressed on with the moves to field the ex-President as the APC’s consensus presidential candidate.
The Fulani group, which on Monday obtained the APC’s N100m presidential nomination and expression of interest forms for Jonathan, said on Thursday that it would submit the forms on Friday.
The group stated this as three presidential appointees on Thursday challenged the directive of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), that all political appointees contesting the 2023 elections should resign.
Also, there were indications on Thursday that the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, would not heed the call for him to resign before the APC primaries scheduled for May 30.
His lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), told The PUNCH that if he was going to resign, he would only do so 30 days before the 2023 elections.
The Minister of information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, disclosed that the President had directed members of his cabinet contesting parties’ primaries to resign on or before Monday.
Before the presidential directive, the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, had tendered his resignation.
But three presidential appointees were at a Federal High court in Abuja to challenge the threat to disqualify them if they failed to resign.
The first plaintiff, Sodique Abubakar claimed to be a political appointee and currently serving as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Republic of Chad.
The second plaintiff, Sodique Lawal Abubakar, claimed to be a Special Assistant in the Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA while the third defendant, Bindir Umar Buba, asserted to be National Coordinator, Social Investment Programme in the Ministry of Humanitarian.
The aspirants are praying the court to stop APC and Independent National Electoral Commission from disqualifying them on the strength of their being political appointees and Section 84 (11) and (12) of the Electoral Act 2022.
2023: Emefiele ‘ll resign on moral grounds, not law, says Ozekhome
Lawyer to the CBN governor, Dr Mike Ozekhome (SAN), in an interview insisted that his client would only resign on moral grounds and not on points of law.
He however said the decision to quit would be left to the President and Emefiele.
Emefiele had through Ozekhome applied for an order of status quo ante bellum to be made against INEC and AGF so that he would not be made to resign from office until 30 days to the 2023 general elections.
The plaintiff in an ex-parte application had also denied being a political appointee but a public servant not caught by section 84 (12) of the new Electoral Act 2022.
But Ozekhome noted that while the choice to resign was left for the Presidency and his client, the CBN governor would only resign on moral grounds and not on points of law.
He said, “Whether he (Emefiele) goes or not is his own decision, he has told me to take up the legal aspect for him, that if he wants to go at all, he is entitled to stay in office 30 days to the general elections.
“But it is now left for him to go even before the case is decided or after. But at least the law would have decided.
“Yes, it (resignation) is left for him but not because of legal requirements. If he wants to go, it will be on moral ground, not because the law says he must go now.