CUPP Drags Buhari to Court over Continued Stay of Aides in Office

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari and aides, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and his Chief of Staff, to a Federal High Court in Abuja.

The court action was instituted against Buhari and his aides over what the opposition coalition described as

continued illegal stay in office of aides of the President without reappointment letters after the expiration of the president's first tenure.

In the suit no FHC/ABJ/CS/762/2019 filed on behalf of CUPP by Ikenga Ugochinyere, who doubles as the spokesperson of the coalition and National Chairman of Action Peoples Party (APP), the group is seeking order for prosecution of these officers for carrying out functions of government without declaring their assets.

The coalition in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Ugochinyere, stated that the continued stay in office of the president's aides is an act of illegality and desecration of sanctity of constitutional governance.

According to the statement, "Section 151 (3) of the 1999 Constitution as amended clearly provides: Any appointment made pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be at the pleasure of the president and shall cease when the President cease to hold office."

"The president's first term office expired in the midnight of May 28 2019 and because he was declared winner of the presidential election, he was sworn in again as president with fresh oath of office and a new mandate. Hence, all political appointments except statutory ones made ceased to exist at the expiration of the constitutional mandate of four years and needs renewal if the president wants such officers in their former positions again.

"The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha is still in that office. Sen. Ita Enang is still parading as Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Mr. Abba Kyari is still parading as the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina is still appearing in TV programmes as Special Adviser to the President on Media likewise Mr. Garba Shehu who is parading as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity. "These, among other officials of the Presidency are still illegally occupying their former offices without any lawful authority as the president has not made any announcement to the nation that he has appointed or reappointed officers into those positions," the statement said.

While accusing the APC government of impunity, the CUPP said President Buhari’s inability to appoint personal/presidential aides or any other appointments over one month after taking the oath of office is a sign he is still not yet ready to govern and lacks understanding of the urgency needed to fix Nigeria.

The opposition parties called on all former aides of President Buhari from the first term to stay away from their former offices until and unless they are armed with fresh appointment letters or risk criminal prosecution and trial for violation of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) Act.

"We also call on President Buhari to stop Boss Mustapha, Femi Adesina, Garba Shehu, Abba Kayri, Ita Enang and all other illegal occupants of public office in his administration who he has not reappointed from parading as officers of state until they have new letters of appointment. That is the provision of the Constitution," the statement added.