APC panel recommends 10-year suspension of Banire

The disciplinary committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in ward C, Mushin, Lagos state, has recommended a 10-year suspension of Muiz Banire, national legal adviser of the party.

The panel investigated the allegation of anti-party activities levelled against Banire.

On August 14, the panel conducted a hearing on the petition written against Banire by two party members of his ward, Olukayode Tolu and Ayodele Adebayo on behalf of all members of the ward.

Banire, who was invited to the hearing, did not show up, but the committee went ahead with the exercise.

The petitioners had alleged at the hearing that the party chieftain engaged in acts that could undermine the integrity of the party.

They said he took the party to court shortly before the July 22 council election over alleged imposition of the party’s candidate in Odi-Olowo local council development area.

According to them, the action was intended to discredit the party before the election and jeopardise its chances.

They also alleged, among other things, that the party chieftain had not attended the party’s ward meeting for the past two years and had not fulfilled his financial obligation to the party.

The petitioners had prayed the committee to suspend him from the party for 10 years and not to allow him to take any position in the party again.

Wunmi Bewaji, a former member of the house of representatives and counsel to the committee, had said the committee would examine all the allegations and come up with its report shortly after then.

Presenting the report to the party’s ward executive on Wednesday, Bolaji Abbas, chairman of the committee, said the panel had found Banire culpable of allegations against him after careful and thorough examination.

He said the committee had recommended in the report that Banire, who is the party’s national legal adviser, be suspended from the party for between five to 10 years.

“We have done our work, having examined the allegations levelled against him by party members at the ward,” he said.

“In our report, we recommend that he should be suspended from the party between five to 10 years.

“We are forwarding the report to the appropriate quarters for the necessary actions.”

Receiving the report, Bolaji Amusan, ward chairman of the party, said the ward executive would forward the report to the party’s local government executive for the necessary action.

“Yes, we have received the report today, but we will forward it to the party’s executive at the local government who will act on it,” he said.

The ward had, before the hearing of the petition by the panel, earlier announced the suspension of Banire over the same allegations.

The national working committee of the party had, however, nullified the suspension, saying the ward lacked the power to suspend a national officer.

Banire had also described his suspension as laughable, saying it was an orchestrated attempt at stopping him from entrenching internal democracy in the state’s chapter of the party.

He could not be reached on phone as at press time for his reaction to the submitted report and recommendations.