President Buhari says plot to elongate APC chairman's tenure illegal

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has said the proposal to elongate the tenure of the ruling party National and state executive violates the constitutions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as the country's constitution.
Buhari who spoke at the National Executive Committee meeting of the party in Abuja noted that the proper thing to do is for the party to put in place process to conduct congress where the new executive will emerge at the expiry of the tenure of the current executive.
According to the president, he has taken some time to review and seek advise on the previous resolution at the party last NEC meeting, seeking to extend the tenure of the national working committee of the party.
"What I found is that it contravenes both our party Constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria," the president told the NEC meeting in Abuja.
Buhari was optimistic that the meeting would provide an avenue to resolve the outstanding issues and consolidate plans towards making APC stronger.
Many top leaders if the ruling party were absent at the NEC meeting, indicating the sharp division within the party over the proposal to elongate the tenure of theh pthe executive.
The president position is expected to douse tension in the party and bring some level of sanity into the affairs of the ruling party.
President Buhari said In the present circumstance, he expected the party to conduct fresh elections once the tenure of the current executives approaches its end.
He also forecloses the constitution of a caretaker committee, such contraption cannot remedy "this situation, and cannot validly act in place of elected officers."
He warned the party leaders against deviating against the provision of the party constitutions which guaranty tenure for its executive, saying the party might be endangering its fortunes.
"If the tenure of our party executives can be legally faulted, then it means that any nominations and primary elections that they may conduct, can also be faulted," he said.