By “We ourselves have been embarrassed by the infantile vituperations of a career opportunist who has exploited the platform of the Asiwaju movement to get to where he is today. It is our responsibility to support your quest for justice and discipline within the party.”
These were the words of Governor Ąkinwumi Ambode‘s Special Adviser on Communities and Communication, Kehinde Bamgbetan as he recommended that the embattled National Legal Adviser, Muiz Banire (SAN) be investigated and punished.
Bamgbetan was reacting to the protests by aggrieved party members who were clamouring for the expulsion of Banire who is also a former Commissioner for Transport in the state.
In his statement to the agitators, Kehinde Bamgbetan compared Banire to the ousted Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Timi Frank who was removed for questioning party decisions.
“We have a precedent when Timi Frank was disciplined and his offence was that he went out of the party’s communication system to embarrass the party,” Bamgbetan told the crowd.
“He was suspended and recommended for expulsion. What else can we now say that a National Legal Adviser of the party who ought to know the limitations of the law, who ought to know that just as there is internal party democracy there is also internal party communication system and for him to have gone out of the party system to demoralize our party members, to embarrass the party and to undermine the fortunes of the party at a time when we are in the middle of an election season, there is no greater grievous offence than that,” Bamgbetan said further.
Trouble started when Muiz Banire openly opposed decisions of the party hierarchy in the state to modify names of certain candidates who emerged in the primary election conducted across Lagos. He was accused of anti-party activities amongst several other allegations by the APC protesters.
