The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday said it spent N179 million on legal fees under the leadership of Governor Mai Mala Buni’s Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).

In a statement seen by Peoples Gazette, the party said Mr Buni at a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday disclosed that the committee inherited about N340 million unpaid legal fees from the Adams Oshiomole led National Working Committee.

Mr Buni added that the inherited legal fee was brought down to N179 million after negotiations.

“Among other achievements in the CECPCs administration of the party, the National Chairman informed the President that the CECPC inherited liability of unpaid legal fees to the tune of N340 million, but successfully negotiated and brought down the fees to N179 million which is now fully paid. 

“Also, with respect to court cases bordering on CECPCs legitimacy and election-related matters, the National Chairman informed the President that the party secured a judgment affirming the legality of the CECPC,” the statement by John James Akpanudoedehe the party’s interim national secretary read.

Mr Buni’s caretaker committee came on board after the party expelled the Adams Oshiomhole led National Working Committee, leading to various lawsuits, with aggrieved party members laying claims to the party’s chairmanship position.

Former Deputy National Secretary of the party, Victor Giadom, had declared himself National Chairman of the party after securing an injunction from an FCT High Court which suspended Mr Oshiomhole from office in March 2020.

In the ensuing melee, a faction of the then-NWC also appointed then-National Vice Chairman, Hillard Eta as Chairman while yet another chieftain, Lawan Shuaibu also laid claim to the party’s top office.

President Muhammadu Buhari briefly sided with Mr Giadom before moving the party to dissolve the NWC and emplace the Buni-led CECPC, amid murmurings and legal challenges by discontented members.

The Eta group subsequently filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja demanding  that the court dissolve the Buni-led  CECPC.

Mr Eta argued that the Mr Buni led committee was an illegal contraption that did not possess constitutional powers to make pronouncements on issues affecting the party.

However, President Buhari in the heat of the party’s crisis urged aggrieved members of the party to discontinue all pending litigations against the party.

He said the dissolution of the Mr Oshiomhole led NWC was one of the ways to resolve the ruling party’s crisis.