Tag Archives: Timi Frank

You may lose public support, Timi Frank warns Saraki

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The deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Timi Frank, on Thursday asked the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to be wary of the party’s leadership.

Mr. Frank said Mr. Saraki could lose support from his strongest backers if he sustained the recent moves to establish close ties with the chairman of the party, John Odigie-Oyegun, and others.

Mr. Saraki should “watch his back in the latest moves so as not to lose the confidence of some Nigerians and party members who believed in him when the likes of Oyegun did not” Mr. Frank said in a statement.

Mr. Frank’s warning came a day after Mr. Saraki visited the national headquarters of the APC for a closed-door discussion with the top officials of the party.

The meeting was aimed at resolving the protracted acrimony within the party, which had lingered for more than a year.

But Mr. Frank said Mr. Odigie-Oyegun designed the meeting as a convenient way out of the crisis he allegedly created.

“It is clear that most of these crises he’s personally responsible for require a new competent hand to heal the wounds before it is too late for the party.

“Instead of inviting Saraki for a romance, why can’t the national chairman call for a National Executive Committee meeting where all the leaders will sit at a round table and tell themselves the truth?” Mr. Frank said.

A spokesman for Mr. Saraki did not immediately respond to PREMIUM TIMES’ request for comments Thursday night.

Mr. Oyegun could not be reached for comments.

Mr. Frank has been locked in bitter confrontation with Mr. Odigie-Oyegun since he was denied the opportunity of assuming the position of acting spokesman for the party following the appointment of Lai Mohammed as a minister.

The party finally named Bolaji Abdullahi, a former Sports Minister, as its spokesman last week.

Timi Frank: I congratulate Abdullahi but he should know I’m still APC spokesman

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Timi Frank, suspended deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says he remains the authentic spokesman of the party until the court says otherwise.

Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister of youth and sports, was elected as the APC spokesman at a mini a mini-convention held at Chelsea Hotel in Abuja.

Abdullahi is replacing Lai Mohammed who was appointed minister of information and culture in 2015.

But in a statement on Thursday, Frank argued that according to the APC constitution, it was only the national convention that could produce a national officer of the party.

“I want to congratulate Bolaji Abdullahi for his nomination but he should  know that this matter is still in court and until the court say otherwise I am still the authentic acting national publicity secretary of APC,” the statement read.

“I will wait patiently for the party leadership to convene a national convention and ratify Bolaji’s nomination as the substantive national publicity Secretary. But until then, I, Timi Frank, remain acting publicity secretary of APC.

“It must be made clear to the plotters of this action that it is only national convention that can produce a national officer according to our party constitution while any other convention like the one north central just held can not do that.

“I will also make it clear that if they go ahead against the court order, that will amount to Contempt of the Court, which I will challenge in the court of law.”

APC deputy publicity secretary rejects party’s new spokesman

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The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Timi Frank, has said that he remains the authentic spokesperson of the party until a Court says otherwise.

 

The North Central Zone of the party had on Thursday nominated a former Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, to replace Lai Mohammed as National Publicity Secretary.

 

Mr. Mohammed is now the Minister of Information.

 

Mr. Frank said in a statement that he was not against Mr. Abdullahi as a person but that “the process to become an authentic spokesman should be followed”.

 

“I want to congratulate Bolaji Abdullahi for his nomination but he should know that this matter is still in court and until the court says otherwise, I am still the authentic acting National Publicity Secretary of APC,” he said.

 

“I will wait patiently for the party leadership to convene a national convention and ratify Bolaji’s nomination as the substantive National Publicity Secretary, but until then Timi Frank remains acting Publicity Secretary of APC.

 

“It must be made clear to the plotters of this action that it is only national convention that can produce a national officer according to our party constitution while any other convention like the one the North central just held cannot do that.

 

“I will also make it clear that if they go ahead against the court order, that will amount to contempt of the Court which I will challenge in the Court of law,” he said.

Any attempt to expel me will break APC – Timi Frank warns Oyegun

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Embattled deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Timi Frank, has warned the party’s national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun against any move to expel him from the party.

 

In a statement personally signed by him yesterday, Frank threatened to sue Oyegun for contempt of court, following a remark by the APC deputy national secretary, Orji Ngofa, on Wednesday that Frank has technically expelled himself.

 

Addressing newsmen after an emergency National Working Committee, NWC, meeting on Wednesday, Ngofa had said Frank expelled himself by dragging the party to court, stressing that his decision was contrary to section 13(5) of the party’s constitution.

 

Reacting to the statement, Frank vowed to sue Oyegun for contempt of court.

 

Challenging the party’s national chairman and the NWC to publish the minutes of the meeting where the decision to suspend him was taken, Frank warned that “any attempt to suspend or expel him from APC will break the party”.

 

He challenged the APC national chairman to convene a National Executive Council, NEC, meeting to determine who will be thrown out of the party.

 

Recall that the Zonal Executive Committee of APC had few weeks ago suspended Frank following the recommendation of a five-man disciplinary committee.

 

The committee was set up by the party`s National Executive Committee, NEC, to investigate the petition against Frank by a member of the party.

Only Buhari’s intervention can save APC – Frank

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The embattled Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has said unless President Muhammadu Buhari intervenes in the crisis of confidence rocking the party, the situation could get worse.

He also repeated his caution that the ruling party rmight stand the risk of being unable to find its feet again and might loose the 2019 presidential election if the situation is not urgently arrested.

Frank who was last Friday slammed with suspension by his party following his persistent outbursts against the leadership style of the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said the party was presently facing serious crisis which would soon blow open if steps are not taken to resolve issues.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, the embattled deputy spokesman said the only way to save the party from looming implosion is for President Buhari to support the move to restructure the leadership of the party to allow those with capacity to mange its affairs to come on board.

“I still maintain that if this crisis is not urgently resolved, our success in 2019 will be endangered. I want to use this opportunity to call on the president to intervene in the crisis as his continued silence will not help the party. The president should step in to arrest the situation.

“The president should do well to ask the national chairman to resign just as one of the national leaders, Bola Tinubu, has demanded. The president can decide to appoint Oyegun as an ambassador where he would use his experience as a former career civil servant to do the job. As for leading the APC, Oyegun is not competent and cannot perform well,” he said.

Frank said the crime he committed against the Oyegun-led leadership was that he has continued to point out errors in the affairs of the party and the fact that it is degenerating into crisis.

“I have prepared a letter to the president on some of the misgivings in the party. The only reason we want to hijack this party as Oyegun alleged is to save it from collapse before 2019. If the party is left in the hands of Oyegun, then we should be ready to say bye-bye to APC in 2019. The same thing that happened to the PDP when Rotimi Amaechi was being persecuted and people didn’t say anything until the crisis escalated and almost consumed the party might happen to APC.

“Whether some people are trying to deny it, I will not and I will continue to speak the truth that there is crisis in the party. The only way we can solve the problem is for us to own up that there is crisis. I still maintain my grounds that the national chairman is not competent and I want to join the national leader of the party, Tinubu, to say that Oyegun should resign, and that he is a problem to the survival of the party,” he said.

On his suspension by the South-south zonal executive of APC, Frank said: “I want to make it very clear that I still remain a loyal member of the APC and that I have not been suspended and that I will continue to speak out against the injustice being perpetrated in the party. I still remain the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC. There is a desperate move by Oyegun to get rid of me so that they can appoint a acting spokesman who will be loyal to them and not the party.

“First of all, I am not a zonal officer of the party but a national officer. I made it known from that day that committee was set up that I was not going to appear before it. I want to say that it is only a committee set up by the NEC of the party that can sanction me.

“I want the party members and Nigerians to disregard anything to that effect. It is mere desperation act by the party chairman. I still remain the acting spokesman until the appropriate organ of the appoints a substantive officer.

“As it is now, I want to say that the attack on me is an attack against the young people in the party. I want say that my struggle is a struggle against suppression of the youths.”

Frank expressed support for the call for the restructuring of the party leadership as canvassed by the Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, adding that APC has to be restructured and those who do not love the country should be made to leave.

He likened his travails to that of the leader of the Youth Wing of the Africa National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, Julius Malama, who has continued to torment President Jacob Zuma-led party since he was suspended in a controversial circumstances.

BREAKING: APC suspends Timi Frank, expulsion to follow

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) says it has formally suspended Timi Frank, deputy national publicity secretary of the party.

Speaking with journalists on Friday, Eta Hilliard, APC vice-chairman (south-south), said the zonal committee had approved the recommendations of the disciplinary committee after an “exhaustive deliberation”.

“I received the report of the disciplinary committee setup to look into the allegations of embarrassing utterances and anti-party activities by Mr Timi Frank, the deputy national publicity secretary of this party,” he said.

“Incidentally, he’s from Bayelsa in the south south zone.

“In furtherance of satisfying the provision of the constitution of the APC, I had to call for this emergency meeting of the zone and after very exhausting deliberation, the zone has arrived at the confirmation of the disciplinary committee’s report that one, Mr Timi Frank be suspended from the party forthwith in line with article 1 (d) and (f), having been accepted by this house, Mr Timi Frank hereby stands suspended by this party.

“Number two, this zonal committee shall recommend to the national executive committee (NEC) for the expulsion of Timi Frank from this party in line with Article 21 D H (2 and 3) of our constitution.”

Citing Article 21 of the party’s constitution, he explained that the party could discipline any erring member at all levels.

“The party shall have power to discipline party members, the power shall be exercise on behalf of the party by the respective executive committee of the party at all levels,” he said.

“This constitution is radically different from the constitutions of parties that have preceded us. A lot of Nigerians assume that all political parties have the same constitution, ours is not the same as operated by the PDP, APGA or any other party out there so you must internalize the content of this constitution.

“I have heard him (Frank) make some assertions but I know they are not in our constitution.”

Frank has openly criticised the leadership style of John Oyegun, the national chairman, and on several occasions called for his resignation.

Timi Frank to be expelled from APC – Disciplinary committee report

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Indications have emerged that the Acting Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Timi Frank, may soon be expelled from the party.

This was the decision of the party’s disciplinary committee set up to investigate misconduct against the acting spokesman.

Frank, in the recent time has continuously criticized the National Leadership of the ruling party, saying APC under its National chairman, John Oyegun is in total mess.

Following a petition against its acting spokesman, the ruling party on October 26, constituted a disciplinary committee led by Solomon Edoja to investigate the allegation against Frank.

Frank, who described the panel as the “handiwork of my national chairman”, said he might not appear before it.

The acting spokesman in his reaction had described the Edoja committee as a “kangaroo panel” which was the handiwork of Oyegun.

The panel in its recommendation signed by all five members of the committee advised that Frank be immediately expelled from the party.

According to the report, “Since the committee is not a father Christmas, it has no choice than to rely on the prima facie evidence tendered upon the petitioner, consequent upon which, the committee hereby recommends as follows.

“That Timi Frank be suspended from the party forthwith in line with article 21D (f).

“That zonal executive committee should recommend to the NEC for the expulsion of Timi Frank from the party in line with article 21 D (h) (ii) and (iii).”