By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja
Plateau Elders Advisory Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has appealed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, to review the circumstances surrounding the removal of Hon. Amos Isaac Azi as Chairman of the Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST) and implement President Bola Tinubu’s reappointment of him.
The council cautioned that failure to resolve the controversy could expose the Federal Government to avoidable embarrassment and possible litigation, urging the SGF to address what it described as an anomaly through political intervention.
The appeal was contained in separate letters to the SGF and APC National Chairman, Dr Nentawe Yilwatda, signed by the Council’s Chairman, Amb. Danladi Wuyep, and Secretary, Dr Musa Garba Musa, and made available to newsmen in Lokoja on Tuesday.
According to the elders, Azi, who was reappointed by President Tinubu in August 2025, had already assumed office before another appointment was allegedly made in favour of Mr Aminu Junaidu from Zamfara State, who reportedly arrived at the tribunal’s headquarters with armed men to take over the leadership.
“We were shocked to later learn that after Mr Azi had assumed office, one Mr Aminu Junaidu was appointed and arrived at the IST headquarters with armed men to forcefully take over,” the council stated, adding that Azi’s maturity prevented the situation from degenerating into a crisis”, the letter read.
The Council maintained that Azi’s reappointment followed due process and the provisions of the enabling law, warning that allowing the controversy to escalate into litigation could embarrass the SGF’s office and the Federal Government.
It described Azi as a committed APC sympathiser from the party’s formative years, an admirer of President Tinubu and a patron of the Tinubu Support Organisation in Plateau State, insisting that the circumstances surrounding his removal had generated concern among party supporters.
The elders also recalled that Azi inherited a tribunal engulfed in crises during his first tenure but deployed his experience and expertise to stabilise the institution, earning commendation letters from the Federal Ministry of Finance at different times.
They said the commendations informed the recommendation by the then Minister of Finance for his reappointment by President Tinubu, adding that they had initially celebrated the President’s decision before the subsequent leadership controversy.
In their letter to Yilwatda, the elders urged the APC national chairman to use his office to facilitate the immediate implementation of the President’s approval, warning that the dispute could create an impression of administrative lawlessness and undermine the integrity of the Tinubu-led administration.
They further cautioned that the matter, already in the public domain, could attract wider criticism if allowed to assume a legal dimension, expressing confidence in the national chairman’s commitment to justice, equity and good governance.
The council also requested an audience with the SGF to discuss the matter and pursue a political resolution that would prevent further controversy.
The Plateau Democratic Movement (PDM) had earlier petitioned the Senate President and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), seeking an investigation into alleged abuse of office in the matter.
Similarly, the Make A Difference Initiative (MADI) had petitioned the Senate over what it described as an alleged breach of the Investments and Securities Act 2025 by the SGF, Senator Akume.
