APC At The Crossroads As Court Declares Giadom Acting Chair

TRACKING___The leadership tussle within the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) assumed a deeper crisis dimension yesterday as a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) renewed the order empowering deputy national secretary of the party, Chief Victor Giadom, to act as the national chairman of APC for two weeks. The court headed by Justice S.U Bature granted the order following an exparte application brought by Giadom’s counsel, Wole Afolabi, asking the court to extend the lifespan of the order it made on March 16, 2020. The court also ordered that Comrade Mustapha Salihu, the APC national vice chairman (North East), should act as national secretary of the party.

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC had on Tuesday night picked its deputy national chairman (South) and former Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, as acting national chairman of the party. But a few hours after the Court of Appeal affirmed Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s suspension as national chairman of the party that same Tuesday, Giadom declared himself as acting APC national chairman. He argued that as the party’s deputy national secretary, he was the highest ranking official following the ruling of the appellate court which upheld Oshiomhole’s suspension and declared all his actions within the period of his suspension null and void.

But in a counter declaration, the party’s NWC announced that Ajimobi remained the acting national chairman after a meeting where 15 members of the NWC rejected Giadom on the ground that he had since resigned his position to contest for the deputy governorship of his state in 2019. The Ajimobi-led NWC further mandated the national vice chairman (South South), Ntufam Hilliard Eta to stand in for the former Oyo governor who is currently receiving treatment in a hospital, just as it announced the setting up of committees for the party’s Edo State governorship primary election scheduled for next Monday, June 22. But yesterday’s court order staged an upset for the Ajimobi-led NWC by extending the lifespan of its March 16, 2020 ruling mandating Giadom to act as APC national chairman following Oshiomhole’s suspension.

Before the court order yesterday, the Ajimobiled NWC had earlier in the day inaugurated an election committee and appeals committee for the forthcoming Edo State gubernatorial primaries, thus consolidating on its hold on the leadership of the party. The interim order followed the exparte application filed by Mustapha Salihu in which he named Babatunde Ogala, Lanre Issa-Onilu, Waziri Bulama and the APC as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants in the Suit No. FCT/ HC/M/6447/2020. Justice Bature said he granted the extension upon listening to Wole Afolabi, lawyer to the plaintiff asking the court to extend the lifespan of the order he made on March 16, 2020.

Afolabi asked the court to make an order allowing Giadom the present acting national secretary to pilot the affairs of the APC as acting national chairman and to preside at all meetings of the NEC fixed for March 17, 2020 and other subsequent adjourned dates pending the determination of the substantive suit. The lawyer also asked the court to restrain the APC and its officers from preventing Giadom from functioning as the acting national chairman. “Consequently and in line with Rule No.5 of the COVID-19 Practice Direction of the FCT High Court, 2020, the order of the court made on the 16th March, 2020 is hereby extended for a period of two weeks. Application is hereby granted as prayed,” the judge declared. LEADERSHIP recalls that FCT High Court in Jabi had on March 4, 2020 ordered the suspension of the national chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, pending the determination of a substantive suit. Judge Danlami Senchi gave the order following an application for interlocutory injunction asking the court to suspend Oshiomhole, having been suspended as a member of the APC by the party in Edo State.

Ajimobi-led NWC Consolidates, Inaugurates Primary Election, Appeal Committees
As part of moves to consolidate on the party’s leadership, the Ajimobi-led National Working Committee (NWC) yesterday inaugurated an election committee and appeals committee for the forthcoming Edo State gubernatorial primaries. Performing the ceremony on behalf of Ajimobi at the APC national secretariat in Abuja, the national vice chairman (South-south), Ntufam Hilliard Etta, urged the committees to ensure a credible exercise. He said, “This party has commenced the process of the Edo primaries with the inauguration of Screening Committee and the Appeal Committee of that screening. So we are almost at the culmination of that process. “It is with deep humility that I want to announce to Nigerians that those we have selected to do this onerous and herculean job for the party were carefully selected, some of the finest and best amongst us.

“Their job is very simple, to carry out the process selecting the flag bearer of the party in Edo State and we know that after that exercise, there may be concerns, disagreements that is why we have constituted members of the APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee. “Having done the most important part of this ceremony, let me at this juncture inaugurate these two Committees with the powers that have been conferred on me by the very generous members of the National Working Committee (NWC) who chose His Excellency Senator Ajimobi on whose behalf, I perform this function”.

Crisis, Handiwork Of Our Enemies – Uzodimma
On his part, Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, who is chairman of the election committee, expressed optimism that the party will prevail over its current challenges for which he blamed on the party’s “enemies.” Said, “I want to thank almighty God even when I know that this is coming at a time that our party is greatly challenged by some handiwork of our enemies and those who think the party has grown into national envy. “I want to assure the leadership of the party and indeed the entire membership in the country that we will go and do justice to this assignment and we will disappoint all reasonable expectations. “I want to remind all of us that APC is the party to beat anywhere in Nigeria. The party is growing from strength to strength on daily basis. The tendency for people to become envious and the process want to create distraction has also become very high but we must rise to the occasion to do just all that will make our party be what the people expect. “Events of the past few days have shown that some people are after us and we must buckle our seat belts. We will face the turbulence but I’m confident that our aircraft will get to the destination. We must field a candidate and our party must be ran by those elected to run the party by us. And by the Grace of God, we will win the election in Edo.”

Progressive Govs’ Forum DG Seeks PMB’s Intervention
Weighing in, director-general of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), Salihu Lukman, yesterday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the party’s crisis by ensuring the urgent convening of a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, and subsequently a national convention.
He further stated that if the trend was not arrested soon, the party faces imminent collapse with no clear leader in charge. In statement made available to journalists yesterday, Lukman said, “It is very clear we need an organ transplant by way of replacing the members of the current NWC who constitute the problem. “That the All Progressives Congress (APC) is having leadership crisis is no longer news. What is news now is that the party is collapsing with no leader in charge. Following the Appeal Court ruling sustaining the suspension of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as the National Chairman of the party, late on Monday, June 16, 2020, members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party started making disparate claims as to who is the Acting National Chairman.

“It is as if the party doesn’t have a constitution or those who operate the constitution are either ignorant of its provisions or have decided to set aside the constitution and just embark on a free for all fight. Yet, APC is the ruling party in Nigeria. “Is it possible for a ruling party in control of the federal government, with President Muhammadu Buhari who is incontestably the moral leader, not to be able to resolve a matter as important as who preside as the National Chairman of the party?
How can a party so blessed with experienced and very skillful leaders such as Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Ognonnaya Onu, Chief Tony Momoh, etc. be incapable of resolving the problem of leadership vacancy? “With twenty Governors and in control of the National Assembly leadership producing the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, shouldn’t that serve as a source of strength to be able to solve any leadership dispute in the party, no matter how complex?” In the statement titled, “Old Ambition-Virus 2023: Why a meeting of NEC is the solution,” Lukman said the situation APC finds itself is very traumatic for every member.
“By extension, the inability of the party to find solution to the leadership crisis makes it also traumatic for all our leaders including those of them who today serve as the face of the crisis – Comrade Oshiomhole, Chief Eta, Chief Giadom and their accomplices in and out of the NWC. What makes the situation more frustrating is the reticence of President Buhari in the face of what obviously could damage the legacy he will bequeath to the nation. “While, we must celebrate the fact that his leadership style is required to ensure that the party is managed independently and therefore made possible for the exercise of supremacy of the party based on decisions of organs, “old ambitionVirus 2023” may have weakened the capacity of the party to benefit from the commendable leadership approach of President Buhari.

I’ll Beat COVID-19 To Be Back On My Feat – Ajimobi
Meanwhile, the acting national chairman of the APC, Sen Abiola Ajimobi, said last night that he was alive and will soon overcome the coronavirus pandemic to get back on his feet. Ajimobi, fondly called ‘The constituted authority’ was announced acting chairman of the APC on Tuesday by National Working Committee (NWC) after an appellate court affirmed the suspension of the embattled chairman, Adams Oshiomhole. There were rumours yesterday that the former Oyo State governor had passed on, but he came out to dispel the rumour in his twitter handle. “I’m not dead. Stop this rumor mongering Ajimobi is very much alive. The constituted authority is here for a lot more time. I will beat corona and be back on my feet,” he tweeted

A’Court Quashes Order Stoping Edo APC From Holding Gov’ship Primary

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal in Benin, the Edo State capital, yesterday set aside a judgment of the Federal High Court in the same city which restrained the APC from conducting the June 22 governorship primary election in Edo State using direct mode. The appellate court also ordered the continuation of the trial at Federal High Court scheduled for today morning. The presiding judge, Justice Morenike Ogunwomiju, accompanied by Justices Sam Oseji and Moore Adumein, in their judgment on the appeals by APC and its suspended national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, described as problematic, the order by Justice Mohammed Umar of Federal High Court, Benin.

In her lead judgment, Justice Ogunwomiju said, “The trial judge, Justice Umar, gave a problematic order that was not sought by the parties to the suit. As at the date (June 8) the order was given, the political party (APC in Edo State) had 14 days to organise its governorship primary election. Every judge must be a democrat. “The appellant (APC) was not given an opportunity to be heard by the trial court.
The injunctive order of the trial court of June 8 is hereby set aside. The administrative orders subsist and the issue of jurisdiction should be determined by the trial court.” But in his dissenting judgment in the APC’s suit, Justice Adumein declared that the injunctive order of FHC ought not to have been set aside, insisting that the appeal was interlocutory, incompetent and should be struck out. Adumein noted that the trial court did not make any mistake in the matter, in line with Section 285, Sub-section 8 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, adding that court should not decide cases based on sentiments. In the second suit filed by Oshiomhole, the only