A National Executive Council meeting of the All Progressives Congress cannot hold except the trio of Waziri Bulama, Abiola Ajimobi, and Paul Chukwuma are in attendance, a judge of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court ruled Thursday.
Mohammed Liman, delivering a ruling on an ex parte application, restrained the APC and its officials from “disturbing, preventing or obstructing” Messrs Bulama, Ajimobi, and Chukwuma “from carrying out their duties as acting National Secretary, acting National Deputy Chairman (South) and acting National Auditor of the APC, respectively.”
The application was filed by Tunde Balogun, the Lagos State chairman of the APC.
The ruling party has been engulfed in crisis after a court ruling ordered the suspension of Adams Oshiomhole as the national chairman of the party pending the determination of suits filed against him. The court gave the order following an application by a member of the party that Mr Oshiomhole had been suspended by the APC in his home state of Edo.
Mr Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, is appealing the suspension as well as the attendant decision to deny him access to the party’s national secretariat.
Last week, the assistant national secretary of the party, Victor Gaidom, circulated a statement announcing a NEC meeting on March 17.
But a counter-statement issued by some top officials of the APC enjoined party members to ignore Mr Gaidom saying his action fell outside the party’s constitution and jurisdiction. The statement was jointly signed by Lanre Issa-Onilu, the party spokesperson; Babatunde Ogala, the national legal adviser; and Mr Bulama.
Mr Gaidom, however, continued to insist he is the next in line in the party hierarchy following Mr Oshiomhole’s suspension and the absence of a substantive national secretary. The party’s former national secretary is now the governor of Yobe State.
On Wednesday, a high court in Abuja restrained party members – specifically Messrs Issa-Onilu, Ogala, and Bulama – from disrupting next Tuesday’s NEC meeting.
The application was filed by Mustapha Salihu, the North-East zonal vice-chairman of the APC.
A counter-application
In his application, which is designed to effectively counter the Abuja court ruling, the Lagos State APC chairman prayed the court to compel the party to recognise Mr Bulama as the acting National Secretary, Mr Ajimobi as the acting National Deputy Chairman (South), and Mr Chukwuma as the acting National Auditor of the party. He said the trio were nominated by their geo-political zones after the offices became vacant and were zoned to the North-East, South-West, and South-East respectively.
According to Mr Balogun, the nomination of Mr Bulama was ratified at the meeting of the APC National Working Committee held on January 14, 2020, while those of Messrs Ajimobi and Chukwuma were ratified at the NWC meeting of March 4, 2020.
“By virtue of the ratification stated above, the nominees have become members of the National Executive Council and are entitled by the constitution of the defendant (APC) to work and operate in acting capacities in their respective offices pending their swearing-in at the National Convention of the party,” he said.
“In spite of the foregoing, the defendant (APC), acting through its officials and officers, particularly, the Deputy National Secretary, has not allowed the nominees to perform their duties as members of the National Executive Council.”
He argued that the party’s NEC could not effectively operate unless Messrs Bulama, Ajimobi, and Chukwuma were allowed to perform their duties and prayed the court to compel the APC to recognise them.
After listening to the applicant’s lawyer, Justice Liman granted the prayers and adjourned till March 25, 2020, for further hearing.
