APC Leadership Tussles

APC
The leadership tussles in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC has taken an extravagant twist as top executive members laid claim as Acting National Chairman of the party

This happened few hours after the Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s ruling suspending Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as APC national chairman on Tuesday. 

The three acting chairmen are Deputy National Chairman, South, Senator Abiola Ajimobi;  Deputy National Secretary of the party, Chief Victor Giadom, and National Vice Chairman, South-South, Ntufam Hilliard Eta. 

As expected, emergence of the three acting chairmen, who all started by issuing conflicting orders, could hurt the party’s June 22 governorship primaries in Edo as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, reminds parties of 10 days to conduct their primaries in Edo. 

Ajimobi first emerged acting chairman Relying on Section 14(2) (iii) of the APC Constitution 2014 (as amended) the National Working Committee, NWC, had named  Ajimobi as acting national chairman on Tuesday night but it was not until Wednesday morning that a statement credited to him emerged, indicating that he had assumed office by that morning. 

Section 14(2) of the APC Constitution (2014 as amended) stipulates the duties of a Deputy National Chairman of the party, among which is to assist the National Chairman in the discharge of his duties. 

In Section 14(2)(iii), the constitution states that the “Deputy National Chairman shall act as the National Chairman in the absence of the National Chairman from his zone.” 

Giadom declares self acting chair, voids Obaseki’s disqualification Barely an hour later, Deputy National Secretary of the party, Chief Victor Giadom, announced a take-over of party affairs, declaring as invalid all processes which led to the disqualification of Governor Godwin Obaseki from the June 22 APC primary election in Edo State. 

Giadom said, consequently, I bring to your notice that on the 16th of March 2020, Hon. Justice S.U. Bature in suit no FCT/HC/M/6447/2020 had ordered that, with the earlier suspension of Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, I, Chief Victor Giadom should act as National Chairman of our great party.

That order could not be immediately effected at that time because of the temporary reprieve Adams Oshiomhole got from the Court of Appeal on the same date. 

However, having removed the temporary reprieve yesterday by the Court of Appeal, considering the fact that we cannot allow for a vacuum, I most humbly inform you that I have assumed office as Acting National Chairman of our great party in compliance with the order of the court. 

I want to assure all party members that the All Progressives Congress will obey court orders/judgements so as to bring sanity to our great party. Time for selective compliance with court orders and judgements is over. 

“Our party, the All Progressives Congress, will no longer allow local quests for the control of power to influence our decisions. 

As your Acting National Chairman and presiding officer in the NWC, we therefore cancel the decision of the Screening and Appeal Committees of the former chairman of the party on the Edo primaries.


With Oshiomhole out of the equation, the party is supposed to now have 20 NWC members, but the Hilliard Eta tendency has now declared Chief Giadom a persona non grata in the NWC. The NWC said it met yesterday morning to take the decision, asking Eta to act on behalf of Senator Ajimobi, who is reportedly indisposed. 

Eta said as the zonal chairman of the party in South-South, he is not aware that the Zonal Executive Committee, ZEC, had at any time met and re-presented Giadom as their candidate for the office of Deputy National Secretary. 

According to him, the NWC also noted that Chief Victor Giadom had resigned to contest as Deputy Governor of the party in the last election and that the party has no recollection that the South-South zone of the party had re-presented him. 

Similarly, there will be no extension of time for political parties that fail to submit the names and other details of the candidates that emerge from their primaries using the dedicated portal created by the Commission.

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