Despite Conflicting Court Orders, APC NEC Holds Tuesday...

Presidency informs govs president will attend Appeal Court to hear suspension suit Monday Court bars meeting without Ajimobi, others

National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) scheduled for Tuesday would hold despite multiple court rulings threatening it, a reliable presidency source told THISDAY last night, saying President Muhammadu Buhari had indicated to the party’s governors that he would attend.

THISDAY had reported on Monday that the Tuesday date for the meeting was authorised by the president, who in response to a written request by the Acting National Secretary, Chief Victor Giadom, had sanctioned the date.

The meeting of the second highest organ of the party had been called on heels of the ruling of an Abuja High Court, confirming the suspension of the National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, by his ward in Edo State.

Although the national chairman got another ruling from the Federal High Court, sitting in Kano restraining the party from giving effect to his suspension, the acting national secretary had insisted that the suspension subsisted.

Oshiomhole had also argued that having appealed the Abuja court ruling and filed a stay of proceedings, he ought to remain the national chairman.

His appeal, THISDAY learnt would be heard on Monday.

However, a couple of rulings had surfaced during the week to compound the crisis in the ruling party.

On Tuesday, the National Vice-Chairman, North-east, Mr. Mustapha Salihu, had obtained an order of an Abuja High Court restraining three officers of the party, the National Legal Adviser, Mr. Babatunde Ogala; the ‘National Secretary,’ Mr. Waziri Bulama; and National Publicity Secretary, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, from obstructing the Tuesday NEC meeting.

The order came on the strength of the statement made last weekend by the trio that the scheduled meeting was unconstitutional and should be ignored by the relevant stakeholders.

Yesterday, the trio returned to court to get their own order from the Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, which ordered that the Tuesday meeting must not go on except a former Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; Secretary of APC, Mr. Waziri Bulama and Acting National Auditor, Mr. Paul Chukwuma, were allowed to attend.

Justice Mohammed Liman, in a ruling in an ex-parte motion, filed by the Lagos State Chairman of the APC, Mr. Tunde Balogun, restrained the APC and its officials from “disturbing, preventing or obstructing Waziri Bulama, Abiola Ajimobi, and Paul Chukwuma from carrying out their duties as acting National Secretary, acting National Deputy Chairman (South) and acting National Auditor of the APC, respectively.”

But in a swift reaction, Giadom said the party was not aware of any court order directing it to allow some persons to be part of the NEC meeting.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, however, has scheduled hearing for Monday in the appeal by Oshiomhole against his suspension.