Breaking: More Crisis In APC As Another Court Approves New Chairman

An Abuja High Court has granted an interim order allowing the Acting National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Victor Giadom, to act as the party’s national chairman.

Naija News reports that the presiding judge, Justice Samira Bature gave the order following a motion ex parte filed by Mustapha Salihu, the party’s national vice chairman, north-east.

APC’s north-east national vice-chairman had sought an interim order allowing Giadom to act as national chairman and preside over meetings of the party’s national executive committee (NEC) pending the decision of the party’s NEC.

Salihu also sought an order restraining the APC and its officers or anyone from preventing Giadom from functioning as the acting chairman pending the hearing of the motion on notice.

In the ruling on Monday, Justice Bature granted all the prayers sought by the applicant and adjourned the matter to March 20.

Meanwhile, the judgment came after an Appeal court in Abuja restrained the APC from executing the judgement of a federal capital territory high court which ordered the suspension of Adams Oshiomhole as national chairman of the party.

Naija News recalls that Justice Danlami Senchi of the federal capital territory (FCT) high court in Abuja, had on March 4, ordered the suspension of Oshiomhole pending the determination of a suit filed by one Oluwale Afolabi.

In the suit, Afolabi had challenged the continuous stay of Oshiomhole in office despite his suspension by the Edo chapter of the APC.

However, on Monday, March 16, Justice Abubakar Yahaya, the chairman of a three-man panel of judges, ordered a stay of execution pending the hearing of an application filed by Oshiomhole.

In his appeal, Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State in southern Nigeria, asked the court to set aside the suspension order.

At the resumed session, counsel to Oshiomhole, Wole Olanipekun, prayed the court to grant a motion ex parte staying the order of the lower court.

The counsel to Oshiomhole said, “time is of essence; the matter should not be left until tomorrow because between now and tomorrow is like eternity.”

Oshiomhole, a former Labour Union chairman had asked the court to set aside the suspension. Shortly after the court ordered his suspension, Gaidom said he had taken over control of the ruling party.

The National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party initially scheduled for Tuesday was suspended indefinitely after a meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and some APC governors.

On Sunday, the chairman of the party’s reconciliation committee, Bisi Akande, accused members of the APC of relying on the courts rather than the internal mechanism put in place by the party to check disputes.