Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, Abuja
The plot to sack the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, was perfected by his kinsmen from the South South at a caucus meeting in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Thursday, March 12.
At the meeting convened by Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, who hosted a meeting of APC South South leaders, the caucus resolved to attend the Tuesday, March 17 Nationa Executive Council (NEC) meeting called by the APC acting National Secretary, Victor Giadom.
The region’s leaders also resolved that it is time for Oshiomhole to go; so as to end the spate of crises in the ruling APC. At the meeting, four motions were tabled and they were unanimously adopted.
Besides, the APC South South leaders decided to move against new entrants into the party’s National Working Committee (NWC)-Senator Abiola Ajimobi (deputy national chairman (South), Waziri Bulama (acting National Secretary) and Paul Chukwuma as the national auditor. They described their appointments as illegal.
The move by the South South leaders, Saturday Sun gathered, is to checkmate moves by an APC leader to foist Ajimobi on the party; in the event that ongoing legal manouvres do not succeed.
The initial plot, as gathered, was that, in the event that Oshiomhole gets the boot at the Tuesday NEC meeting, Ajimobi would be tipped as his replacement; as the most senior party officer from the South. Ajimobi is a reliable ally of the APC leader, whose tentacles spread across the country.
That was the plot that was allegedly countered by the South South leaders at the Thursday meeting in Abuja. Before the meeting, APC South South Vice Chairman, Hilliard Eta, distanced the leaders of the party in the zone from the meeting convened by Obaseki.
Eta described the meeting as “illegal.” But, a source who was at the meeting on Thursday, dismissed Eta’s opposition to the Obaseki meeting. Eta had initially issued a statement wherein he dismissed the meeting and urged party members not to attend, arguing that the governor was not statutorily empowered to call such a meeting.
The source countered: “Who is Eta to tell us South South leaders which meeting to attend or which one not to attend? Anyway, the Edo governor invited us to a meeting and so, do you now expect me to call Eta or tell Oshiomhole that I’m going for a meeting?”
He added that, at the meeting, which discussed the latest development in the APC and the way forward, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN, tabled four motions to wit: “The South South caucus in the party should support the meeting called by Giadom on Tuesday, March 17; the caucus and any extension, the party should ensure that the position of national chairman is retained in the South South; the most senior party official should be allowed to act as national chairman (Giadom) and, most importantly, the South South should not boycott Tuesday’s meeting.”
Former Edo governor, Prof. Oserhiemen Osunbor, also spoke in support of the motion; it was gathered. Another source said the move by the South South leaders was to checkmate moves to foist Ajimobi on the party as they were appointed after a court had suspended Oshiomhole as national chairman.
He added, “The party took judicious note of the fact that the trio’s appointments were not only illegal, they were even backdated. The truth of the matter is that such powers reside in the party’s NEC. Seeing that the party is pressing ahead with the meeting on Tuesday, they secured a court order that the trio must be present at the NEC meeting. It will be stoutly resisted. They are products of illegality and that cannot stand.
“That was why South South leaders of the party met and resolved to support the most senior member of the party from the zone right now. Besides, Oshiomhole’s NWC had no powers to appoint Ajimobi, Bulama and Chukwuma. They know such appointments are usually ratified by the party’s NEC. Their appointments are illegal and that’s that.”
Yet another source at the meeting said South South leaders decided to attend the Obaseki meeting “because the national chairman was expected to strengthen the party but, by his acts, he’s doing otherwise. His actions could jeopardise the South South’s chances. We don’t want this position to slip from us. It’s best we put our house in order than allow another zone to take it from us.”
Ministers of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Health, Ehanire, as well as Keyamo among others were at the meeting. Regardless, last week, Governors Babagana Zulum (Borno), Hope Uzodinma (Imo) and Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State, are now leading about eight of their colleagues to rally support for Oshiomhole. Others are the governors of Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun and Yobe states.
On his part, Oshiomhole took the fight to retain his seat to the court. On Thursday, March 5, a Federal High Court in Kano State upturned an earlier decision of a coordinate court in Abuja, which suspended him and denied him access to the party’s national secretariat.
A day before, the Abuja High Court suspended Oshiomhole, following an application filed by Oluwale Afolabi in January before Justice Danlami Senchi.
Afolabi’s interlocutory injunction application challenged Oshimhole’s continued right to parade himself as the party’s national chairman after his initial suspension by his primary ward in Edo State.
The national chairman’s suspension came amidst a power tussle between him and Obaseki, whom he helped install as his successor as Edo state governor in 2016.