The National Executive Council of the the All Progressives Congress will hold an emergency meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 to discuss and ratify the court ruling that suspended the party’s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.

A top member of the APC’s NEC, who spoke with our reporters, on condition he won’t be identified, in Abuja on Saturday, said the first item on the agenda that would be considered at the meeting would be the discussion of Oshiomhole’s fate.

The source said,

The party will like to start on a clean slate and to do so, we need to act in accordance with the law. Oshiomhole has been suspended by court and we will ratify the decision and proceed from there.

Another issue will be to quash the illegal actions taken by the suspended chairman while he was in office. Some of them are the illegal appointment and purported suspension/removal of members of the National Working Committee.

Then, we will face the main business of the day, which is the appointment of an acting national chairman for the party until a proper convention is held to choose a substantive national chairman.

We may also be looking at getting our members to withdraw the cases that should be withdrawn from courts for us to move forward while those requiring determination are allowed to be determined.

While responding to a question on the call by some members from the South-South that the APC’s Acting National Secretary, Chief Victor Giadom, should be appointed as acting national chairman, the source said,

Acceding to this request will be going against our constitution.

Our constitution is clear on this matter. It states that where the chairman is either removed, dies, resigns or the position becomes vacant, the deputy national chairman from his zone takes over.

In our peculiar situation, the former Deputy National Chairman (South), Otunba Niyi Adebayo, is now a minister and has not been replaced. What it then means is that the only deputy available is the one from the North, Senator Lawal Shuaibu.

When reminded that the Oshiomhole NWC had announced ex-Oyo State Governor Ajimobi as Adebayo’s replacement, the source said,

That is the kind of anomaly the NEC meeting is set to address. The NWC has no such powers. National positions in the party are not by appointment. When there are vacancies, they are filled through elections during conventions.

Our correspondents also gathered that Oshiomhole’s supporters and opponents in the NEC had been busy mobilising to attend what a source described “an all-important meeting”.

Flavision learnt that the anti-Oshiomhole mobilisation group were being spearheaded by ministers and governors who were against his continued stay in office while under suspension.

Those who are in favour of Oshiomhole staying in office were said to be relying on some of the governors, as well as members of the party from the North-West and South-West.

The source said,

Both camps are really mobilising. It may be one of the best meeting that members would attend in recent days. Unfortunately, there are some die-hard supporters and enemies of the suspended chairman who are not members of the NEC.

The deputy spokesperson insisted that Giadom cannot be the acting national chairman.

The All Progressives Congress’ Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, said recently that Chief Victor Giadom lacked the legitimacy to act as the party’s acting National Chairman.

He claimed Giadom resigned from the APC’s National Working Committee to contest as running mate to the party’s 2019 governorship candidate in Rivers State.

Nabena made these statements in Abuja on Saturday, March 14th, 2020.

He said,

I call on members of our party and the public to disregard the so-called zonal caucus meeting held on Thursday at the Edo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.

The meeting was neither convened nor attended by the APC National Vice-Chairman (South-South), Hilliard Eta, and the leader of the party in the South-South, Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege.

Hence, all decisions reached at the purported meeting are a nullity and definitely do not reflect the views and stand of the South-South caucus.

On the purported meeting’s request that the APC National Executive Committee confirms Victor Giadom as acting National Chairman, we cannot be taken for a ride because of the political and 2023 presidential aspirations of his (Giadom’s) sponsor and godfather who is attempting to control the party’s structure.

It should be known that Victor Giadom tendered his resignation letter to the NWC to contest the 2019 election as deputy governorship candidate in Rivers State.

It is strange and an aberration that he still attends meetings of the NWC, occupies the office of Deputy National Secretary and convenes a NEC meeting.

In our politicking, we must not lose sight of due process and the dictates of the party’s constitution.

Edo State State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and other prominent South-South leaders of the party held a consultative meeting in Abuja on Friday, March 13th, 2020, where they subsequently endorsed Giadom to become the party’s National Chairman as a replacement of Oshimohole who was suspended.

Giadom is yet to respond to the allegations against him.

National vice chair disagrees with Nabena over Gaidom’s resignation
However, a member of the APC NWC and Vice Chairman (South-West), Pastor Bankole Oluwajana, refuted the allegation by Nabena that Giadom resigned from the APC.

Oluwajana said Nabena might not know the details, since he wasn’t an NWC member.

He said,

Mr Yekini Nabena actually means no harm. He is not a member of the NWC. He is not privy to some information. Before Gaidom stood for election in 2019, he was given a waiver by the NWC. The (APC) Director of Administration, Alhaji Abdullahi Gashua, duly communicated the waiver to Chief Victor Gaidom. So, he never resigned from the NWC as Nabena claimed.

He added,

The NEC meeting will resolve a lot of issues. It is not whether Oshiomhole should go or not

A minority cannot retain Oshiomhole against the wish of the majority. A minority cannot drive him if the majority wants him to remain in office. The organ, where all these issues can be resolved, is the NEC. All the arguments, court actions, court orders and counter-court orders are very unnecessary.

The essence of democracy is that issues are resolved a democratic process. That is why we have the NEC and some other organs our constitution set up. Anybody, who goes against the meeting of NEC, is simply strangulating democracy.

Who is afraid of NEC meeting? Why the sudden fear of the NEC meeting? The only way the party can survive is that the appropriate meeting should hold and decisions made. Democracy is a game of number. Whatever the decision of the majority is, every member should comply in the interest of the party. The issue is not whether Oshiomhole should stay or go. Chief Victor Gaidom is the acting National Secretary. The previous meetings – NEC and NWC – have called by the national secretary.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.