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There were indications on Sunday that governors and other chieftains of the All Progressives Congress supporting the embattled National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, had stepped up moves to prevent his removal.
The PUNCH gathered that pro-Oshiomhole forces and those opposed to him were locked in a bitter supremacy battle for the control of the party.
It was learnt that the first test of supremacy by the two sides would be the National Executive Council meeting, which the anti-Oshiomhole forces in the National Working Committee had scheduled for Tuesday next week.
The PUNCH learnt that as part of moves to stop Oshiomhole’s removal, governors who were sympathetic to him would this week meet with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to prevent next week’s NEC meeting.
But the APC National Vice-Chairman (North East), Mustapha Salihu, insisted that the NEC meeting would hold as scheduled.
The crisis in the APC came to a head last week when two courts of equal jurisdiction gave contradictory judgments on Oshiomhole.
While Justice Danlami Senchi of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abjua, on Wednesday suspended Oshiomhole as the national chairman of the APC, Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa, sitting at the Federal High Court in Kano, on Thursday, voided his suspension.
The court orders triggered a flurry of actions and counter-actions by the pro-and anti-Oshiomhole forces in the APC last week.
While the NWC members loyal to Oshiomhole appointed a former Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi, as the deputy national chairman; Waziri Bulama as the acting National Secretary and Mr Paul Chukwuma as the national auditor, those opposed to the national chairman fixed the party’s NEC meeting for March 17.
Since Wednesday, armed policemen have been deployed in the party’s secretariat and none of the two sides was allowed access to the building.
Pro-Oshiomhole govs meet Buhari this week
One of our correspondents on Sunday learnt that state governors, including, Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano); Babagana Zulum (Borno); Adegboyega Oyetola (Osun), Babajide-Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) and Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), would meet the President this week to ensure the return of Oshiomhole as the APC chairman.
A top member of the party’s NEC, who is sympathetic to Oshiomhole, confided in The PUNCH on Sunday that the governors would meet Buhari this week.
Recall that shortly after Thursday’s court order, the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Chairman, Progressives Governors Forum, Mr Atiku Bagudu; and the Governor of Jigawa State, Muhammad Badaru, met with the President.
On Sunday, the APC NEC member, who confided in The PUNCH, said, “Governors Ganduje, Zulum, Oyetola, Sanwo-Olu and Abiodun are scheduled to meet with the President this week to brief him on all the issues.
“Our constitution is clear. Party members have to exhaust our internal conflict resolution mechanism before going to court. This was not the case with those who took our party and chairman to court. The constitution is clear about what should happen to such persons.
“The President respects the constitution. Our President, as the leader of the party, will have to intervene in because some of us see him as the rope holding our party’s broom together.”
Read Full Story: [Punch]