…As president Buhari moves to resolve crisis
BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – The leadership crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC), with respect to its National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, has taken a new dimension thereby widening the gulf in the party.
This is as it was gathered that President Muhammadu Buhari, who is obviously worried over the development and the possible backlash it might create has drawn and marshalled out plans to quell the intra-party squabbles. Forefront gathered that President Buhari has quietly constituted a three man committee to wade into the matter with a view to thrashing out all issues generating the crisis within the ruling party.
Similarly, the embattle chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole is also not letting matters lie low as he is believed to have taken necessary steps to retain his position in the face of legal battle confronting him and believed to be engineered by some of the governors on the platform of the APC and a few chieftains of the party that are unable to continue to tolerate what they described as “his overbearing attitude and one that knows it all.”
While the permutations are ongoing, some members of the National Working Committee of the APC on Saturday condemned and rejected the invitation to an Emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) allegedly scheduled to hold on Wednesday, March 17, 2020.
The NEC meeting was allegedly summoned by the Deputy National Secretary of the party, Chief Victor Giadom, who is believed to have acted on the instruction of some governors of the party that are moving against Oshiomhole.
However, in a joint statement by the Acting National Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Waziri Bulama, National Legal Adviser, Mr. Babatunde Ogala, National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, questioned the legality of the proposed NEC without following constitutional process and procedure.
The APC NWC members explained that the Party’s constitution provides laind down rules on how a NEC meeting can be convoked.
According to them; “Article 25 (B) (i) and (ii) states that the NEC shall meet every quarter and or at any time decided by the National Chairman or at the request made in writing by at least two-thirds of the members of the NEC provided that not less than fourteen (14) days notice is given for the meeting to be summoned.
“Without prejudice to Article 25(B)(i) of this Constitution, the National Working Committee may summon an Emergency National Executive Committee meeting at any time, provided that at least seven (7) days notice of the meeting shall be given to all those entitled to attend.”
The NWC members noted that neither the National Chairman nor a resolution of two thirds of the members of the National Executive Committee has directed nor made any request to summon a National Executive Committee meeting of the Party.
They stated further; “The said Victor Giadom, who is Deputy National Secretary of the party, is not vested with any Constitutional Powers to convene any meeting of the National Executive Committee. Neither has he been so directed by the National Chairman.”
The NWC members therefore disassociated themselves from what they described as “illegal and unauthorized Notice” of meeting of the National Executive Committee and accordingly advised the APC NEC members to ignore the said Notice and/or invitation, stressing that it is a product of mischief that should not be given any probative value.
Meanwhile, Forefront can authoritatively said that the rank of the governors of the party is sharply and badly divided into pro and anti-Oshiomhole group which would make it difficult to get the required and needed number that would show the embattle chairman the way out.
While the anti-governors are being careful to be directly identified with the struggle to oust Oshiomhole, the pro-Oshiomhole’s governors are not hiding their support for the National Chairman, who they believe is being hunted because of 2023 ambition and are therefore not prepared to rock the boat of the party on the altar of primordial partisan interest.
The pro-Oshiomhole governors include Abdulahi Ganduje of Kano, Yahaya Bello of Kogi, Zulum of Borno, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Sani-Bello of Niger and those of Lagos, Osun, Yobe and Jigawa while some few are sitting on the fence to see where the pendulum would swing to particularly the final position of President Muhammadu Buhari on the matter.
