•We haven’t passed vote of confidence on Oshiomhole, says spokesman of APC state chairmen forum
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The plans by the emabattled National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole to stop the proposed emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for next week Tuesday may not succeed as preparation for the meeting is already in top gear.
The Ag. National Secretary of the party, Chief Victor Giadom, had last week in a statement announced the emergency NEC meeting.
But another statement jointly signed by the National Legal Adviser, Mr. Babatunde Ogala, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu and the National Secretary, Arc. Waziri Bulama, described the purported NEC meeting as illegal and a product of mischief.
However, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC met Tuesday as part of preparation for the March 17 Emergency National Executive Committee meeting.
The meeting which lasted for about three hours at the party Secretariat before it was moved to another undisclosed venue had in attendance 8 members of the NWC and some party chieftains.
Those in attendance at the meeting included, Giadom, the National Vice Chairman, North-east, Salihu Mustapha, National Vice Chairman, South West, Pastor Bankole Oluwajana and the National Organising Secretary, Emma Ibediro, National Youth Leader, Abubakar Sadiq, National Woman Leader, Hajiya Salamatu Beiwa and the party’s acting national auditor.
Others at the meeting were some party chieftains who are not members of the NWC. They included, the APC Edo State Chairman, Mr. Anslem Ojeshua and three others.
Speaking with THISDAY in a telephone interview, Mustapha said that invitation had been sent out in preparation for the emergency NEC meeting, adding that it would hold as scheduled.
According to him, “We have sent out invitations, virtually all the people around Abuja have got their invitation and the ones that are going to States have been sent to States and they will receive it between today and tomorrow. The NEC meeting is holding.”
Our correspondent observed that renovations, electrical fittings and repair works were being carried out at the NEC hall, the venue of the proposed NEC meeting.
Meanwhile, the Forum of APC States chairmen has said that it did not pass vote of confidence on Oshiomhole.
The Forum Chairman, Ali Bukar Dalori and the Secretary, Dr. Ben Nwoye had on Monday, signed a statement, passing a vote of confidence on the suspended National Chairman.
But in a statement issued Tuesday by the National Publicity Secretary of the Forum, Mr. Lawal Liman dissociated the Forum from the “fraudulent” vote of confidence on Oshiomhole.
He stated: “The Forum has not met but would meet before the NEC meeting, scheduled for next week, Tuesday, 17th March, 2020. l want to confirm to my colleagues that there was no meeting held and there was no statement issued to pass a Vote of Confidence on the National Chairman”.
“As soon as some Chairmen saw the statement, they have been calling him to find out the veracity of the statement. I have told them that no such thing happened and that they should disregard the statement,”
“We had agreed, in the past, that nobody should issue a statement, in the name of the Forum.”
He noted the forum would not in any way bring its name to disrepute by doing what would take away its credibility.
