APC Crisis Persists as Giadom Prepares for Tuesday NEC Meeting

APC Crisis Persists as Giadom Prepares for Tuesday NEC Meeting

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) persisted yesterday as the Acting National Secretary, Chief Victor Giadom, and six other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) meet at the party headquarters in Abuja to prepare for the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

Giadom had last week fixed the meeting following an Abuja High Court ruling, upholding the suspension of the National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, by his ward in Edo State.

But in another statement jointly signed by the National Legal Adviser, Mr. Babatunde Ogala; National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu; and the ‘National Secretary,’ Mr. Waziri Bulama, the proposed NEC meeting was declared unconstitutional.

Yesterday’s meeting, which lasted for about three hours at the party secretariat in Abuja, before it was moved to another undisclosed venue, had in attendance eight members of the NWC and some party chieftains.

Those in attendance were Giadom; the National Vice-Chairman, North-east, Mr. Salihu Mustapha; National Vice Chairman, South-west, Pastor Bankole Oluwajana; the National Organising Secretary, Mr. Emma Ibediro; National Youth Leader, Mr. 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 include Edo State Chairman, Mr. Anslem Ojezua, and three others.

Speaking with THISDAY in a telephone interview, Mustapha said invitations had been sent out in preparations for the emergency NEC meeting, adding that it would hold as scheduled.

He said: “We have sent out invitations, virtually all the people around Abuja have got their invitations and the ones that are going to the states have been sent to states and they will receive it between today and tomorrow. The NEC meeting is holding.”
THISDAY observed that renovations, electrical fittings and repair works were being carried out at the NEC hall, the venue of the proposed NEC meeting.

Publicity Secretary of State Chairmen Disowns Confidence Vote on Oshiomhole

Meanwhile, Publicity Secretary of the Forum of APC State Chairmen, Mr. Lawal Liman, yesterday refuted the claim that the group had passed a vote of confidence on Oshiomhole.

The forum Chairman, Mr. Ali Bukar Dalori, and the Secretary, Dr. Ben Nwoye, on Monday had signed a statement passing the vote of confidence on the suspended national chairman of the party.

But in a statement yesterday, Liman said the vote of confidence claim was fraudulent.
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 me 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.”

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