Crises caused by parallel state congresses of the All Progressives Congress may stall the party’s national convention scheduled for December.
Aggrieved APC members in Delta, Osun, Akwa Ibom and Ekiti states, in separate interviews with The PUNCH, faulted a plan by the party’s national interim committee to recognise executive councils endorsed by incumbent governors or highest political office holders in non-APC states.
They, therefore, vowed to continue with suits filed against the national interim committees as well as the ward and local government congresses.
Some of the aggrieved members, particularly Ekiti State stakeholders, specifically referred to the Supreme Court judgment on the Ondo State governorship election, which they said declared the Mala Buni-led committee illegal.
The crises in the party worsened on Saturday when opposing groups organised parallel congresses in Ogun, Osun, Kwara, Lagos, Kano, and Akwa Ibom states.
In Ekiti and Delta states, APC chieftains boycotted congresses supervised by the teams sent by the national interim committee.
The PUNCH had on Monday reported that the interim committee planned to recognise congresses attended by incumbent governors in APC states and highest political office holders in non-APC states.
Commenting on the development, aggrieved APC members in Ekiti State said that the legal action that they instituted against conduct of the July 31 ward congresses was suffice for the local government and state congresses as something could not stand on nothing.
The aggrieved members, under the aegis of Ekiti APC Stakeholders Forum had in August, in a suit number FHC/AD/CS/21/2021 filed at the Federal High Court, Ekiti State Division, dragged the state APC to court, calling for outright annulment of the ward congresses, which they, among others, said did not hold and a declaration that the ward congresses were “unconstitutional, illegal, null and void”.
The Secretary to the forum, Femi Adeleye, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said the national caretaker committee was not recognised by law.
Buni’s committee not recognised by law, its activities will be declared illegal – Ekiti group
He, therefore, expressed hope that the court would declare all its activities including ward, local government and state congresses illegal.
Asked whether the stakeholders would go to court to stop the party’s national convention, Adeleye said the suit already filed by the group against the national interim committee was all-encompassing.
He stated, “You cannot build something on nothing. What would bring about state congress would be from ward congress to local government congress and then state congress, nothing was done in the ward, nothing was done in the local, so where did they derive the state?
“That is why we are in court, we went to court to say no ward congress was held. We don’t need to go to court again over the exercise, which was a waste of time, we are already in court and the court is all-encompassing.
“Even the national caretaker is not recognised by law. When the court decides, all they have done will become a nullity.
“The aggrieved party members had already gone to court on the ward congress issue and joined Mai Buni alongside. The people that went to court are those that obtained forms and wanted to contest from their various wards but were not allowed to contest.
“Among others, they are in court that the national caretaker committee based on the Supreme Court pronouncement regarding Ondo State governorship election. They are in court to say that the national caretaker committee being there is illegal since it is not in the APC constitution.
“They are saying that the APC constitution is very clear that you cannot be in executive position and hold party position. As governor of Yobe State, the court says that he cannot be in the party executive. One must go for the other,” he said.
Although there was no parallel congress in the state, Paul Omotoso emerged the chairman at the congress attended by the state Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, but boycotted by party chieftains including a presidential aide, Babafemi Ojudu and Senator Adedayo Adeyeye.
Keyamo-led group heads for appeal court
In Delta State, a group in the APC led by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN, who is also the chairman of the party’s leaders’ council, said it would proceed to the Court of Appeal to challenge the judgment a Federal High Court, Asaba.
The APC Secretary Delta North, Mr Victor Sorokwu, in an interview with The PUNCH, said, “We are planning to appeal the case as the court declared on Thursday last week that it had no jurisdiction to entertain the matter, adding that the case was an internal affair of the party.”
The group had taken the Mala Buni-led caretaker committee to the Federal High Court over the conduct of the party’s congresses in the state.
It said it was not part of what it called the kangaroo congresses organised by a group loyal to the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Omo-Agege, on Saturday.
Sorokwu warned the national interim committee against recognising the congress organized by the Omo-Agege group.
He said, “For us in Delta, the issues surrounding the congresses in Delta are still as they were unaddressed.”
According to him, leaders of the party have agreed on consensus executive councils from ward to the state levels.
He stated, “We would not recognise any other executives other than the consensus executives put together by the leaders and stakeholders. We have already in court against Buni -led caretaker committee after series of petitions.”
Asked if his group would approach court to seek nullification of the Osun state APC congress, Kolapo Alimi, the Legal Adviser of The Osun Progressives, a faction within Osun APC enjoying the backing of Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola, explained that the only case instituted by the group was against the ward congress.
He said the faction had challenged the ward congress in a suit FHC/Os/cs/38/21 pending before an Osogbo Federal High Court, expressing confidence that, if the group secured victory in the matter, its local and state congress would stand.
Alimi said, “We are already in court in respect of our Ward congress. We are not challenging anything relating to the national convention. If we win that case, technically, our local government and state congress will stand.”
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