Senator Abiola Ajimobi has taken over as the Acting National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as he calls for peace in the party. This move comes after an Appellate court upheld the suspension of Adams Oshiomhole as APC National Chairman.
He promised to summon the National Executive Committee(NEC) meeting to resolve all contending issues in the party.
He sued for peace among stakeholders and members across the various strata of the party.
The acting National Chairman spoke on Tuesday night through his Special Adviser, Communication and Strategy, Bolaji Tunji.
Ajimobi took over the leadership of the party in line with Section 14 subsection 3 of the APC constitution that states: “The Deputy National Chairman shall act as the National Chairman in the absence of the National Chairman from his zone”.
He said a meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC), would be called soon to resolve all contentious issues.
“We should, therefore, let peace continue to reign until we call the NEC meeting and take a position on the way forward,” he said.
Ajimobi took over as the Deputy National Chairman in March 2020 when the NWC wrote a letter to the Southwest to nominate a candidate for the vacant position following the appointment of Otunba Niyi Adebayo as Minister.
His appointment received the support of five of the six South-West states of Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ogun and Lagos with Ekiti protesting.
Ajimobi’s appointment into the NWC was further affirmed by a Federal High Court.
The Appeal Court, suiting in Abuja had on Tuesday, affirmed the suspension of Adams Oshiomhole as the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The three-man panel held that the trial court was right to have made the suspension order based on an ex-parte application brought against him by five members of the party.
Oshiomhole was suspended on March 4, 2020, following an ex-parte application filed by the deputy chairman of the party (North-East), Mustapha Salihu, and five others through their lawyer, Oluwole Afolabi, in January before Justice Danlami Senchi.
In a unanimous judgment, on Tuesday night, in the first appeal delivered by Justice Eunice Onyemanam, the court held that the FCT High Court had territorial jurisdiction to have entertained the suit as it did and ordered Oshiomhole to stop parading himself as the national chairman of the party, until the determination of the substantive suit.
The court also upheld the withdrawal of his rights and privileges as national chairman of the party, including his security details by the police and State Security Service.
The appellate court predicated its decision on the ground that Oshiomole as the first appellant is based in Abuja while the APC also had its national headquarters in Abuja.
In the judgment on the second appeal delivered by Justice Mohammed Lamido, the court disagreed with Oshiomhole that his right to a fair hearing was breached when the trial court suspended him.
Justice Lamido further said that there was no basis for the two appellants to hold that they were denied fair hearing during proceedings at the high court.
The appellate court further held that the suspension of Oshiomhole from ward 10 of Etsako local government of Edo state was ratified at the ward, local government and state levels as required by law.
Besides, the court agreed that identities of those who suspended Oshiomhole were not in doubt because in their unchallenged affidavit, they made it clear that they were party members and officers of the party.
In the final analysis, the court said that the appeal lacked merit and was subsequently dismissed.
In the two dismissed appeals Oshiomhole and APC were the appellants.
Respondents are Comrade Mustapha Saliu, Anselem Ojezua, Alhaji Sank Gomina, Oshawo Stephen, Hon Fani Wabulari, Evangelist Princewil Ejoghargo, Inspector General of Police and State Security Service.