…..Benue, Rivers factions sue Ganduje over alleged contempt
BY OSINACHI ODINAKA
As the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) gets set for the planned September 12, National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and the non – elective National Convention as directed by its national leader, President Bola Tinubu, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) is currently in the race to secure it at the various states following the tearing crisis that has rocked them
Recall that president Tinubu had in a letter to the NWC of the party last week approved its request for the NEC, where several decisions is said to be taken over the leadership crisis that is bedeviling it
Meanwhile as stakeholders prepare and strategize for the planned meeting, the NWC is currently intervening in the leadership crisis in some states, which has no doubt left it at loggerheads with some prominent stakeholders in the affected states
For example, while there have been court orders protecting certain factions of the party in Benue and Rivers states, the Abdulahi Umar Ganduje led NWC has refused to obey such orders and insisted in the recognition of its preferred factions
In River state, while a Port Harcourt High Court has declared the chairman of the Rotimi Amaechi led faction, Emeka Beke as the authentic chairman of the party, the NWC ignored the order and insisted that it would recognize and continue to deal with the Tony Okocha led faction, which is said to be loyal to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike
Similarly, situation exists in Benue state, where the NWC on Wednesday inaugurated a seven member Caretaker committee, despite a court order against that
Rejecting the NWC action, the senator George Akume led faction of the party in the state, described the purported dissolution of the State Working Committee, SWC, of the party as illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional.
The faction said in a statement on Thursday by the Publicity Secretary Daniel Ihomum, that “We are constrained to react to a purported dissolution of the Benue State Working Committee by the National Working Committee of our great party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday 21 August, 2024.
“Our esteemed members of the APC in Benue State are advised to disregard this purported dissolution because same is illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional as there is a subsisting court order issued by Honourable Justice T.A Igoche of the Benue State High Court, Makurdi, restraining the National Working Committee or any other organ of the All Progressives Congress from removing, changing, replacing, dissolving or terminating the tenure of the Benue State Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) until the expiration of its four-year tenure of office pending the determination of the motion on Notice.
“It is illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional of the National Working Committee to purportedly remove, dissolve or replace a democratically elected State Working Committee whose tenure is subsisting as in this case, more also where there is a valid court order which was duly served on the National Working Committee. It will not stand!
“We urge all our party members and party faithful to disregard the said purported dissolution as neither the NWC nor the NEC is immune from obeying the order of a competent court of law.
“Members of the party are reminded that the Local Government Primary Election scheduled for Saturday, 24th August, will go ahead as planned.”
But in his justification for the caretaker committee, national Chairman of the APC, Abdulahi Ganduje, noted that the party is currently having problems and litigations from the various faction, which he said the National Working Committee will not allow to continue further
He said while inaugurating the committee that, “The party is an institution, you must be united. So in order to solve the problem, we followed our Constitution and therefore the National Working Committee has today dissolved the Executive Committee and at the same time the National Working Committee has approved the constitution of a seven-man Caretaker Committee to run the affairs of the party for the next six months.
“Also, since you are going for local government election, and the party is the only organ that can certify candidature of any contestant, therefore you are saddled with the responsibility of conducting primaries for those who intend to become chairmen and councilors of their local government areas.”
Ganduje, who inaugurated the caretaker committee few hours after he had audience with the chairman of the disbanded State Working Committee, urged the committee to unite and continue to dialogue with major stakeholders so that they will bring all to work together.
The NWC decision was however rejected by Augustine Agada, the sacked chairman of the faction loyal to Akume, who expressed surprise that the NWC inaugurated the new caretaker committee, few hours after meeting them
“I’m here to submit a court order by Hon. Justice Theresa Igoche restraining the National Working Committee (NWC) restraining them or their agents or anybody to terminate the tenure of the All Progressives Congress in Benue State. We were s
elected for four years and we are not pre-empting them but of course in very iota of rumour, because for sometimes there have been some movements by the Governor and his agents to dissolve the State Working Committee which I think it is not fair by all standards.
Recall that the crisis as to my purported removal started as far back as February which immediately the NWC sat and set aside that purported removal or suspension and also gave the caption that Austine Agada remain the bonafide chairman of APC in January 31, 2024.
Thereafter they got a court injunction restraint me as even when NWC squashed without using the internal mechanism of the party. The court in its wisdom led by the Chief Justice of Benue State set aside that suspension. It is still valid in courts. They were angry and approached the Appeal Court so the case is still in Appeal Court so I was surprised when the State Working Committee is being heard that Benue Stae deliberated as to the dissolution. We say no the case is in the court.
This is the first time I am talking to the press or else I have refused to address press on this issue. I don’t know what has become for a people that sacrificed a lot to bring in governor of Benue today for him to be maltreating the party.
Not satisfied with the NWC action, the dissolved state executive members of the party led by Hon. Augustine Agada swiftly dragged the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to court for disobedience of the Court order.
Agada, alongside eight others on Thursday, approached a Benue State High Court to file contempt charges against the Ganduje led National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC.
In a motion on notice no: MHC/1585/M/2024, the Agada led Benue exco prayed the court to compel Ganduje-led NWC to adhere to the decision not to remove them from office until the expiration of their 4 years tenure.
The dissolved Benue exco also prayed the court to issue a punitive measure against the Ganduje-led NWC over the disobedience of the earlier decision of the court.
Agada, in an affidavit deposed to by his counsel, M.T Aiyebo, insisted that the Ganduje-led NWC was duly served the order of the court on Wednesday at about 4pm.
He added that the service of the order restraining the APC under Ganduje was also served at the office of the National Legal Adviser at 4.02pm on Wednesday at the party’s national secretariat.
Agada, in the affidavit, expressed surprise that in the evening of Wednesday, 21st August 2024, at 6pm, Ganduje-led NWC held a meeting where he went ahead to dissolve his executive committee and appointed a caretaker committee against the earlier court order.
“That I saw on several Television stations that same evening about 8pm and several other News media that the Benue state Working Committee of the Respondent on record has been dissolved by the Respondent against whom the leave of this Honourable court is been sought.”
Similarly, a Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has granted an ex parte order restraining the national leadership of the APC, led by Abdullahi Umar-Ganduje and the Secretary Surajudeen Ajibola-Basiru, from proceeding with the planned Rivers State Ward, Local Government and State Congresses scheduled for October 11, 16, and 26, 2024.
The lawsuit, filed by Peter Ohochukwu and Haija Ndidi-Chukwuma on behalf of themselves and all elected executive members of the APC in the state, named the APC, the Inspector General of Police, IGP, the Nigeria Police, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as defendants.
Justice Godwin O. Ollor, in his ruling on the ex parte motion on Thursday, also restrained the defendants, their representatives, officers, or agents from conducting, supervising, holding, monitoring, or otherwise organizing any elections for the Rivers State executive committee.
Justice Ollor emphasized that his ruling was based on the merits of the application and the oral arguments presented by the plaintiffs’ counsel, Collins Dike.
The court also barred the national leadership of the APC from attempting to suspend the state executives led by Emeka Beke.
The judge further restrained the APC’s national chairman, secretary and the party itself from interfering with the activities of the elected APC executives in the state, led by Beke, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction.