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Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The internal crisis in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a legal dimension with a court order restraining the Adams Oshiomole-led leadership of the party from removing Inuwa Abdukari as its first National Vice Chairman, North-West.
The action is a fall out of a suit filed by Abdukari, marked SS/33/2019 brought against the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, Isa Achida and Sambo Danchadi as 1st to 4th respondents, respectively.
Justice M.U. Dogon Daji in an ex parte motion dated August 15, 2019, specifically restrained the APC leadership from taking any action based on what it described as the “vote of no confidence” purportedly passed calling on the leadership of the party to remove Abdulkadir as 1st National Vice Chairman, North-West.
The court insisted that the “status quo be maintained by the defendant/respondents at the time of filing suit No.SS/33/2019.”
Justice Dogon Daji, of the Sokoto State High Court, ordered that “the defendants/ respondents by themselves, their agents or any other person acting on their authority are hereby restrained from interfering with the plaintiff and or the rights and privileges and duties/functions of the plaintiff/applicant as officer (1st National Vice Chairman, North West Zone) of the 1st defendant/respondents pending determination and the hearing of the motion on notice and the substantive suit No.SS/33/2019.
“The Defendants/Respondents by themselves, their agents, servants or any other person acting for or claiming through them are restrained from doing anything or taking any action in furtherance of the purported ‘vote of no confidence’ passed calling on the leadership of the 1st Defendant/Respondent (National Executive Committee and National Executive Committee) to remove the plaintif/applicant from office of the 1st National Vice Chairman, North West of the 1st defendant pending the hearing and determination of the motion on No.SS/M.212/2019 and substantive suit No:SS/33/2019.”
It would be recalled that following the poor handling of the APC primary elections by its leadership prior to the 2019 general elections and its resultant loss of some of its key strongholds, some party stalwarts including Inuwa Abdulkadir, criticized Adams Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of the party as the brain behind the crisis and the losses.
Since then, there has been some subtle move to remove Inuwa Abdulkadir from his position as the 1st National Chairman North-West.
On why he dragged the party to court, Abdulkadir explained that: “There were complaints from the Sokoto State chapter of our party. Complaints, which I was not privy to but as soon as they were brought to my notice, I responded to them as a responsible leader because no matter how frivolous a complaint is, a leader needs to take steps to address them and I did appropriately.
“I urged the party to also take steps to curb the excesses of certain individuals within the state chapter of the party and informed them of my intention to seek legal redress if the party failed to act in accordance with provisions of our constitution. They (party) failed and I was left with no option but to seek legal redress. So, I went to court challenging the procedure they employed to try to take the action they took or were about to take at that time.”
Explaining further on what led to the crisis in the party, the 1st Vice Chairman, North West Zone said: “The chairman’s penchant for arbitrariness is largely responsible for the crisis which led to our losses in states where the party had no reason to lose.
“There were no proper meetings of the National Working Committee. Where there was even a claim of that during the period, what went out to the public as our resolution was at variance with decisions reached at such meetings.”
