Things are not rosy for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as the crisis triggered by supremacy struggle between its suspended National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and his erstwhile godson, Governor Godwin Obaseki, has begun to escalate.
The latest coming from Ekiti State where Mr. Micheal Akinleye, Chairman of the party in Ado Ekiti Local Government, reportedly threatened legal action against the appointment of Abiola Ajimobi as Acting National Chairman by the National Working Committee (NWC).
Ajimobi is believed to be unconstitutionally appointed within the period between March 16 when Oshiomhole was suspended by an Abuja High Court and Tuesday June 16 when the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld the suspension thereby declaring all his actions in that period as null and void.
The DEFENDER had reported earlier that a legal document reportedly surfaced from the South West which said Deputy National Chairman position remains vacant and that appointment of Ajimobi is not recognised by law.
The threat was contained in a letter on Wednesday to the National Working Committee (NWC) through his counsel, Tunde Oke.
He called the NWC’s appointment of the former Oyo State Governor as “outright nullity and contempt of court”.
Akinleye reminded the NWC that there is a pending case with suit No. FHC/AD/CS/8/2020 before the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti.
He said the suit prayed against any nomination of anyone to fill the Deputy National Chairman position Ajimobi holds and that the case was ongoing.
Among other reliefs, the suit prayed that the office should be filled in accordance with Article 20 of the All Progressive Congress Constitution 2014 (as amended).
Akinleye’s lawyer noted that until the case is determined, Ajimobi’s appointment as Deputy National Chairman (South), and now as Acting National Chairman of the party is a nullity.
The party chairman said it is on record that “all the processes filed in the suit have been served on all the parties which serves as notice to maintain status quo pending the determination of the suit”.
The letter recalled that, “at the time when the suit was instituted by our Client, Ajimobi’s name had not been purportedly recognised by the National Working Committee of APC”.
However, during the pendency of the Suit when appearance had been entered for all the Defendants, our attention was drawn to several newspaper publications that the National Working Committee of APC has announced Sen. Abiola Ajimobi’s name as the Deputy National Chairman (South).”
APC had stated that his appointment received the support of five of the Six South West states of Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ogun and Lagos and that only Ekiti protested the nomination. To
