The crisis that is rocking the all progressives congress (APC) is about to take a frightening turn as the party’s bigwigs become polarised over the position of the party’s national chairman held by Adams Oshiomhole.
The genesis of the internal wrangling that beset the party could be traced to the intrepid attempt of some governors and influential members of the party to oust the substantive national chairman of the party.
But in a move that is capable of causing deep division in the party, some influential members of the party, mostly governors, who are loyal to the embattled chairman are also devising plans to thwart the plot to remove Oshiomhole.
The ensuing imbroglio on who to control the party’s structure has engendered a vicious war of supremacy between pro-Oshiomhole camp and his traducers.
In a report by PUNCH, the first test of supremacy by the two sides would be the National Executive Council meeting, which the anti-Oshiomhole forces in the National Working Committee had scheduled for Tuesday next week.
As part of moves to stop Oshiomhole’s removal, governors who were sympathetic to him would this week meet with the President Muhammadu Buhari to prevent next week’s NEC meeting, But the APC National Vice-Chairman (North East), Mustapha Salihu, insisted that the NEC meeting would hold as scheduled.
The crisis in the APC came to a head last week when two courts of equal jurisdiction gave contradictory judgments on Oshiomhole.
Those whose allegiances lies with Oshiomhole and are sympathetic to him are planning to meet with president Buhari and top of the agenda is to convince the president to facilitate the return of of the former labour leader as APC chairman. They include state governors, including, Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano); Babagana Zulum (Borno); Adegboyega Oyetola (Osun), Babajide-Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) and Dapo Abiodun (Ogun).
While Justice Danlami Senchi of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abjua, on Wednesday suspended Oshiomhole as the national chairman of the APC, Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa, sitting at the Federal High Court in Kano, on Thursday, voided his suspension.
The court orders triggered a flurry of actions and counter-actions by the pro-and anti-Oshiomhole forces in the APC last week.
While the NWC members loyal to Oshiomhole appointed a former Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi, as the deputy national chairman; Waziri Bulama as the acting National Secretary and Mr Paul Chukwuma as the national auditor, those opposed to the national chairman fixed the party’s NEC meeting for March 17.
Since Wednesday, armed policemen have been deployed in the party’s secretariat and none of the two sides was allowed access to the building.