The Abdullahi Ganduje-led national working committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been busy dissolving some elected state executive committees of the party, and this has led to protracted court cases and created factions in some states.
Courts have started giving verdicts in the matters, one of which is in Benue State where a Makurdi High Court has shot down the caretaker committee (CTC) that Ganduje put in place over an elected exco.
States that are under same yoke have started pointing to the Benue example as hope that the courts would save the situation.
Now, the Rivers State chapter of the APC says it has received with gladness the news of the Makurdi High Court decision nullifying the “appointment” of a seven-member Caretaker Committee (CTC) to run the Benue State chapter of the party.
The group said this judgment is completely in sync with the time-tested principle of fair hearing espoused in the party Constitution and that it justifies the August 12, 2024 judgment entered by a PH High Court in favour of elected executives of the APC in Rivers State.
Regrettably, they stated through Darlington Nwauju, this judgment order has been outrightly disobeyed by the NWC of the APC as that of the Justice, Sika Aprioku, in Suit No PHC/3735/CS/2023 and Suit No PHC/3592/CS/2023 expressly voided the inauguration of a seven-member Caretaker Committee for Rivers State APC.
The faction stated: “Without any atom of ambiguity, our party Constitution (as amended March 2022), made replacement of validly elected executives of the party at any level, the sole right of the NEC and even at that, such extreme measures cannot be passed as decrees against other organs of the party (ref. Article 13.3(B)).
“The rather unfortunate posture of arrogance and disrespect for a valid order of court as manifestly displayed by the NWC under Ganduje since November 22, 2023, via a press statement issued by Felix Morka, has left Rivers APC in deeper crises than it had prior to that date. It is akin to replacing malaria sickness with cancer while pushing a false and escapist ‘all is well’ rhetoric to justify a rather non-dignifying stance.
“This NWC under Ganduje has forced down our throats by the singular illegal decision of November 22, 2023, another round of endless litigations despite the genuine efforts made by the elected executives of the party in Rivers State, to draw attention of the NWC to the fact that no paragraph of our party Constitution gives (NWC) powers to dissolve any organ of the party.
“We specifically drew attention to the incontestable fact that the (NWC) violated Article 21 of our Constitution which clearly prescribes steps that should be taken in the event that a cogent need arises for disciplinary measures to be taken against any member of our party!”
Nwauju said ignoring what they call a 21-day moratorium to seek peace and pull the party in Rivers State to the path of unity, the NWC under Ganduje chose not to explore that window of opportunity and has preferred that the party remains disunited.
Thus: “We hope that today’s judgement coming from Benue will serve as an eye opener to the fact that our party cannot be run like a military garrison. This judgement again calls for thorough soul searching for the NWC to refrain from the path of infamy but embrace fairness to all, constitutionality and natural justice.”
They reminded Ganduje that so far, two courts in Nigeria have spoken and that it is left for the NWC under him to respect lawful orders of courts and allow duly elected executives of the party to exercise their constitutional mandates.
For the sake of emphasis, he said, “We invite Nigerians to look at Article 13.3(B) and Articles 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, and do a community reading of these provisions of our party’s byelaw. We dare say that even the NEC of the party which holds inherent powers to dissolve all other organs of the party except the Advisory Council, will according to our Constitution, have to do so ONLY in a compelling situation guided by the steps provided in Article 21 of same Constitution.
He sated further: “Therefore, even to the man on the street, the NWC overreached it’s powers as the Courts in Benue and Rivers have rightly affirmed by completely abandoning the provisions of our Constitution to set-up Caretaker committees in these states. Today, another High Court has pointed Ganduje’s NWC to the path of rule of law and the very important ingredient of fair hearing necessary for democratic decision making.
“Rivers APC lauds today’s Court judgement coming from a Benue State High court, which corroborates and highlights the decision reached by the High Court in Port Harcourt on August 12 2024 revalidating and oxygenating the tenure of the Emeka Beke led Executives and other organs of the party at the local government and ward levels.”
Our prayer, he said, is that the NWC will not respond to the day’s judgment of the Benue State High Court the same way it did the Rivers State judgment. “For instance, Mr Festus Faunter (a lawyer), did not only mislead the public on the facts of the Rivers State APC matter but openly boasted that the NWC would not obey the judgment because according to him “the High Court had no jurisdiction” to entertain the matter.
Declaring what the national secretary said as embarrassing, Nwauju said the same Mr Festus Faunter who sits as Deputy National Secretary of the APC, went further to make a caricature of the party by further declaring that there was an Order of a High Court which dissolved the Rivers State Executives of the party! And the question begging answer is, why should an order of a State High Court have the potency to dissolve party executives but not have same powers in returning such executives to their positions? This is the highpoint of double standards!!
For the purposes of clarity, he went on, “Justice Daketima Kio of the Rivers State High Court had on April 12 2023 in Suit No PHC/925/CS/2023, issued an interim order endorsing the suspension of two officers of our party for seven days. This Order had nothing to do with the entire State, LGA and ward Executives but two officials. This Order was also an interim one that lapses at the expiration of seven days or at most fourteen days. An Appeal was however lodged against the lower court decision but was later withdrawn on August 26 2024 owing to the fact that this interim order was discharged and the substantive suit struck out on the 30th of January 2024 with a cost of Two hundred thousand naira (#200,000.00) awarded against the claimants.
“We wonder how this flies in the face of logic for a SEVEN MONTHS OLD interim order to be RESURRECTED by the NWC to purport to dissolve all the organs of the party in Rivers State? Clearly, this indiscretion emboldened by high-handedness on the part of the NWC under His Excellency Abdullahi Ganduje, exacerbated the crisis in Rivers and Benue States APC.
“We therefore invite all lovers of democracy and the rule of law to call the NWC under Ganduje to order, to save the image and reputation of our great party. Our party cannot and should not be in the habit of repelling and resisting democratic precepts in the running of its own internal affairs.
“By way of advisory and for the umpteenth time, we request that the party retraces its steps by respecting today’s judgment coming from Benue and the judgment entered on August 12 2024, in favour of the elected executives of the party in Rivers State as contained in Suit No. PHC/3735/CS/2023 and Suit No PHC/3592/CS/2023.”