Page 36 It has been gathered that some All Progressives Congress, APC, Governors have started moves to shop for Adams Oshiomhole’s replacement as the National Chairman of the ruling party. This is as there were indications on Wednesday, that they would soon convene a meeting of the party’s National Executive Council, NEC, where Oshiomhole’s successor might emerge.
A high-ranking member of the party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The Governors are considering calling for an emergency National Executive Council meeting, to consider the way forward.
“They are likely to pick an Acting National Chairman, and prepare for a Substantive Chairman. They are considering asking him to honourably resign. President Buhari refused to say anything on the matter, when they ran to him. As things stand, an emergency meeting is on the cards, because until the court order is vacated, Oshiomhole cannot convene any official meeting.”
Commenting on the issue, the Spokesperson for the suspended National Chairman, Simon Ebegbulem, said: “We have filed for a stay of execution, and appealed the order. Comrade Adams Oshiomhole remains the National Chairman.”
Oshiomhole appealed against the order for his suspension, on Wednesday.
He filed four grounds of appeal before the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, praying for an order setting aside the interlocutory injunction issued by Justice Danlami Senchi, of the FCT High Court.
In the notice of appeal filed in his name and that of the APC, the Appellants contended that the Judge “arrived at a wrong conclusion” in his ruling, and it “occasioned a miscarriage of justice”.
The Appellants also argued through his Lawyer, Damian Dodo, SAN, that the Judge in his ruling, prejudged the substantive case, by erroneously delving into the issue of his performance of the duty of his Office as the National Chairman of the party, at the preliminary stage.
They added: “The trial court determined the motion for interlocutory injunction, without recourse to triable issues which ought to have been discerned from pleadings.”
Oshiomhole also said that the court relied on “extraneous construction and speculation, to overrule the Appellants’ contention that the disruption capable of being occasioned by the grant of the interlocutory injunction, outweighed the inconvenience to be suffered by the first to the sixth Respondents”.
