Oshiomhole To Resume Office Friday, As Federal High Court Upturns Suspension

Barring any last-minute change of strategy, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, will on Friday assume duties after a Federal High Court in Kano State on Thursday set aside the ruling of a Federal Capital Territory FCT High Court which had upheld the suspension of Comrade Oshiomhole from the party.

He is to resume with members of the National Working Committee NWC including three new officers whose appointments were approved on Wednesday. The new party officials are Arch. Waziri Bulama who is the Party’s Acting National Secretary, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, Deputy National Chairman (South) and Mr Paul Chukwuma, National Auditor.

Their resumption, however, would be after another meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Vanguard gathered.

Oshiomhole, who had earlier on Thursday met with President Buhari, had later led a delegation of the National Working Committee NWC on a visit to the Inspector General of Police IGP, Muhammad Adamu.

Although the meeting was behind closed doors, Vanguard gathered that the president had directed Oshiomhole to ensure peace in the party and asked him to liaise with the IGP to guarantee safe party operations.

Kano Court wades in

In Kano, Justice Lewis Alagoa had ordered that the status quo ante bellum be maintained, added that pending the hearing of the motion on notice by the applicant, Aliyu Muhammad Rabiu, that the defendants (the APC, Oshiomhole, IG of Police, INEC and DGSS) should not give effect to the purported resolution of Ward 10, Etsako local government area which suspended Comrade Oshiomhole.

The court also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC “from dealing, communicating or howsoever recognising any person other than the 2nd defendant (Oshiomhole) as the National Chairman of the 1st defendant (APC) for any party business or carrying out any duties bested on the Commission by the Electoral Act.”

Rabiu had through his Counsel, Johnmary Chukwukasi Jideobi had applied to the court seeking an order for parties in the suit to maintain the status quo until the determination of his substantive suit.

NWC member kicks

However, National Vice Chairman, Northeast zone of the party, Comrade Mustapha Salihu faulted the court order, saying the party would obey Wednesday’s order of a Federal Capital Territory FCT High Court suspending Oshiomhole.

According to him, a court of coordinates jurisdiction cannot set aside the order of another court.

He said; “First of all, I want to be very brief because we have a case in court and I am a plaintiff so I do not want to be subjudice. But I want to tell you from my knowledge of the law that two courts of coordinate jurisdiction cannot sit on appeal on order or judgement given by each other.

A Federal High Court cannot sit on appeal on the FCT High Court. The only court that has the jurisdiction to seat on appeal is the Court of Appeal in this case and the court order of the FCT High Court was served yesterday.

“Most of you have a copy of the Order and it is an elementary law that first in time prevails, that of Abuja High Court came earlier and we seek for interlocutory injunction and there is affidavit of urgency which seeks to prevent certain kinds of mischief which we prayed that the court should help prevent which they did.

“So, if you look at the main reason why that introductory order was granted I do not think that a Federal High Court of the same jurisdiction will now come and set it aside. We don’t need the knowledge of the law to know that a high court cannot sit on a matter of appeal in another high court. So, I don’t want to say much about the order but I want to say that it is only the Court of Appeal that can vacate this injunction.

“As you can see, we are in the secretariat and we are running the affairs of the party. So, the suspension still prevails until the hearing of the matter or if there is any contrary order from the court of appeal.”

He described as laughable the announcement of some new officers of the party by the National Working Committee NWC.

He said: “That is laughable because that one is what amuses me most and it is very pathetic and disturbing because we saw an announcement that purported that we approved nominations of three officers on the 14th of January, one of this officers which is the deputy national chairman south, even the nomination from his state came to the national vice chairman on the 28 of February almost 40 days after the date of the purported meeting, the meeting we had on the 14th January. I came out of the meeting and I told you guys that the meeting was stopped because they were trying to do illegality on only National Secretary, the matter of the other people was referred to the zone, nobody discussed it.

“But seeing that he (Oshiomhole) has been suspended, he now had to bring out that information. I don’t think it is a civil matter, I think our lawyers are looking at it because it is a criminal matter.

“I am a working committee member and I was not in the meeting, where are the minutes of the meeting? Where was it held? And how do we approve a nomination that is yet to come? We are not running the Banana Republic. This is a party and not a block industry or a motor park. Our lawyers are looking at it and if we find any criminal act, we will prosecute.”

Asked whether the NWC was doing anything to replace Oshiomhole, he said; “It is not the duty of the NWC to source for replacement, instead the NWC looks at the day to day affairs of the party. Any major decision as to this effect would be handled by NEC and if the need is convention will take place.”