The National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed the Party’s National Vice Chairman (South South), Prince Hilliard Etta, to act on behalf of Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, the acting chairman of the party, due to what they called his “unavoidable absence”.
The NWC had endorsed Sen. Ajimobi as the Party’s Acting National Chairman, following the Appeal Court’s ruling affirming the suspension of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as National Chairman and in line with Section 14.2 (iii) of the Party’s Constitution.
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Daily Trust learnt that the newly appointed acting national chairman was not available because he had been hospitalized for undisclosed ailment.
The APC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, in a statement issued on Thursday, said the appointment of Prince Etta to act on his behalf was backed by the Party’s constitution which empowers the NWC to appoint one of its members in acting capacity and stipulates that the acting National chairman must be from the zone of the National Chairman.
The NWC’s decision ignored the APC Deputy National Secretary, Victor Giadom, who had declared himself Acting National Chairman and cancelled the decision of the screening committee of Edo Governorship primary which disqualified Godwin Obaseki and two other aspirants while addressing a news conference at the headquarters of the party in Abuja.
Issa-Onilu also announced the constitution of committees for the Party’s Edo State Governorship Primary Election scheduled for Monday, June 22, 2020 and Election Appeal scheduled for Wednesday June 24, 2020.
The seven-member Primary Election Committee to be chaired by Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State includes Alh. Abdullahi Abass; Hon. Ibrahim Sabo; Hon. Ocho Obioma; Hajiya Amina Lantana Muhammed; Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye; and Sen. Ajibola Bashiru who will serve as Secretary.
The Primary Election Appeal committee to be chaired by Prof. Mustapha Bello, has Hon. Umar Ahmed; Nasiru Ibrahim Junju; Hon. Rasaq Mahmud Bamu; and Dr. Kayode Ajulo as Secretary.
The APC also announced the recognition of Hon. Igo Aguma as Rivers State acting Chairman pending when new congresses will be held to elect party executive members at the ward, local government and state levels in compliance with the court ruling.
The party said the recognition was given following the recent ruling of a High Court which declared Aguma as the Party’s acting chairman in Rivers State.
The statement said 16 members of the NWC attended the meeting held at the Party’s National Secretariat, 13 of whom attended physically, while three others joined the meeting online.