You lack power to expel me, APC vice chair tells Adamu

The national vice chairman (North West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Mohammed Lukman has said the party’s national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, lacks the constitutional power to expel him.

Lukman had filed a suit against the APC, Adamu, and the party’s National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore over their failure to convene the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting for a long time and prayed the Federal High Court to compel them to summon NEC meeting where they should present a report of all that had transpired in the party including its finances from 2022 to date.

But the APC Legal Adviser, Ahmad Usman El- Marzuq Esq., on Sunday wrote Adamu requesting him to expel Lukman for taking legal action against the party, insisting it is an internal affair of the party.

Reacting to the request on Monday, the APC vice chairman in a letter addressed to Adamu, and copied President Muhammadu Buhari, APC governors, president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and others, said the NWC lacks the power to expel him, stressing that he would not withdraw his case in court even if he is expelled.

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The letter reads in part, “There is nowhere in the APC constitution where the NWC is given the power to discipline any member of the party. I have already forwarded the memo to my legal team for further legal action.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the suit in question, which is being alleged to constitute anti-party activity, will have to go ahead, especially to correct the erroneous interpretation of the constitution by the national legal adviser to the effect that ‘it is not mandatory to convene a meeting of the National Executive Committee every quarter for the purpose of presenting activities of the party to the members of NEC.

“Nobody, no matter how highly placed in the leadership of the party, should be allowed to destroy the APC by blocking our organs, notably National Advisory Council (NAC), National Caucus, and NEC from holding statutory meetings as required by the party’s constitution.

“While looking forward to robust deliberations at Wednesday’s meeting of NWC, it is my hope that one of the resolutions of the NWC will be to convene a meeting of NEC before May 29, 2023, where all the demands I have made, including reports of activities, a financial report covering income and expenditure of the party, zoning for National Assembly leadership, review of 2023 elections, among others can be considered and appropriate decisions taken.”