Confusion continues as another court, in Port Harcourt, stops Giadom; and APC insists no vacuum

Discountenancing a move by its Deputy National Secretary, Chief Victor Giadom, to take over the reigns of power, following the Appeal Court’s endorsement of the suspension of National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) insists there is no leadership vacuum in the party.
In a statement on Friday, the ruling party maintains that Senator Abiola Ajimobi, presently indisposed, remains its Acting National Chairman.
In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, a High Court put the brakes on Giadom’s ascendancy to the helm of affairs, after it told him to stop parading himself as a member of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), because he resigned as Deputy National Secretary of the APC to contest as the Deputy Governor of Cross River State in the party’s governorship primaries in 2019.
The game of musical chairs gets more interesting as APC says none of the four defendants named on an Exparte Order allegedly granted in favor of Giadom per MOTION NO: FCT/HC/M/6447/2020 was served with the Originating Processes in the Suit. APC adds that the party became aware of the existence of the Order on June 17, 2020 through its circulation on social media.
Recall that a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja on Thursday granted Chief Victor Giadom the right to act as the National Chairman of the crisis-ridden All Progressives Congress (APC) for two weeks.
In an ex-parte application, Giadom had sought the leave of the court to take over the secretariat of the party in acting capacity and chair meetings of the National Working Committee until the determination of the motion on notice, marked FCT/CV/6447/2020.
In granting the ex-parte application, Justice Samiru Umar Bature empowered Comrade Mustapha Salihu, the APC National Vice Chairman (North East) to act as the National Secretary.
But the APC, through its spokesman, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said, “A cursory look at the said Order will reveal that it was granted on March 16, 2020 to fill a purportedly vacant office of National Chairman ahead of a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting which turned out to have been convened in contravention of the APC Constitution.
“To begin with, Justice Liman of the Federal High Court had on March 13, 2020, in the case of HON. TUNDE BALOGUN V ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (SUIT NO. FHC/L/CS/414/2020 affirmed the appointment of Sen. Abiola Ajimobi as Acting Deputy National Chairman (South) by the APC National Working Committee (NWC) and directed as follows;
“That an Order of Interim Injunction is granted restraining the Defendant either by itself or its servants, agents, privies, assigns, officers or officials or otherwise howsoever from ignoring or refusing to recognize Waziri Bulama as Ag. National Secretary, Senator Abiola Ajimobi as Ag. Deputy National Chairman (South) and Paul Chukwuma as Ag. National Auditor of the Defendant pending the determination of the Motion on Notice for Interlocutory Injunction herein”.
“In furtherance of the above and complying with Article 14.2 (iii) of the APC Constitution, Sen. Ajimobi assumed the position of acting National Chairman on March 13, 2020. Article 14.2 (iii) provides: “The Deputy National Chairman shall act as National Chairman in the absence of the National Chairman from his zone”.
“In essence, there was no vacancy to fill on the said March 16, 2020 as Sen. Ajimobi had already assumed the role of Acting National Chairman.
“More instructively, the said Order by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory was also made after the Court of Appeal had already granted an Interim Stay of Execution of the Order of the High Court suspending the National Chairman. In ADAMS ALIYU OSHIOMHOLE & ANOR V COMRADE MUSTAPHA SALIU & ORS (CA/A/187/2020) the Court of Appeal held thus;
1. An Order of Stay of Execution of the Ruling of the FCT High Court in Suit No: FCT/HC/CV/837/2020 delivered on 4th March, 2020 is granted pending the determination of the Motion on Notice which is now slated for hearing on 20th of March, 2020
2. An Order of Injunction is granted restraining the Respondents themselves, their agents, privies and/or officers jointly or severally from proceeding to take any further steps to give effect to the said ruling”.
“The Court of Appeal is of course a higher Court in the hierarchy of Courts and without prejudice to Sen. Ajimobi’s role as Acting National Chairman, by its decision and the operation of law, there was indeed no vacancy to fill necessitating the said Order. It will interest the public to note that it is the same Exparte Order of March 16, 2020 granted in the face of the pending Orders of both the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal that is being alleged by Victor Giadom to be extended by the FCT High Court.
“Worthy of note is the fact that the said Exparte Order was granted pursuant to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Civil Procedure Rules.”