The North-east National Vice Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Salihu Mustapha has applied to the FCT High Court to strike out the order making him the Acting National Secretary of the party.
The FCT High Court sitting in Maitama presided over by the Hon. Justice S.U. Bature had last week issued an order that Mustapha should be allowed to carry out the functions of Acting National Secretary of the party.
Mustapha, who immediately rejected the order said he was aware that such plea was entered in March but the recent resolution of the zone endoresing the nomination of Arc. Waziri Bulama for the office of the National Secretary of APC which is forwarded to NEC for ratification has overtaking such plea from the Court.
According to him, the North East stakeholders involving the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and all APC Governors and members of the National Assembly from the zone, met and endorsed Bulama’s nomination for National Secretary and forward same to NEC for ratification.
He refuted the publication of a National Newspaper that he was not aware of suite in the court.
According to him, it is mischievous for anybody to publish that he was not aware of suite in the FCT High Court purporting to making him Acting National Secretary but he only said he did not continue the suite since his zone had resolved the nomination of Bulama.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Mustapha said, I have directed that the suite and order making me the Acting National Secretary of APC should be struck out.
“I was part of the North East APC stakeholders that met and endorsed the nomination of Arc Bulama and cannot go to court to seek for such position again.
“We the N/E APC believe in the competence of Arc. Bulama and have appointed him into the position waiting for his ratification by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
“I am striking the suite entered in March out because I believe that the issue has been resolved and for the interest and peace of the party.
‘”Actually the lawyers that got that order are my lawyers. Sometimes in early March, I went to seek for that order when the party was in crisis. But after that time, as a zone, we had a political solution which culminated in a zonal executive committee meeting attended by the SGF, the senate president, the three governors from the zone, former governors, all the senators and House of Reps members from the zone.
“At that meeting we endorsed the candidature of Arch. Waziri Bulama as the national secretary of the party, which we are to forward to the NEC for ratification. The decision was unanimous. That decision happened Saturday last week, we came back to Abuja and by Wednesday or Thursday, the Appeal Court confirmed the suspension of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as the national chairman of our party.
“Between the time we reached that political solution endorsing Bulama and the time the court removed Oshiomhole was barely three days and my lawyers were not aware that we had already reached that decision. And I also did not debrief them.
“But as we speak, we are making all arrangements with my lawyers to seek for discontinuation and rescind the prayer we made in court because for me the zonal decision supersedes any other prayers pending in court. We are going to vacate that order to allow Architect Bulama’s name to be sent to NEC for ratification as the national secretary of our party.”
Similarly, the party chieftain said he is also aware that the FCT High Court granted the Deputy National Secretary, Chief Victor Giadom an order to Act as APC National Chairman in March and the renewal on June 16.
He said, “I am very much aware of that suit 6607. In fact I was the one who instituted that suit earlier asking that Victor Giadom be made the acting national chairman so that we call National Executive Committee NEC meeting and submit the party to NEC. That order was granted sometime in March and the court in its magnanimity has renewed that order and we are still committed that NEC should be held so that we submit the party to it.”
He posited that as a party member and a Working Committee member, his interest had been on a smooth running of the party.
According to him, no agitation of his was premised on his desire to occupy a loft position in the party but to strengthen it for more acceptability, that is why he did not accept the National Secretary position given to him by the court.
He called on leaders of the party to convene a NEC meeting where all the issues challenging the unity of the party would be resolved.
