APC Exco Dragged To Court

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has been asked to sack the interim national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande and other executive members.

Justice Abdul Kafarati is expected to hear the substantive suit on Tuesday.
A group (Conscience Group) within the opposition party, approached the court with their request on the ground that the party’s constitution empowered the the present executive council members to act in the interim for six months after which substantive executives would be put in place by a congress.

The plaintiffs, Chief Iheke Solomon and Chief Nnamdi Olebara, who sued APC on behalf of the group, submitted that the six months period provided by the constitution elapsed on January 31, 2013 and hence all the interim executives officers should have vacated the office.
Joined as first to fourth respondents are APC, Chief Bisi Akande, Alhaji Tijani Tumsah (as representatives of the national executive committee) and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The plaintiffs, through their counsel, Iheke Solomon want the court to give an order restraining Akande and Tumsah from managing or running the affairs of the party.
They also want the court to give an order directing INEC not to recognise or entertain any official dealing with the Akande led executive members.
The plaintiffs submitted that the second and third respondents created positions and offices that were alien the constitution of the party and conferred the said positions, designations and offices to persons selected by them to their interest to the disadvantage unjustly of the plaintiffs.
Also, Solomon had submitted that the second and third respondents, with intent to enlarge their tenure and to serve the selfish interest of their paymasters to the detriment of the plaintiffs, willfully and fraudulently altered, exercised and substituted the original and authentic provisions of the original and authentic constitution of the party produced and adopted by the Joint Merger Committee that midwifed the party, hoping that no one would discover the fraud.
In addition, the plaintiffs alleged that the second and third respondents were using subtlety, sleigh and other arm twisting manipulative antics to suppress the challenge of impunity against anyone, including the plaintiffs, who may dare take steps to seek formal redress and thereby, expose their grand fraudulent dues ex machina.