By MUIDEEN OLANIYI

The Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has said that the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, is no longer a valid member of the party.

Okechukwu, in a statement issued on Sunday, warned that the party risked losing Edo and Ondo States if the pending case in the Court of Appeal didn’t favour him.

He said Oshiomhole must be stopped before a repeat of what he called “Zamfara or Bayelsa State fiasco”.

He said the APC national chairman should step aside to save the fortunes of the party “without prejudice to what maybe the final judgment of Appeal Court of Abuja Division”.

He said: “Can we imagine the likely scenario of a court case challenging the legality of APC’s documents and candidates submitted by a suspended chairman? “To me, the loss of Edo State will mean that APC has no foothold in the whole South South geopolitical zone.

“Just as the lost of Ondo State will mean dangerous penetration of PDP into our progressive base.”

The APC chieftain added: “For all his shenanigans of presiding over the affairs of our party, as a suspended member, may in the full glare of the law be adjudged null and void. “For it is truism that the Appeal Court has not delivered final judgment over his suspension. “We must recall that Comrade Oshiomhole validated the suspension of Barrister Inuwa Abdulkadir, vice chairman North West, when his ward suspended him. “Like Super King, being narcissistic as usual, he glossed over his suspension by his word, forgetting that our great party’s constitution is scant with time, for it allows only seven days for the offender to appeal. “Comrade Oshiomhole didn’t appeal until months after the gravel of the Hon Justice Danlami Senchi of FCT Federal High Court knocked him off.” As of the time of filing this report, the APC national chairman had not reacted to the text message sent to his phone.

Justice Danlami Senchi of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had in an interlocutory ruling on March 4, 2020, ordered among others, that Oshiomhole should desist from parading himself as the APC Chairman.

The order was sequel to an application of interlocutory injunction asking the court to suspend Oshiomhole, having been suspended as a member of the APC in Edo State.

However, Oshiomhole through his lawyer, Mr Damian Dodo (SAN), had same day approached the appellate court to reverse the suspension order placed on him by the lower court. Oshiomhole in his appeal, specifically asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the suspension order of Justice Senchi and restore his position as National Chairman of the APC.

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, then on March 16, 2020, ordered a stay of execution of the order of the Abuja High Court.

Justice Abubakar Yahaya, who presided over a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, made the order while delivering ruling in an exparte application filed by Oshiomhole.

Oshiomole had, in an exparte application, prayed the court to halt the suspension order on the grounds that there would be no status quo ante belum if the appellate court fails to intervene. (Daily Trust)

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