Tobias Sylvester
The Acting National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Victor Giadom has cancelled the screening for the Edo State governorship primary which disqualified the incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki from contesting the party’s governorship primary election slated for June 22, 2020.
Giarom announced the cancellation of the screening exercise on Wednesday after he declared himself as the APC acting national chairman, according to a ruling of the FCT High Court.
He called for a fresh screening of APC governorship aspirants for the Edo governorship election, and asked all affected persons to return to the Party’s National Secretariat for a fresh screening exercise on Wednesday and Thursday.
He said the suspended APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, should not have midwived the process of the governorship primaries since he had a case in court.
“Our party, the All Progressives Congress, will no longer allow local quests for the control of power to influence our decisions.
“As your Acting National Chairman and presiding officer in the NWC, we therefore cancel the decision of the Screening and Appeal Committees of the former chairman of the party on the Edo primaries,” Mr Gaidom told journalists in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mr Gaidom’s actions is coming after Abiola Ajimobi was appointed as APC acting National Chairman following the ruling of the Court of Appeal which upheld Oshiomhole’s suspension and declared all his actions since his suspension null and void.
In a swift reaction, Oluwole Afolabi, counsel to Victor Giadom, stated that being the highest-ranking official following Oshiomhole’s suspension, Giadom is the substantial acting chairman of the party, according to a High Court in Abuja.
Afolabi stated that a statement released by the APC affirming Ajimobi as Acting Chairman must been have issued in error or out of ignorance of the order of the FCT High Court issued on 16th of March, 2020, by Hon. Justice S.U Bature in Suit No. FCT/HC/M/6447/2020.
He warned that anyone who attempts to parade himself/herself other than Chief Victor Giadom as the Acting Chairman of the APC would be facing contempt of court proceedings.
