APC Vice Chair (North West) sues Adamu over ‘Breach’ of constitution

The crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has worsened as the party’s national vice chairman (North-West), Salihu Mohammed Lukman on Thursday, carried out his threat to sue the national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, and national secretary, Iyiola Omisore, for allegedly breaching the Constitution of the party.

In the the suit N0: FHC/ABJICS/ 573 filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday through his counsel, Mohammed Kabir Abdullahi. Esq, Lukman is listed as the plaintiff while the APC, Adamu, the party’s national secretary, Iyiola Omisore and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants.

Recall that Lukman had given Adamu a 7-day ultimatum to summon a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) which is the second highest decision-making organ of the party or risk legal action.

The APC vice chairman is asking the court to order the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants to immediately convene the NEC meeting of the APC for the purpose of presenting the activities of the party from the date of the last NEC meeting of April 28, 2022 to the last meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) which held on 17th April, 2023.

Lukman, a former Director-General of the Progressive Governnors’ Forum (PGF), is also seeking an order of the court, directing the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants to present the procedure for selecting party candidates for elective offices, including the selection and zoning of leadership of the National Assembly to the members of the NEC.

The NWC member is equally asking the court for “A declaration that by the provisions of Articles 13.4 (iv) and 25.2 of the APC Constitution, the 1, 2 and 3 defendants are under an obligation to call for or cause to be called and held quarterly or at the request of one-third of members of the NEC of the APC at which the defendants shall present quarterly financial report on income and expenditure of the APC to the members of the NEC.”

The issue has been ongoing before now with Lukman dismissing threats of a lawsuit made against him by the National Secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore, over alleged claims by the former accusing the party scribe of not accounting for funds deployed for the last governorship election in Osun State.

In a letter by his lawyers, Lex-Hill City Attorneys, signed by Martins Joseph, and addressed to Omisore’s lawyers, Lords Temple, Lukman said the party secretary deserves no apology.

The letter read: “We write as solicitors to Mr. Salihu Mohammed Lukman (‘our client’) and on whose instructions we write to acknowledge receipt and to reply to your letter dated March 15, 2023 on behalf of Senator Iyiola Omisore.

“In the said letter, you referred to a statement made by our client in the course of an interview with African Independent Television, AIT, when he featured as a guest in one of their programmes, Jigsaw, hosted by Mr Gbenga Aruleba, which you alleged to have maligned the character of Senator Iyiola Omisore in his personal and political stature in Osun State and in Nigeria.

“It is the opinion of our client that the statement he issued as a member and national officer of the All Progressives Congress, APC, is not false, not malicious or made to assassinate the character of your client as you suggested in your letter. The statement was purely a demand by a member of the APC for accountability from its national secretary.

“Therefore, our client believes that your client does not deserve any apology for the statement as it is within his constitutional rights as a member to demand accountability from a national officer of the APC, which was built on the premise of accountability.”

Lukman on his part, described as a needless distraction from the main issues of accountability and inclusive governance, threats by Senator Omisore to slam a defamation suit against him.

“Part of the issue with that is that I am aware the party has given some campaign funds to Osun, which was handled by the national secretary and to some extent, he has either mismanaged it but more importantly, he is not accounting to anybody and you have to activate the process of accountability.”