APC: Mustapha to challenge court order making him Ag. National Secretary, backs Bulama
The North East National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Salihu Mustapha has approached the FCT High Court to strike out the order making him the Acting National Secretary of the party.
Recall that 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 said he was aware that such plea was entered in March but the recent resolution of the zone endorsing 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.
He explained that 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.
Mustapha said 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.
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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.
