There were indications that the All Progressives Congress (APC) schedule for Saturday will suffer set back in some states.
In Kwara, Rivers, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Osun and Imo protests over alleged underhand dealings and court injunctions may stall the exercise.
An Abuja high court on Friday halted the party’s ward congress from taking place in Imo pending the hearing of a suit filed by Okey Anyikwa, APC Chairman in Ideato South Local Government Area.
Anyikwa had approached the court for an injunction restraining the party from going ahead with the congress because of the judgment of the Appeal Court that upheld the tenure of the State EXCO elected in 2018.
The presiding Judge, Justice Valentine Oriji, warned that the invalidate the outcome of congresses should the party went ahead with the exercise.
He ordered that all actions regarding the APC congresses in the state should be stayed, pending the hearing of the application slated for August 10.
Like the Imo situation, a high court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa, has also stopped the party from going ahead with the ward congress through an order on Friday.
Justice Iniekenimi Uzaka issued the order pending the determination of a motion on notice before the court.
Faction loyal to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, and and that of the former Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri were preparing for the exercise at the their different secretariats before the order was announced by the court.
In Kwara, a parallel congress may take place as crisis between the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed and Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq deepened.
The minister’s camp claimed that they have already secured nomination forms for all its aspirants ahead of the exercise.
The caretaker legal adviser, Barrister Ladi Mustapha, said the faction was prepared for the congresses provided every other thing remains constant.
However, the state Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee, Alhaji Abdullahi Samari, appealed to all party members to conduct themselves peacefully.
Also in Rivers, faction loyal to Senator Magnus Abe warned, it would boycott the exercise over the alleged exclusion of its members.
It accused the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, of derailing the process.
“There is really no crisis in this party. The crisis in the party is that the minister (Amaechi) said anybody who is with Senator Abe is no longer a member of the APC and cannot be entitled to any opportunity or privilege within the APC.
“I want to say I have had a series of meetings with the national leadership and it is determined that there will be justice for party members in Rivers State. Don’t take the law into your own hands. Since you were not given forms and allowed to take part in the congresses, leave it.
“We will follow the party process and we will formally complain to the national leadership that this is what has happened. Since they didn’t give you forms, don’t go and waste your time. Remain calm. We will get to where we are going. We will follow the directives of the national leadership of our party,” Abe, a former senator noted.
However, the spokesperson of the party in the state, Ogbonna Nwuke said, “The whole thing is a complete hoax and lies coming from a man who is well-placed like Senator Magnus Abe.
“The APC has promised to provide a level playing field for all. That means members of Abe’s faction who equally bought forms to participate in the congresses are free to do so.”
In Osun, the alleged refusal of the congress committee overseeing the exercise to hold a meeting with all stakeholders led to a peaceful protest in Osogbo.
The protesters bearing placards with inscriptions such as ‘We say no to consensus,’ ‘Osun progressives’ women and youths demand APC Congress forms,’ and ‘We say no to imposition,’ marched along Osogbo/Gbongan road on Friday.
An ex-parliamentarian, Rasheed Raji, who led the protest vowed to resist the alleged consensus arrangement planned by the Ileri Oluwa-led group, said to enjoy the support of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
Raji said, “A consensus arrangement is no longer possible in Osun. We have obtained forms but our members have not been invited to any meeting. We insist that there must be an election.”
In Ekiti, a former governorship aspirant Reuben Famuyibo, claimed that forms were being sold by two different sources.
He said, “In view of what is going on, there may be question marks on the credibility of our congress in Ekiti State, based on how they arrived at the names and who got the forms.”
He said a parallel congress may hold because of the development.
Also faction belonging to Governor Dapo Abiodun and that of his predecessor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, were at longer head over the exercise.
A stakeholder meeting of the party leaders ended in crisis as the two factions failed to agree on modalities for the congress.
