… says President Buhari was ill-advised
The pro-Oshiomhole National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress has turned down an invitation to attend a National Executive Committee meeting, convened by Victor Giadom.
The NEC meeting, expected to hold on Thursday will be attended by President Muhammadu Buhari, who indicated, earlier on Wednesday, his support for Giadom as Acting National Chairman of the APC.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had told State House correspondents that the President had received very convincing advice on the position of the law as far as the ongoing crisis in the party was concerned.
He said the President had decided that the law was on the side of Giadom, adding that the President would therefore attend the convened NEC meeting.
Garba advised journalists not to give further room for the mischievous interpretation of the law on the matter of leadership in the party.
Pro-Oshiomhole NWC members, however, said after long hours of meeting that they believed the President was blackmailed into backing the illegality of the NEC meeting convened by Giadom.
In a statement signed by their pronounced Acting National Chairman, Hilliard Eta, and Acting National Secretary, Waziri Bulama, the NWC respectfully implored the President to avail himself with facts of the matter regarding the crisis in the party to guide him in his assessment of the matter.
They said, “We wish to unequivocally state that members of the NWC believe that the President was offered wrong advice or blackmailed into lending his weighty office to the illegality of the NEC meeting purportedly convened by one Victor Giadom on June 25, 2020.
“We hereby respectfully implore Mr. President to kindly avail himself with facts of the matter regarding the impasse presently experienced by the Party so as to guide him in his assessment of the matter because we are sure that the President if properly advised, would come to the conclusion that the meeting convened by Victor Giadom bothers on illegality and criminality.
“The NWC regrets to turn down the invitation to the illegal and unconstitutional NEC convened by Victor Giadom. We believe that attending such a meeting will amount to embracing illegalities and turning a blind eye to the infractions on the Constitution of our great party.”
