The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) deepened on Monday when the party’s National Vice Chairman, North-West, Dr. Salihu Lukman vowed to continue with the court case he instituted against the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.
The party chieftain had given a seven-day ultimatum to Adamu to convene a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) to give the financial account of the party.
However, following Adamu’s failure to convene the NEC meeting as demanded, at the expiration of the seven days ultimatum, Lukman, last Thursday instituted a lawsuit against the APC National Chairman.
However, the leadership assumed another dimension on Monday when Lukman wrote President Muhammadu Buhari, President -elect, Bola Tinubu and the Chairman of Progressives Governors Forum and the Governor of Yobe state, Atiku Bagudu, insisting that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party lacks the power to expel him.
IgbereTV reports that the National Legal Adviser of the party, Ahmad El-Marzuq recommended his expulsion in a memo he wrote to the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, dated April 28, 2023.
Responding to the expulsion threat in an open letter dated May 1, 2023, Lukman said while the issues raised in the memo were a response to the suit he filed in the Federal High Court, Abuja, he hoped that the memo would be presented to the meeting of NWC scheduled for Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
He was of the opinion that the substantive issue would be the consideration of recommendations for disciplinary measures against him, which might require invoking Article 21.5 of the APC Constitution.
Lukman emphasised that Article 21.3(i) of the APC constitution explicitly indicated that the Executive Committee of the party is the only organ of the party with the responsibility of issuing disciplinary actions;
“A complaint by any member of the party against a Public Office holder, elected or appointed, or another member or against a party organ or officer of the party shall be submitted to the Executive Committee of that party at all levels concerned which shall not later than seven (7) days of the receipt of the complaint, appoint a fact-finding or Disciplinary Committee to examine the matter”.
