TheCable

Oluwole Afolabi, legal counsel representing Victor Giadom, factional national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the purported suspension of his client is ineffective because it is in contempt of a subsisting court order.

Giadom had declared himself as the national chairman of the party following the ruling of the court of appeal affirming the suspension of Adam Oshiomhole as the national chairman of the APC.

While a high court of the federal capital territory (FCT) reaffirmed Giadom as the acting national chairman of the APC on Thursday, another high court in Rivers state restrained him from parading himself as such.

The party has since announced Abiola Ajimobi, former Oyo governor, as acting chairman and appointed Hillard Eta, vice chairman of the party (south-south), to stand in for Ajimobi who was “unavoidably absent”.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Afolabi said Livingstone Wechie, media adviser to Igo Aguma, APC Rivers state chairman, had issued a statement suspending Giadom from the party.

He, however, said the suspension of his client could not stand since Giadom had a case in court regarding his membership of the APC.

“The law is trite that a member of a political party cannot be suspended from the party while he’s in court asserting a vested right as a member of the party,” Afolabi said.

“By attempting to suspend chief Giadom from the party, the characters involved are trying to force a fait accompli on the court and thereby tie the hands of the court.

“A similar conduct orchestrated by the PDP to expel RT. Hon. Amaechi from the party while he was in court challenging the results of the Rivers state governorship election was condemned and rejected by the supreme court.

“The purported expulsion of chief Giadom is ineffective and contemptuous.

“We hereby urge INEC, law enforcement agencies and the general public to disregard the news of the purported expulsion of chief Victor Giadom.

“In line with the provisions of the constitution of the APC, as affirmed by the order of S.I.U. Bature J. and a plethora of legal authorities, chief Victor Giadom remains the acting national chairman of the APC.”