The Progressives Movement Against Anti-party Activities has alleged that Minister (State) for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo and former Governorship candidate of All Progressive Congress, APC, in Delta State, Great Ovedje Ogboru, have perfected plans to sack the Mai-Mala Buni led Caretaker Committee of APC (CEPC).
The group said during a press briefing on Thursday that the fresh sinister plot by both chieftains of APC in Delta is to contract the services of a retinue of lawyers to wage legal war against the APC CECPC, using sacked members of Delta State APC Caretaker Committee; Elvis Ayomanor, Chidi Okonji, Tosan Awani, Amorighoye Sunny Mene, Janet Oyubu, Christopher Agali, Felix Ogbotor Okpako And Denbo Denbofa as claimants.
According to the group, Keyamo and Ogboru plan is to use these persons to file a suit before the Delta State High Court, sitting in Asaba to sack the All Progressives Congress Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee under the leadership of the Executive Governor of Yobe State, Mai-Mala Buni from office based on the judgment of the Supreme Court in the recently decided case in Jegede v Akeredolu.
The group recalled that few days ago, precisely on Sunday, August 22, 2021, its chairman, Nurudeen Komolafe had in his address to the press at Grand Hotel, Asaba, the state capital, raised a factual alarm regarding the anti-party activities of Keyamo, who directed his media aide, one MC Paul, an aspirant who lost in the APC Isoko South Constituency 1 primaries to Dr Ogaga Ifowodo, to run for the bye-election under the ticket of Social Democratic Party (SDP), a move which is viewed as a ploy to ensure that the APC loses the forthcoming bye-election fixed for 11th September 2021, through vote-splitting.
Komolafe and other executive members of the socio-political group accused Keyamo and Ogboru of orchestrating the institution of the suit seeking to sack the Buni led CECPC from office and declaring all its actions and activities, particularly the conduct of the just concluded ward congresses as illegal, null and void.
Displaying copies of the court processes which were made available to newsmen in Asaba, the Komolafe led group, gave the names of the claimants of the case as Elvis Ayomanor, Chidi Okonji, Tosan Awani, Amorighoye Sunny Mene, Janet Oyubu, Christopher Agali, Felix Ogbotor Okpako and Denbo Denbofa.
He stated further that the claimants were all former members of the State Executive Committee that were dissolved by the National Executive Committee (NEC) on the 25th of June 2020.
Komolafe stated further that the claimants who are not members of the present State Caretaker Committee led by the State Chairman Prophet Jones Ode Erue are well known political acolytes, stooges and supporters of the Keyamo and Ogboru.
The group cited a press release published in the Vanguard Newspaper of 6th August 2021 on page 28, by the ‘anti-party agents’, calling for the cancellation of the party’s congresses in Delta State, despite the fact that both Keyamo and Ogboru had earlier directed their supporters to boycott the congress.
The chairman of the group, Komolafe disclosed further that the claims in the case were based on the legal opinion the Keyamo gave in the wake of the Supreme Court judgment in Jegede v Akeredolu, calling for the sack of the Buni led CECPC, adding that having failed in his initial inglorious attempt to remove the CECPC from office, he has now resorted to more desperate measures to achieve his sinister motives by the filing of the case before the Delta State High Court, Asaba.
Copies of the court processes, which were made available to newsmen by the chairman of the group, Komolafe, showed that the case was filed by the chambers of O.M. Atoyebi, SAN & Partners, who was allegedly hired and paid by Festus Keyamo.
He disclosed that as part of the claims they are asking the court for, is a declaration that the appointment of Governors Mai-Mala Buni, Abubakar Sani Bello and Gboyega Isiaka Oyetola is illegal, null and void and contrary to the provisions of section 183 of the 1999 constitution.
Other claims in the case include the cancellation of the ward congresses in Delta State and the re-conduct of a fresh one.
“It has thus become compelling to alert Mr President, Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, our highly respected National Chairman, His Excellency, Hon. Mai-Mala Buni, the Governors of the APC and all critical stakeholders and true Progressives to the glaring, unabated and bound-to-fail legal war launched against the party and financed by the forces of darkness under the directive of the Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo and Chief Great Ogboru, a demoted self-professed ‘People’s General’ using erstwhile members of the State Executive Committee, whose only mission is to destroy the largely recorded gains of the administration of the APC under the leadership of Mai-Mala Buni,” Komolafe said.
He, therefore, called on the party to take urgent steps in addressing the alarm raised, having regards to the most recently filed lawsuit instigated by the Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo and Chief Great Ogboru at the Delta State High Court Asaba judicial division against the APC.
