Yenagoa—Some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State have raised concerns over the alleged plot by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to leverage on the unresolved crisis in Bayelsa and some other states to scuttle the February 26 APC National Convention.
The concerns were raised in a letter sent to the Yobe State Governor and National Caretaker Chairman of the APC, Gov. Mai Mala Buni, in which they warned that the refusal of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva to convene a stakeholder meeting to resolve the crisis in the party may spell doom for the National convention.
According to the party members, under the aegis of the Grassroot Mobilizers Forum of APC, Bayelsa State Chapter, the purportedly elected Officers of the party in the state should not be invited to the forthcoming National Convention to save the party.
The group, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Elder Ndutimi Komonibo, the Secretary-General, Barr. Dallas Ebibi and the Vice-Chairman, Reuben Wilson, stated that the PDP has set a trap with invalid delegates, warning that the APC must not fall for it.
The statement reads in full:
“With due respect Sir, the “BAIT” the PDP is using to set the “TRAP” is the “INVALID DELEGATES”. That the Bayelsa State purported elected officers from Wards, LGA and State should not be accepted or inaugurated and that Bayelsa State purported Elected Officers should not be invited or allowed to come close to the forthcoming National Convention to save the party’s fortune.”
“That when an order of Court injunction is issued and an appeal is filed to vacate that order, it has given life to that order until the appeal Court Makes a Pronouncement.
“This area should be properly looked into by an independent team of lawyers. 4) That the party at the National level should rather invite-only statutory Delegates in Bayelsa State to escape the legal issues that have been set or trapped by the people’s Democratic Party (PDP).
“We plead with the National Caretaker Committee, National reconciliation committee and the progressives Governors forum to prevail on Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum, Heineken Lokpobiri and Chief Lyon David Former Governor-Elect to seek Political solutions in Bayelsa State APC, to address the disunity and withdraw all pending cases in Court.”
“The decision to unite the factions of APC in the State by the National Reconciliation Committee has been paid a deaf ear and the signals are clear that someone somewhere is planning Evil against the Party for disobeying the directive of the National Reconciliation Committee. This again is very worrisome indeed.”
“Within the period the order was issued, the APC through their legal counsel filed an appeal in the court of Appeal, Port Harcourt with Appeal No CA/PH/246/2021 to vacate the order.
“Within the same period as the appeal is still pending in Court of Appeal, the APC State Secretary of Bayelsa State wrote a letter dated 2nd of September 2021 to INEC to witness the Ward and LGA Congresses which was scheduled by them for 3rd and 4th September 2021 respectively.”
“A two days’ notice is a violation of the electoral law. While the electoral law says 21 days’ notice must be given to INEC to witness any political party congresses.
“Also their action was contempt of Court by conducting Congresses while the Court order was still subsisting in suit No. CA/PH/246/2021. (That the law says anyhow an order of Court injunction is stupid, it should be obeyed).
“The Appeal Court said that the Appeal filed by the APC to vacate the order in Bayelsa State Ward, LGA & State congresses is fundamentally defective.
“In a unanimous Judgement, the Court went on to say that the congresses conducted within that period are invalid. By that pronouncement of the Appeal Court, all the purported elected officers in those congresses are invalid.
“The Court of Appeal went on to say that the respondent in the Appeal can file for a contempt of court against the appellant by disobeying the Court order of the trial Court. All the Court cases and the processes served that are stated in this letter are with the legal department of APC at the National Secretariat, Buhari House No 40 Blantyre Crescent Wuse Abuja.
“We, therefore, recommend as follows that the Bayelsa State purported elected officers from Wards, LGA, and State should not be accepted or inaugurated. That Bayelsa State purported Elected Officers should not be invited or allowed to come close to the forthcoming National Convention to save the party’s fortune.
“That when an order of Court injunction is issued and an appeal is filed to vacate that order, it has given life to that order until the appeal Court Makes a Pronouncement. This area should be properly looked into by an independent team of lawyers.
“That the party at the National level should rather invite-only statutory Delegates in Bayelsa State to escape the legal issues that have been set or trapped by people’s Democratic Party (PDP).
“Finally, we plead with the National Caretaker Committee, National reconciliation committee and the progressives Governors forum to prevail on Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum, Heineken Lokpobiri and Chief Lyon David Former Governor-Elect to seek Political solutions in Bayelsa State APC, to address the disunity and withdraw all pending cases in Court.”
