By Daniel Tyokua
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba state, Barr. Ibrahim El-Sudi, has called on some party stakeholders to steer clear of issues that will destabilise the party.
El – Sudi told journalists in Abuja that some members of the party were using the judiciary to make the party not to be in peace.
In particular, the chairman accused a former deputy governor, and a former senator in the state, of influencing a Federal High Court judge to give injunctions in favour of his (Danladi) camp.
El- Sudi said though the chapter is fully prepared to participate in the upcoming national convention of the party, the recent exparte motion granted in favour of the former senator’s camp, may put the Taraba chapter in disarray.
He explained that the Taraba chapter of the APC has appealed the judgement of Justice Simon Amobeda in which he nullified the congress that returned him as the chairman, but instead of the judge to fix a date for the determination or rejection of the appeal, he allegedly did not entertain the case.
“By procedure when the records of proceedings have not been transmitted to you, you have to file your notice of appeal in the same court that gave the judgment. And any application you want to make you have to do it in that same court. So on the 1st of March he delivered judgment against us, restraining us from parading ourselves as the duly elected persons in the congress and that the congress was a nullity and that there should be a repeat of that congress. Just as those that took us to court have the right under the law to challenge whatever action is taken by the court, we equally have the right under the law to challenge his judgment in a higher court. So on the 4th of March 2022, we filed our notice of appeal and then a motion for stay of execution; an injunction to restrain the court from executing his judgment before him.
“What baffles us is we filed this motion on the 4th of March with notice of appeal but instead of him to give us a date and hear our motion because we knew the congress was going to take place on the 26th and there was need for him to take judicial action whether to accept or refuse and for us to now go to the higher court.
“On the 10th of March, our opponents filed an exparte motion seeking for him to restrain us from participating in the convention. And then under a motion on notice, he quickly granted them their relief. Restraining us from participating in the convention or parading ourselves as executives of APC in Taraba state and then he adjourned the matter to 31 of March” El- Audi said.
He called on the national body of the party to wade into the crisis and save the Taraba chapter from implosion ahead of 2023 elections which the party under his leadership is poised to win overwhelmingly.
However, efforts to get the former senator to react to the allegation were fruitless, as he neither pick calls to his mobile phone number nor return them including WhatsApp message.