APC also stated that it had directed the committee in charge of the Ondo State congress to stand down the exercise upon receiving the court order.
By Kehinde Okeowo
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has made it clear that it will not accept the outcome of the state congress held on Tuesday in Ondo State, citing contempt of court.
This was disclosed on Tuesday night by the party’s National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, during an appearance on an Arise Television programme.
Justice Toyin Adegoke of the Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the state capital, had on Monday issued an ex parte order restraining the party and INEC from proceeding with the congress, following an application filed by several aggrieved members.
Despite this, party chieftains charged with conducting the exercise in the state went ahead, producing 36 new officials in the process.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), however, boycotted the congress in adherence to the restraining order issued by the court.
Also absent from the congress were the deputy governor of the state, Olayide Adelami; the senators representing the state in the National Assembly; and members of the House of Representatives, with the exception of Jimi Odimayo, who represents the Okitipupa/Irele Federal Constituency.
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While distancing itself from the exercise, the ruling party stated it would not be a party to flouting an ex parte order from a court of competent jurisdiction.
According to Bashiru, upon receiving the order, the APC directed the congress committee—which had already arrived in the state—to stand down.
He said: “We woke up to a court order by the Federal High Court, and as a law-abiding party, we directed our team in that place to wait until the order is vacated or there is a contrary order from the court authority. We are not a party of illegality.
“Even though we believe that the court order ought not to have been granted to restrain the holding of the congress because it is not a perishable item, when there is a positive order of the court, you must respect it.”
Prior to this development, a recent ward congress held by the Ondo State chapter of the APC turned violent, claiming the lives of three people.
The chairman of the party in the state, Ade Adetimehin, was also beaten and injured alongside several other party chieftains during a stakeholders’ meeting.
