The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the United Kingdom (UK) is embroiled in a leadership crisis, with the Interim Secretary of the chapter, Joseph Kolawole Adebola, alleging sabotage from some leader.

In a statement made available to journalists in Nigeria on Saturday by Adebola, the secretary of the chapter, the party said the ‘executive’ had not been consistent with agreed resolutions.

“I refer to my press release dated June 7, 2024. On January 13, 2024, the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), established the APC UK Interim Committee to consolidate various factions within APC UK and form a united chapter.

“The National Working Committee (NWC) approved only two executives for the Interim Committee, which also consists of 10 non-executive members from each faction.

“Since its formation, the Interim Committee has met only once in six months; and all subsequent attempts to convene and discuss crucial matters relating to the UK Congress, amongst others, have been frustrated.

“As the secretary, I am mandated to convene all meetings, write minutes, compile reports, issue press releases and manage other matters for the interim secretariat.

“I can confirm that details of the UK Congress were not communicated to me in writing (officially); and I was unaware of the planned congress until a few days ago.

“The lack of official communication led to the disclaimer notices issued by the interim secretariat. If there was any official communication regarding the congress, it must have been done discreetly or hidden from the interim secretariat for obvious reasons.

“In view of the importance and enormity of a chapter consolidation congress, one would have expected an official letter with all congress details duly signed and sent from the APC head quarters (HQ) and copied to the chairman and secretary of the UK Interim Committee. If such a letter exists, none was sent to me.

“During the Interim Committee’s tenure, Tunde Doherty committed several breaches that further polarised the chapter.

“He formed an illegal secretariat that issued press releases and updates on matters never discussed, which are all over social media.

“Tunde boycotted the interim secretariat, frustrated joint meetings, and dealt solely with his members. All these breaches were documented with dates and forwarded to the APC HQ for appropriate action. It is on record (with proof) that the Deputy National Chairman (North) is currently investigating these breaches.

“Regarding aspirants’ election forms, it is on record that eligibility forms for the planned congress were sold last year (pre-interim committee) before the interim committee was formed.

“One would have expected that, with the interim committee in place, the modalities for the congress exercise and the merger of the two groups’ member databases would have been initiated and completed.

“However, this never happened. How can we then justify the purchase of forms from the pre-interim committee era in the post-interim committee era?

“Furthermore, the Nigerian Constitution outlines financial regulations for political parties, prohibiting them from holding or possessing funds or assets outside Nigeria. Chapter 6, Part 3, Section 225 mandates that any funds received from outside Nigeria must be transferred to the commission within 21 days, accompanied by the requisite details.

We brought this to the attention of party officials and sought clarification before the purchase of forms by Diaspora chapters, but no response has been received to date.

“This was one of the issues at stake that the interim secretariat wanted to resolve before the planned congress. Our caution and legal clarification were aimed at preventing the party’s name from being brought into disrepute or international embarrassment.

“The majority of APC UK members are law-abiding and loyal; and they have worked tirelessly to keep APC UK relevant since its founding in 2013.

“As of today, June 28, 2024, I, JK Adebola, the Secretary of the APC UK Interim Committee and head of the interim secretariat, have not been informed in writing of the planned congress.

“Upon seeing various social media posts, I engaged with the party’s leadership in Abuja, Nigeria and confirmed that a congress had, indeed, been planned. However, details of the process and forms were released piece-meal, and party officials sent to the UK have not been forthcoming.

“In our commitment to transparency and in the interest of fair play, peace, and justice, it would be grossly unfair to exclude over 720 members from such an important exercise. It is also on record that only one faction is involved in this unclear process, excluding the majority of members in the United Kingdom.

“It is, therefore, a coronation exercise, not an election or congress.

“In the interim, we strongly appeal to our loyal members and the general public to remain patient, calm and law-abiding, while we seek redress for this mass injustice and grand exclusion of loyal party members,” he said.

“We remain resolute in our commitment to Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda and are steadfastly loyal to the progressive movement epitomised by the APC. Our party is a progressive one and should consistently demonstrate progressiveness in its actions,” he concluded.