Immediate past National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has absolved himself of allegations of being behind the current travails of his successor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, describing the former labour leader as a master of the art of deception and author of confusion.
He described the allegations as “ludicrous and infantile” as well as “an attempt to dream up justifications for the failings of the party under Oshiomhole’s chairmanship.” Oyegun spoke as Imo State chapter of APC passed a vote of confidence on Oshiomhole. Since the build up to the June 2018 National Convention of APC and the consequent emergence of Oshiomhole as APC chairman, Odigie-Oyegun had often taken flaks for the numerous problems afflicting the party.
While he maintained studied silence all through the period, his reaction, yesterday, would be his first formal response to allegations of laying landmines for his successor. However, in a statement signed by his Public Affairs Adviser, Chief Ray Morphy, yesterday, the former APC national chairman said Oshiomhole had continued to falter because he lacked the temperament required to lead a political party in the 21st century. Odigie-Oyegun said: “That statement of booby traps is ludicrous and infantile, an attempt to dream up justification for the failings of the party under Oshiomhole’s chairmanship. “Oshiomhole fails because he lacks the temperament that is required to run a political party. He lacks the capacity to manage the different interests and tendencies that constitute a political party.” While accusing Oshiomhole of always acting according to his whims, rather than the resolutions of the NWC, the statement equally described the party chairman as one ruled by his tongue rather than his mind. He said: “He (Oshiomhole) engages his mouth before engaging his mind, so he offends party members. So, how does that constitute booby traps by Oyegun, the erstwhile chairman?”
He also spoke of how Oshiomhole led the party into its current wave of crises, faulting the indecision of the chairman with regards to adopting a uniform template for the conduct of the last primaries of the party before the general elections. He said: “How would you not have crisis in states with the confusion that Oshiomhole created when he gave the states freedom to choose their methods of choosing candidates for elections. ‘’Much of the crisis in states arose out of sheer incapacity on the part of the current chairman. How does Oshiomhole’s incapacity become booby traps by Oyegun? Many party men were aghast at the unfairness and injustice meted them during the primaries process. “Oshiomhole and his chairmen should leave his predecessor out and face his duties of running the party which seems to be overwhelming him. He should face the dwindling fortunes of the party which he himself created. “Only a bad carpenter quarrels with his tools. Indeed, Oshiomhole is degrading and de-marketing the party. Rather than seek to bring more people on board, he is rather chasing people out of the party with his agbero style of engagement.”
Meanwhile, the Marcellinus Nlemigbo-led Imo State APC has passed a vote of confidence on Oshiomhole. Speaking in Owerri, yesterday, Nlemigbo decried the call for Oshiomhole’s removal by Shuaibu, describing it as “unpatriotic and in bad faith.” The party also condemned any such call by any group from Imo State, claiming to have come from APC, as not coming from genuine members of the party. Nlemigbo pleaded with party stakeholders in Imo State to stand against any plan to destroy APC both at the state and federal levels. He said: “We, the APC in Imo State, have declared our total and unalloyed support for the national chairman of our party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. We have absolute confidence in his leadership, which led the party to a historic victory in this year’s presidential elections “Therefore, we see the call by the deputy national chairman (North), Sen. Lawal Shuaibu, for the national chairman to resign as unpatriotic and in bad faith. “Anybody canvassing the removal of Oshiomhole does not have the interest of APC at heart because such an ill-advised move will definitely precipitate a big crisis in the party.” A-Ibom APC too Meanwhile, one of the signatories to Friday’s statement and chairman of the party in Akwa Ibom, Ini Okopido, has dismissed claims that the crisis in the party was caused by Oshiomhole’s indecision with regards to the conduct of party primaries.
In a telephone interview he said that the mode of conducting primaries was a decision taken by the NEC of the party and was never left at the pleasure of the national chairman.
He said: “First, the decision to conduct direct or indirect primaries was a NEC decision and not the personal decision of Oshiomhole. I was there in that meeting when that decision was taken. But in the same vein, I do not want to join issues with any person. “Anybody that likes APC or likes what President Muhammadu Buhari is doing for Nigeria should join hands in building the party. Where we have some issues, we should sit as a family, try to resolve them so the party can be stronger and the government will be stronger to be able to deliver dividends of democracy to Nigerians.” That is my position. “Oyegun is one man we respect so much but at the same time, we do not expect him to join issues when he shouldn’t, so that the party can be strong. He is the founding chairman of this party.”
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