The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has described the endorsement of the former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, for the position of national chairman by some party stakeholders of the South-South zone as foolish and childish.
This is as the presidency is said to be in dilemma over who among the chairmanship aspirants to back, while a battle line has been drawn between some governors of the party and ministers over who emerges the next national chairman of the ruling party
The APC National Vice Chairman (South-South), Prince Hilliard Eta, had after a zonal stakeholders’ meeting of the party on Monday in Benin, Edo State capital, announced that Oshiomhole had been endorsed for the position of national chairman by the South-South caucus of the party.
But, Odigie-Oyegun, who spoke with correspondents in Abuja, yesterday, on Oshiomhole’s endorsement by the South-South caucus of the party, said no support for the former labour leader from Edo State government house can work or deter him.
His words: “It is childish, absolutely childish. The voting is done at the convention and not in state houses, not in government houses.”
He, however, declared that he is not begrudging the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, for supporting Oshiomhole, who is his benefactor.”
On whether he is seeking for re-election, Odigie-Oyegun said he has concluded consultation on his ambition to re-contest for the office of national chairman. “Well, I am going to know when the convention committee announces its programme and when I’m going to buy my form if I will re-contest, I will let you know. The consultation, I think, is concluded,” he said.
He also commented on his lack of acceptance in his state, saying: “They have their reasons for what they did and you have to respect their reasons however wrong it is.”
On whether he was bothered by the support for Oshiomhole by Edo State government, he said: “No it doesn’t because one of those who want my job is from Edo and he was the immediate past governor and he was very instrumental in installing the present governor, so I think it is a case of rub my back I rub your back that is playing out.”
Meanwhile, a source, who spoke with our correspondent, revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari, is yet to make up his mind on who to support among the four aspirants that have so far indicated interest for the ruling party’s national chairmanship. They are Odigie-Oyegun; Oshiomhole; former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Clement Ebiri and Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, but the battle seems to be between Odigie-Oyegun and Oshiomhole.
While it is alleged that the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is the one projecting the candidature of Oshiomhole, some governors of the party are said to be behind Odigie-Oyegun’s candidature.
The governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, had said that there are 12 APC governors behind the APC national chairman’s re-election. Although he did not mention the names of the governors, it is believed that they include Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Ibukunle Amosun (Ogun), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo) and Aminu Masari (Katsina).
Those behind Oshiomhole are said to be Akinwumi Ambode (Lagos), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Godwin Obaseki (Edo) and Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto). The Ministers of Transport and Niger Delta, Chibuike Amaechi and Usani Usani, respectively, are among those pushing for Odigie-Oyegun from the federal cabinet.
However, the governor of Nsarawa State, Tanko Al-Makura and a few other governors are said to be rooting for Ebiri, who, according to a presidency source is likely to get the support of President Buhari.
In Lagos, Tinubu, yesterday, declared that the state APC chairman, Chief Henry Ajomale and others, who have already served three terms as members of the party’s executives at the ward, local government and state levels will not contest in the forthcoming congresses.
He said the congresses starting next week is a ‘congress of unification,” noting that the reason to stop those who have already served as party’s executives for eight to 12 years, is to inject new blood in the running of affairs of the APC.
The party’s national leader, who spoke during the Lagos APC Stakeholders’ meeting, said the party will ensure that the forthcoming congresses are free and fair, and that the party will nullify any congress marred by violence.
He advocated for more positions for women in the party’s executives at the various levels, while assuring aggrieved members of the party that all issues would be resolved for APC to go into 2019 general elections as a formidable and united party.
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His words: “We want a congress. We fought for it and we got it. We all want progress in the party and there are people, who have already spent between two to three terms as executives at ward, local government and state levels. We thank them for a good job and their efforts for the party. All those who have spent eight to 12 years as ward, local government and state executives should leave. We thank them.
“The chances of those who have just spent a single term and who still want to contest would be determined by the leadership. One good term deserves another unless that person is terribly bad in his locality.”
Speaking to journalists after the stakeholders’ meeting, Ajomale said younger people taking over the affairs of the party will fast track the evolution of APC.
“We feel that the younger generation should be given opportunity because all those serving the party in the last 12 years now would have been old. So, it is right and proper for us to consider the younger generation to come on board, so that they can fast track the evolution of this party.
“We have capable people, who will take over from me. I won all the governorship elections, senatorial elections, local government elections and many other elections while I was in office. I have trained enough people for them to be able to take over from me. Therefore, I want to move on. I feel we have to leave the place for younger people, and to me, it is a wise decision.”
In another development, the South-South APC, also yesterday, gave reasons why it endorsed Oshiomhole for the national chairmanship position of the party.
The APC South-South National Vice Chairman, Prince Eta, who spoke with correspondents in Benin, Edo State capital, said it was because “Oshiomhole is the rebranding APC needs” ahead the 2019 general elections.
He said the party followed tradition and due process in endorsing Oshiomhole contrary to views of some leaders of the party in the zone.
Speaking on the issue of four state chairmen of the party, who disassociated themselves from the Benin meeting, where Oshiomhole was endorsed, Eta recalled that it was in similar manner that Odigie-Oyegun was endorsed in 2014, at a meeting hosted by the then governor of Rivers State, Amaechi.
His words: “I know that Cross River State APC does not have a chairman as we speak, so it could not have been four chairmen. Let me say that the chairmen are members of the zonal executive committee just like the other 164 people in the zonal committee of the party.
“We did not hold a state executive meeting, we had a zonal committee meeting and in the zonal executive committee, we have over 168 people including senators, governors, deputy governors, former senators and former members of House of Representatives. So, the chairmen, who stormed out of the meeting, were not speaking for their states. Let me tell you something, Senator Nelson Effiong was seated and participated in the voting, when his chairman stormed out and said he disassociated himself.
“He could not have been speaking for Senator Effiong, he could not have been speaking for Hon. Robinson or Hon. Eseme Eyibo. When the chairman of Rivers State stormed out of the house, he could not have been speaking for Senator Magnus Abbe, because Abe after voting sat until the end of the meeting. He could not have been speaking for Senator Wilson Ake, these are people form Rivers State.
“In Bayelsa, the man there is just holding forth as chairman, he is not the chairman. However, when he left the hall, people like Chief Ikisibor and others who were from Bayelsa State remained at the meeting. So, these people cannot be claiming to speak for their states.”
On why the zone picked Oshiomhole rather than the incumbent, Odigie-Oyegun, Eta said: “Oshiomhole fought the godfathers of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State and defeated them. He has the name and experience to change the fortune of our party.
“I am the national vice chairman for close to four years now and what I can say is that the APC needs rebranding and reinvigoration. We need new creativity, we need to build strong leadership and I can tell you that we have been lacking leadership at the national level of our party.
“And in bringing in Oshiomhole on board, I can tell you that the party will have a new lease of life. The impunity that has crept in the APC will be halted. And the laws of the party will be respected. For now, God forbid that Jesus Christ will come to the headquarters of the APC, he will not flog us with cane, he will flog us with thorns,”
Meanwhile, some APC youths in the South-South, yesterday, called on Amaechi to concentrate on strategies to defeat Governor Nyesom Nwike and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rather than dissipating energy in fighting Oshiomhole over the national chairmanship of the party.
The youth in a statement on the resolution of the APC zonal executive committee, which adopted Oshiomhole as the candidate of the zone for the position of the national chairman of the party, regretted that Amaechi had failed to win Rivers State for the APC in spite of the resources available to him.
