Oshiomhole’s shaky hold on APC

The plot to remove the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, ahead of the 2023 general elections has refused to wane because of the involvement of some governors elected on the platform of the party.

The statement hitherto released by the Director-General (DG) of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Mr Salihu Lukman, seems to have captured the views of the aggrieved APC governors.

Mr Salihu asked Oshiomhole to either resign or convene a meeting of NEC to resolve all challenges.

He said nothing short of a NEC or National Caucus meeting of the party could resolve all increasing organisational challenges as a party.

The PGF DG, who said the party’s national leaders must rise to the challenge facing the APC as a party and take all necessary measures to convene superior organ meetings to begin to resolve all challenges, stressed that “the current public disgrace must end”.

He expressed concern over the feud between Oshiomhole and Governor Godwin Obaseki and said that the vacant positions in the NWC should have been filled.

Separate meetings of the National Caucus and NEC were consequently convened.

But the consequence of the plot to remove the party’s national chairman was witnessed at the November 22, 2019 brief APC NEC meeting at its National Secretariat in Abuja when his supporters and opponents clashed before the parley.

The chaos was, however, brought under control by the security agents before the arrival of President Buhari.

No doubt, Oshiomholemust-go plot divided the last NEC meeting as the aggrieved members, led by the Zamfara State APC Chairman, Hon. Lawal Liman, later addressed journalists same day.

Liman, who is the spokesman of the Forum of State APC Chairmen as well as the aggrieved NEC members, demanded the resignation of Oshiomhole as National Chairman as the meeting ended “abruptly”.

He said some NEC members expressed opposition to the adjournment of the meeting in less than one hour.

Liman said most of the goodwill acquired by the party because of its religious adherence to the provisions of its constitution and the tenets of internal democratic practices had taken a downturn due to “dictatorial and despotic tendencies” of Oshiomhole who claimed had usurped the powers of the NEC.

“Most, unfortunately, the facade conducted by the National Chairman as a National Executive Committee meeting leaves much to be desired. He completely ignored Mr President’s advice and rather defied all known rules for meetings by precluding contributions from members and ending the meeting abruptly, without achieving anything. This is most unfortunate and undesirable.

“Arising from the foregoing and having regards to the huge responsibilities bestowed on us as officers of the party and in the overriding interest of our members, we are left with no option but to demand that Comrade Oshiomhole resigns his position as National Chairman in order to stem the slide and provide an enabling environment for genuine healing, reconciliation and the practice of true democracy within the party across the country,” he said.

A meeting of the APC National Caucus held a day before NEC had stressed the need to rekindle its Board of Trustees (BoT) in view of crises rocking various chapters of the party.

President Muhammadu Buhari also spoke in parable at the meeting in order to douse tension over the move to oust the party’s national chairman.

President Buhari told NEC members that history would not be fair to them if the APC collapsed at the end of his tenure

He, however, added that history would be fair to them if the APC made gains and remained strong at the centre.

The president charged all APC members, leaders and elected officials to reposition themselves in their respective constituencies so as to sustain the administration’s landmark legacies beyond 2023

“This is the only way we can make this party survive, this is the only way history will be kind to

A sharp exchange between one governor from the northwest who opposed Oshiomhole and another from the northeast who supported him. While the former said they were clamouring for the chairman’s sack out of loyalty to President Buhari and his legacy, the latter accused the former of being a late comer to the Buhari camp. us that we have led with absolute concern for the country and for the people.

“If for any other reason, you divide the party, at any constituency and it causes failure, then be prepared that history will not recognize you as a leader at any level at any time.

“….People will reflect with nostalgia that once upon a time, the builders of APC made a lot of sacrifices, worked very hard. The sacrifices are physical, material and moral to make sure that we maintain the leadership politically.

“This is what we should all aim at and ensure that our constituencies understand us and follow us to this great objective,” Buhari also said.

Buhari, who expressed commitment to make the APC a permanent entity after his tenure advised every elected party member to ensure that they earned respect in their various constituencies.

The NEC meeting, therefore, adopted the recommendation of the National Caucus that President Buhari, as Leader of the Party, constituted a National Reconciliation Committee.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting by the APC National Publicity Secretary Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the Standing Committee would be empowered to address grievances of party members and resolve existing conflicts all with a view to fostering unity and oneness within the party.

As a consequence of the recommendation, the governors of the ruling APC on Thursday, December 5, 2019, held a closeddoor meeting with President Buhari over the lingering crises in the party.

The meeting, which had Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari in attendance, was held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The governors were led by the Chairman of the PGF and Governor of Kebbi State Atiku Bagudu.

Other governors who attended the meeting were Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Babagana Zulum (Borno), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), and Sani Bello (Niger). The deputy governor of Kano, Nasir Gawuna and his Kogi counterpart, David Onoja, were also in attendance. All the governors and deputies who attended the meeting refused to speak on the outcome of the engagement with the president.

But details of what transpired was exclusively reported by Daily Trust on Sunday as APC governors were said to have exchanged hot words and shouted at one another during the meeting with President Buhari, with some of them demanding the removal of party national chairman; while others insisted on his stay in office.

Top party sources said the meeting ended in a stalemate.

It was learnt that five governors pushed for Oshiomhole’s immediate removal, saying he had mismanaged the party due to selfish interest and endangered its future. They were Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu, who is also PGF chairman; Governor Nasiru el-Rufai of Kaduna; Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau, who is chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum; Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State and Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo. The latter is in a bitter political quarrel with his predecessor and former godfather, Oshiomhole. He is also up for re-election next year.

On the other hand, governors who supported Oshiomhole included Zulum of Borno, Sanwoolu of Lagos, Oyetola of Osun, Abiodun of Ogun, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, Masari of Katsina, Buni of Yobe, Yahaya Bello of Kogi and Engineer Sule of Nasarawa. Among the APC governors that were either not at the meeting or who sat on the fence were Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo, Fayemi of Ekiti, Yahaya of Gombe, Badaru of Jigawa and Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara. The pro-Oshiomhole governors said no meeting of APC governors was held to discuss the matter before Governor Bagudu phoned each one of them on the night before the day of the meeting inviting them for the meeting. Many had to charter planes in order to attend the meeting, they said. Sources told Daily Trust on Sunday there was a sharp exchange between one governor from the northwest who opposed Oshiomhole and another from the northeast who supported him. While the former said they were clamouring for the chairman’s sack out of loyalty to President Buhari and his legacy, the latter accused the former of being a late comer to the Buhari camp. He said he was a Buhari local government coordinator in 2003 when the former was a top anti-Buhari PDP operator. Buhari refused to support and side in the argument, sources said. He instead said he initially supported Oshiomhole to become national chairman because he had a good record both as president of the Nigeria Labour Congress and as Edo State governor. The president, however, said if party members wanted to remove him, they should follow the normal procedure. One of the governors, who supported Oshiomhole, however, added that if Buhari wanted the chairman removed, he should say so and they would support him. It was also gathered that when APC state chairmen met with the president over the same issue last Friday, 24 of them indicated support for Oshiomhole to continue as party chairman; while the others either opposed him or sat on the fence. Again, there was no consensus at the meeting, it was also learnt.