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Tag: Oshiomhole

  • We’re not ashamed to say our party failed under Oyegun – APC defends Oshiomhole

    The All Progressives Congress has said its former National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, condoned indiscipline while he was at the helm of affairs of the party.

    APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, who spoke to journalists, said the National Working Committee led by Odigie-Oyegun had lacked the courage required to confront the “pockets of political despots,” who could not operate by the party’s rules.

    Odigie-Oyegun had described Oshiomhole as lacking the temperament and capacity to run a political party. The former APC chairman had said, “He engages his mouth before his mind, so he offends party members.”

    But reacting to Odigie-Oyegun’s criticism of Oshiomhole, Issa-Onilu stated that the resultant effect of the former chairman’s style of leadership was widespread indiscipline across party ranks, lack of respect for party supremacy by the 8th National Assembly leadership, and its overall inability to align the varying interests of the legacy parties that came together to form the APC in 2014.

    He said, “Let me agree that the NWC that led the party into the 2015 elections and continued till June 2018 did nothing different from what you would find in the Peoples Democratic Party. It was a period the party was seen as a mere vehicle to attain political office.

    “The system accommodated impunity as certain members appeared to be superior to the party. Their interests were far more important than the collective interests of the APC, even when most times such interests are at variance with the ideals the party stand for.

    “The leadership under Chief Oyegun, with due respect to him, condoned all sorts of acts of indiscipline from certain members.

    It is not surprising that the current National Working Committee inherited such a huge mess, where the party was struggling to differentiate itself from the delinquent PDP.”

    The APC spokesman said the PDP was “practically dead” following its defeat at the 2015 elections, adding that the PDP bounced back not because the party had changed its “insidious way” or did anything different, but because the APC did not live up to expectations.

    “It goes without saying that when an organisation is unable to enforce its own rules, it would suffer the consequences sooner than later.

    “We should not be ashamed to say that our party’s leadership under Chief Oyegun lacked the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots who could not operate by the party’s rules,” Issa-Onilu stated.

  • Is Adams Oshiomhole a secret weapon of the PDP? Femi Aribisala

    Is Adams Oshiomhole a secret weapon of the PDP? Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    Adams Oshiomhole may not be a card-carrying member of the PDP. As a matter of fact, he is the national chairman of the ruling APC. Nevertheless, he has been a major blessing to the PDP and a systematic liability to the APC. If one did not know any better, you might conclude that Oshiomhole is a PDP plant in the APC. So counter-productive have been the activities of the APC national chairman to the fortunes of his party.

    Case against Oshiomhole

    Oshiomhole’s subversion of APC interests has reached the point where his second-in-command, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, the Deputy National Chairman of the party, is now calling for his resignation. In a letter to Oshiomhole leaked to the public, he said: “We had 23 states in 2015, but after the 2019 elections we lost seven states! We also had 60 senators in 2015 at the end of the elections; we now end up with 57 senators in 2019! You were not brought in to lose election. It is absolutely unacceptable!

    He is not alone in this position within the APC. Former national chairman of the party, John Odigie Oyegun says: “Oshiomhole engages his mouth before engaging his mind, so he offends party members.” “Oshiomhole is degrading and de-marketing the party; rather than seeking to bring more people on board, he is chasing people out of the party with his ‘agbero’ style of engagement.”

    The Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, says Oshiomhole, lacks respect for truth and decency. The former governor of old Sokoto State, Yahaya Abdulkarim said: “If Oshiomhole does not quit, the APC will be dead by 2023.”

    Other governors, such as former Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo, and Governor Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna, also want to see the back of Oshiomhole. Indeed, at one juncture, it was reported that as many as 15 of the 21 APC governors collected signatures for his removal.

    The immediate past minister of communications, Adebayo Shittu says: “With Oshiomhole, (APC) would go down by the time President Muhammadu Buhari finishes his second term. Oshiomhole is full of himself. He has an ego problem and wants to dominate every environment. Democracy is not like that.”

    Abrasive style

    Oshiomhole’s “gra gra” style of leadership means he specializes in insulting and aggravating everybody. Within the APC, he sees his job as that of a village headmaster, authorized to whip others into line. This makes him very divisive. Indeed, he is like a bull in a china shop. His over-bearing manner knows no bounds.

    During President Buhari’s recent inauguration, Oshiomhole forgot that he is not a member of the government, but only a member of the ruling party. He arrogated himself into a position of honour among the members of the military brass at Eagle Square, only to be embarrassed by the Commander of the Brigade of Guards who had to ask him to leave the place.

    Because he loves to hear the sound of his own voice, Oshiomhole often puts his foot in his mouth. He even once dissed President Buhari, the very person who handpicked him to be chairman of APC. He said: “If the President condones disrespect for his office, I will not condone disrespect for the party.” In effect, PDP does not need to berate the president of being weak. The national chairman of his party already does.

    He threatened to suspend Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, from the party if he failed to constitute and inaugurate board members for federal agencies and parastatals under his ministry. Said Oshiomhole: “When we expel the minister, we will prevail on the president that he can’t keep in his cabinet people who have neither respect for his own decisions nor have respect for the party without which they would not have been ministers.”

    It appears Oshiomhole can even dictate to the president who should be in his cabinet.

    “Offshore rigging”

    Nowhere else did Oshiomhole do as much damage to the APC as in his handling of the party’s presidential primaries. In hindsight, it became abundantly clear that he was in over his head: he was just not up to the job.

    Asked Oyegun: “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?” Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, said the APC primaries exposed Oshiomhole’s incompetence. He described the primaries as “political charade,” with “a shocking proclivity towards banditry and impunity.”

    The outcome was chaos. In some states, party bigwigs sitting in Abuja tried to write the results of elections that did not take place. This was the case in Ogun. In some places like Kano, fictitious direct elections were said to have been conducted whereby President Buhari was awarded an incredible 2.9 million votes. You may well ask who counted those votes and where did the people line up?

    In others, indirect votes took place, conducted by carefully selected electors charged with working to the answers. To run for APC gubernatorial candidate, Oshiomhole said the expression of interest form would cost N22.5 million naira. This money was then collected from contestants even where no election took place.

    Pat Utomi paid 22 million to contest for APC nomination as candidate for Governor in Delta State. APC collected his money but held no primary. The selection was over before he even got to the polls. Said Utomi: “While I was still looking for the venue of the APC gubernatorial primaries, a friend called to tell me that the election had been concluded and a winner has emerged. APC is fraudulent and occultic.”

    In short, Utomi was robbed of 22 million naira in broad daylight. In this manner, Oshiomhole devised a system to rob APC candidates of their money all over Nigeria. Even the president’s wife, Aisha Buhari (God bless her) was constrained to insist this was out of order: “It is disheartening to note that some aspirants used their hard earned money to purchase nomination forms, got screened, cleared and campaigned vigorously yet found their names omitted on Election Day, these forms were bought at exorbitant prices.”

    To ensure that Buhari had no opposition, Oshiomhole fixed the nomination papers for the APC presidential candidate at a whopping 45 million naira. By implication, only those who had 45 million to burn would be foolish enough to challenge the president. The president himself, who claimed he has less than N30 million in his bank account in 2015, easily got “investors” to put up the money for him.

    As a result, other presidential aspirants in the APC called for Oshiomhole’s resignation. Alhaji Mumakai-Unagha and Dr SKC Ogbonnia put out a statement that Oshiomhole: “deliberately hiked the prizes of nomination forms to scare genuine Nigerians with burning desire to salvage the nation economy, he’s gradually destroying the party to pave way for the Peoples’ Democratic Party. He imposed party executives as well as candidates in the various constituents against the wishes of the people.”

    Legislative overreach

    Even though he is not a legislator and his authority as party chairman does not extend to the national assembly, Oshiomhole announced that the APC would not allow any PDP senator to be appointed as committee chairman in the Senate, except where statutorily required. This muddied the waters again for the APC in the struggle for ensuring the party maintains legislative supremacy in Buhari’s second-term.

    Oshiomhole’s broadside runs against the grain of longstanding legislative practice. He does not seem to understand that Nigeria is not running a parliamentary system of government where legislators are answerable to their parties and can be whipped into voting one way or the other.

    He is also ignorant of the fact that PDP votes might be required in determining who will be Speaker and President of the Senate. Indeed, as a result of his attempt to bully legislators, there are indications that some APC lawmakers are already planning to defy the party line.

    Therefore, saner minds have sought to gag the loquacious APC national chairman, before he ends up putting too much sand in the party’s garri. It was reported that a high-powered APC delegation, including putative national leader, Bola Tinubu, concerned that Oshiomhole’s high-handedness was counter-productive and might create loopholes for the PDP, sat the national chairman down and told him, in no uncertain terms, to refrain from making any further comments on the election of national assembly leaders.

    Oshiomhole is said to have rebuffed the delegation, insisting that, as chairman, he cannot be gagged. But he was then said to have been gently reminded that he could easily be removed from office and possibly charged with financial crimes if he did not desist. Since then, little has been heard from Mr. Chairman. He has gone underground.

    From Comrade to Governor

    When he was president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Oshiomhole was celebrated for fighting energetically for the rights of Nigerian workers. But when he became Governor of Edo, Oshiomhole, quickly forgot and denied his roots. When a poor woman selling “peanuts” by the roadside appealed to him not to have her livelihood confiscated, Oshiomhole told her to “go and die.”

    As governor of Edo State, Oshiomhole was another APC master at the art of grandstanding against corruption with lies, more lies and fake news. He said a senior official of the Obama administration revealed to him that a Jonathan minister stole $6 billion dollars. This was denied by the Americans and shown to be palpably false. In any case, how can one single individual possibly steal that much and from where?

    He also claimed a consultancy fee of 140 billion naira was paid for the Second Niger Bridge project. This also turned out to be a tall tale. The Bureau of Public Procurement exposed this “fabu” by revealing that the total cost of the bridge is only 108 billion naira.

    For all his false piety, Oshiomhole can hardly be described as Mr. Integrity. As a matter of fact, Oshiomhole went on record undercutting the anti-corruption posture of the APC by inviting those who have stolen government money to join the APC. Said Oshiomhole: “Once you join APC, all your sins are forgiven.”

    In 2018, an anti-corruption crusader, Bishop Osadolor Ochei, obtained an order of mandamus compelling the EFCC to institute criminal proceedings against Oshiomhole over allegations of financial fraud. To date, Oshiomhole stands accused of official high-headedness, impervious impunity, lack of inclusiveness and dictatorial leadership.

    It is not too late. Since members of the APC are now fed up with him, it might be better for Adams Oshiomhole to apply to join the PDP. But there is no guarantee that his application will be accepted.

  • Oshiomhole lacks Capacity to manage a big political party – Oyegun

    The immediate past national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie Oyegun has said that his successor, Adams Oshiomhole, lacks capacity to manage the different interests and tendencies that constitute a political party.

    In apparent reaction to the allegation by the South-south APC chairmen that he laid landmines for the Oshiomhole-led national executive, Oyegun described it as “ludicrous and infantile and an attempt to dream up justification for the failings of the party under Oshiomhole chairmanship”.

    In a statement issued on Sunday by his Public Affairs Adviser, Chief Ray Morphy, the former national chairman said Oshiomhole failed because he lacks the temperament required to run a big political party like APC.
    “That statement of Booby Traps is ludicrous and infantile and an attempt to dream up justification for the failings of the party under Oshiomhole Chairmanship,” he said.

    Regarding the brewing crisis of confidence and the misfortune the ruling party witnessed at the last general election, the former chairman said the crisis in states arose out of sheer incapacity on the part of the current chairman.

    He said Oshiomhole failed because he lacks the temperament that is required to run a political party.
    He said Oshiomhole also. lacks the capacity to manage the different interests and tendencies that constitute a political party.

    “He engages his mouth before engaging his mind, so he offends party members, so how does that constitute booby traps by Oyegun, the erstwhile chairman.

    “Already, the Deputy National Chairman has confirmed that Oshiomhole runs the party without recourse to the NWC.
    “He acts in direct opposite of decisions taken by NWC. No minutes of NWC meetings which in any event take place outside the party Secretariat,” he said.

    Oyegun said that part of Oshiomhole’s poor sense of judgement was when he gave the states freedom to choose their methods of picking candidates for elections.

    “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 this Oshiomhole incapacity become booby traps by Oyegun.
    “Many party men were aghast at the unfairness and injustice meted them during the primaries process.

    “Only a bad carpenter quarrels with his tools. Indeed Oshiomhole is degrading and demarketing 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,” Oyegun.said.

  • APC south-south chairmen pass vote of confidence on Oshiomhole

    APC south-south chairmen pass vote of confidence on Oshiomhole

    …demand Shuaibu apology in seven days

    State Chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the South South geo-political zone have thrown their weight behind the National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

    Recall that the party’s Deputy National Chairman (North), Senator Lawal Shuaibu had last week demanded Oshiomhole’s resignation in an open letter.

    However, the chairmen accused Shuaibu of trying to cause disaffection within the party.

    Rising from an emergency meeting in Abuja, the state Chairmen expressed confidence in the leadership of Oshiomhole, saying allegations of high handedness level against Oshiomhole by his deputy were not true and baseless.

    In a statement jointly signed by the six (6) South – South APC State Chairmen, they said it was unfortunate Shuaibu was just realising the problems in the party few days after the party set up a committee to look into cases of anti-party activities against some party members.

    Those who signed the communiqué include Hon. Ini T. Okopido (Akwa – Ibom), Hon. Amos Lalabunafa (Bayelsa), John Ochalla (Cross Rivers), Prophet Jones Ode Erue (Delta), Barr. Aslem U. Ojezua (Edo) and Hon. Ojukaye Flag Amachree (Rivers)

    They faulted the public outburst of Shuaibu who they described as a senior party official who ought to be well acquainted with the provisions of the party’s constitution regarding how to channel perceived grievances if any exist.

    They stressed: “The Deputy National Chairman North merely expressed his personal opinion on perceived issues which is not a reflection of the views of the generality of party stakeholders who are yet to find anything untoward in the stewardship of the party’s National Chairman His Excellency, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.”

    The chairmen further disagreed with Shuaibu’s claims that the actions of the National Chairman were responsible for multiplicity of court cases bedeviling various chapters of the party.

    Rather they asserted it was the landmines created by his predecessor who was bent on destroying the party before departing that fueled the unfortunate situation and wondered why Shuaibu is just realising the issues he raised barely few days after the NWC set up a committee to look into petitions against highly placed party stakeholders glaringly involved in anti-party activities, which was responsible for the loss of the number of states mentioned in his letter vis a – viz the depletion also in the numbers of elected Senators in the just concluded 2019 elections.

    They dismissed the allegations of high-handedness against the National Chairman with particular reference to the altering of National Working Committee decisions as a veil plot to crucify the National Chairman over his uncompromising stance on truth against elements bent on destroying the party from within.

    They however, urged for restraint on the part of Shuaibu asking him to employ more civilized ways of expressing whatever private grievance he has against the National Chairman instead of playing to the gallery by granting interviews to launch unprovoked attacks on the National Chairman and by extension, the very party he claims to love.

    They wondered whose interest the media outburst seeks to serve and its original intention stating unequivocally that, the National Chairman cannot be removed on the pages of newspapers because the constitution of the party which Senator Lawal Shuaibu subscribed to, as a member of the NWC, clearly guarantees the tenure of office of the party’s National Chairman and the processes of removing him from office.

    They gave Shuaibu seven days to apologise to the National Chairman in order not to receive the wrath of party members in the South South.

    They also frowned at the intermittent and most unjustifiable attacks on the National Chairman who have maintained unblemished records since joining active politics and has untiredlessly ensured internal democratic norms are entrenched in the party since his assumption of office.

    The chairmen observed what the Deputy National Chairman , North have done is tantamount to creating disaffection amongst party faithfuls, insisting that such action was very offensive to the constitution of our great party.

    The chairman passed a vote of confidence on the National Chairman and vowed to resist any attempt to blackmail him out of office for standing against injustice that has hitherto been the hallmark of his predecessor which was the only legacy he left behind.

  • Speakership race: Despite zoning arrangement, another rep declares interest, writes Oshiomhole

    A fresh speakership candidate for the ninth House of Representatives has emerged. He is Chike Okafor (APC-Imo) and he (Okafor) on Tuesday, formally declared his intention to run for the position.

    Mr Okafor made his intention known when members of Good Governance and Transparency Initiative (GGTI) visited him at his National Assembly’s office, Abuja.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that GGTI, an association of different youth organisations in the country, had, during the visit, endorsed Mr Okafor as its preferred candidate for the speaker’s slot.

    The lawmaker, who represents Ehime Mbano/Ihitte Uboma/Obowo Federal Constituency, disclosed that he had already written to the party’s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, on his intention to vie for the position.

    ”The issue of zoning and election of principal officers of the National Assembly is about the most important talking point for most legislators and politicians, presently.

    ”While the position of the Senate President has been zoned by our party, the APC, to the North-East, we are aware that the party is yet to zone the Speakership of the House of Representatives to any zone.

    ”You are already aware of the clamour from across the country for equitable distribution of the principal offices of the National Assembly.

    ”Most importantly, the recent push by several APC support groups from across the northern states and the South-East calling on the party’s leadership to zone the speakership of the 9th assembly of the House of Representatives to the South-East,” he said.

    According to him, in 2015, the APC denied the South-East principal officer’s positions in the National Assembly on the ground that we did not have a ranking member under the APC.

    ”I was slated for leadership position then, but was eventually denied the position of deputy whip because I was a first timer. Now, I am back and ranking!

    ”Gentlemen and ladies, let me use the opportunity of your visit and overwhelming endorsement to declare that I have thrown my hat into the ring.

    ”I am running for the speakership of the 9th assembly of the House of Representatives, and have formally written to the National chairman, and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of my party, the APC,” he remarked.

    Mr Okafor, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Health, said it was no gainsaying that the South-East, which was denied a leadership position in the ruling party leadership caucus of the 8th assembly deserved compensation in the 9th assembly.

    ”And I am the appropriate vehicle for an equitable compensation to the South-East,” he said.

    The lawmaker, who said his zone gave 403,958 votes to President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election victory in 2019 presidential poll, said this was against 198, 248 votes from the five states of the region in 2015.

    ”403,000 votes for Mr. President in the 2019 presidential election may not seem a big deal, but there is no geo-political zone in Nigeria that doubled its vote haul of 2015 in 2019 and improved on it performance in 2015 by more than 100% except the South-East!

    ”A ruling party doesn’t just look at the numbers alone; it also looks at national interest; it looks at social justice; it considers political stability and harmony in the body politics.

    ”It feels the pulse of the nation and weighs in on equitable inclusion of federating units of the country in line with the provisions of the constitution of the country and the party, even as it affects sharing of political offices.

    ”And looking at all these indices, as a party, we have not given the South-East a fair deal! Not yet,” he said.

    The lawmaker, however, hinted that he would not hesitate to go by the party’s decision should APC decide to zone the position against his wish.

    Earlier, the leader of GGTI delegation, Abdulbasit Abubakar, said after the group’s congress meeting at Arewa House, Kaduna, Mr Okafor was unanimously endorsed by members as most qualified person to lead the 9th House.

    He said a 5000-man march would soon be organised by the group to press home their demand.

  • Oshiomhole vows PDP lawmakers won’t chair committees in 9th House of Reps

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has said that lawmakers of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives will not be appointed as chairmen of committees in the next parliament.

    Speaking at a dinner hosted by President Muhammadu Buhari for elected APC lawmakers on Tuesday, Mr Oshiomhole said the decision is because the APC has learnt from the ”mistake” of 2015 when members not loyal to the party were allowed to assume leadership positions in the National Assembly.

    The dinner held inside the Banquet Hall of the State House Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara emerged against the wish of the APC in 2015. Both men, elected on the APC platform in 2015, had the support of PDP lawmakers and appointed some of them as committee chairpersons. Both men defected to the PDP in 2018.

    Mr Oshiomhole on Tuesday said even as APC members, Messrs Saraki and Dogara were hostile to the APC administration led by Mr Buhari.

    He accused the duo of creating tension in the system, delaying budget needlessly and creating all sorts of obstacles to frustrate the government.

    “In life, mistakes are permitted. But it becomes a problem if the mistake is repeated twice. We are determined not to repeat the mistakes of 2015 in 2019, we have learnt our lesson.

    ”Out of 223 APC elected members, 67 were re-elected, the rest are new members.

    ”In other climes, you don’t go into coalition when you are in the majority, you do so when you don’t have the numbers. We have the numbers, out of 360, Nigerians elected 223 APC members because they don’t want Mr President to face the trauma of 2015, ” he said.

    The APC chairman said the House of Representatives has 96 committees and that all re-elected members will chair strategic committees, adding ”even new members will chair committees this time around.”

    He said the decision is sequel to the fact that most of those who decamped from the APC were rejected by Nigerians during the election and “even those who led it were uprooted by the Otoge movement in Kwara State.”

    “We cannot as a party which has a comfortable majority, entrust critical committees in the hands of the PDP or opposition.

    “If Nigerians wanted them, they could have voted them. In the days of PDP, every committee were chaired by PDP members,” he said.

    Mr Oshiomhole also said Mr. Buhari and the leadership of the party do not expect the National Assembly to be a rubber stamp.

    He said, however, that they will operate like a typical African family where issues are discussed in closed door.

    “The good news,” he said, “is that there is a role for everyone.”

    “Both the re-elected and new members are entitled to heading committees

    “We have asked our people not to share what belongs to us with other party members.

    “I don’t have apologies against forces of retrogression,” Mr Oshiomhole said.

    The party chairman’s stance comes a day after the APC said its elected lawmakers consulting with the PDP were right to do so.

    Femi Gbajabiamila, the Lagos lawmaker favoured to be the next House speaker by APC leaders, is one of those consulting with PDP members.

  • Buhari salutes Oshiomhole @ 67

    Buhari salutes Oshiomhole @ 67

    President Muhammadu Buhari has joined all members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in felicitating with the party’s National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on his 67th birthday.

    The President said Oshiomhole has provided purposeful, courageous and tenacious leadership over the years.

    President Buhari, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Friday, added that after many years of serving as labour leader, Oshiomhole has brought new dynamism into the collective effort to make democracy and development more inclusive in the country.

    The president also saluted the APC national chairman for his vibrant relationship with Nigerian workers and ordinary people.

    According to him, as the Chairman of APC, the strides recorded in the last elections across the country clearly testifies to his visionary and vibrant leadership.

    He also commended Oshiohmole’s effort at building a strong and unified party that is focused on strengthening internal democracy and developing the country.

    While rejoicing with family members, friends and political associates of the APC Chairman on the milestone, President Buhari described him as “a man of conviction, who stands resolutely by whatever he believes in.”

    The President prayed that God would grant the party chairman longer life, good health and wisdom in serving the country and its citizens.

  • Oshiomhole’ll destroy APC before 2023 polls – Okorocha

    Oshiomhole’ll destroy APC before 2023 polls – Okorocha

    Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, has warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) risks serious setback in the 2023 general elections if its National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, continues with his present leadership style.

    Okorocha, who blamed Oshiomhole solely for APC’s loss of key states in the South-East to the opposition People Democratic Party (PDP), in the 2019 general elections, made the disclosure, yesterday, after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

    He warned that any attempt to further sideline the South-East in election and selection of principal officers of the incoming 9th National Assembly will worsen the party’s chances in future elections, especial-ly in the zone. According to him, Oshiomhole’s actions are capable of reducing the APC to a regional party, with serious setback ahead of the 2023 polls.

    He decried the way the APC national chairman imposes his will on the party, a situation, according to him, which has resulted to APC not having any elected political office holder in Imo State after the last recent general elections. But, Oshiomhole, in his reaction, said Okorocha’s claims show that he “is still suffering from his own Iberiberism after he lost woefully in his effort to force his son-in-law on Imo people.” The APC national chairman, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Simon Ebegbulem, added:

     

    “He (Okorocha) should be ashamed today that he connived with the PDP to rig the Imo guber election in favour of the PDP justbecause his son-in-law lost the governorship ticket of the APC. Okorocha’s greed has destroyed his political career and he may not resurrect from it. “Our candidate in Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, is very popular and not a political lightweight like Okorocha, who could not even deliver himself in the senatorial election, not to talk of delivering his son-in-law’s governorship ambition. Okorocha used the resources of the state to work against the APC, yet he lost woefully.

    “Whether Okorocha likes it or not, the APC is in safe hands under Oshiomhole and he will continue to pursue policies that will unite and strengthen the party, and which will ensure that the collective decision of the party and not that of Okorocha is supreme.

    APC will continue to soar higher beyond 2023, it is only Okorocha’s political career that would be destroyed before 2023. Okorocha should hide his head in shame.” Speaking on the debate over the leadership of the 9th National Assembly and possibility of having a repeat of the 2015 scenario, Okorocha said: “I have been watching carefully what is happening in the National Assembly, it’s a very interesting drama. But, all I ask of them is that they should consider the South-East in their calculations.

    “This nation will not be properly balanced if the South-East is not carried along properly in the affairs of the National Assembly. Nobody seems to be talking about the South-East, it looks like the South-East doesn’t have a place anymore, that is wrong, politically speaking and that will not be good for APC. Because there is going to be a bigger APC after President Buhari must have left the seat. “My fear now is that APC might have a serious setback in 2023 as the Oshiomhole- led executive is actually turning APC into a regional minority party, which shouldn’t be because of his mistakes. Right now, in the whole of South-East, we don’t have an APC governor. So, if there is any discussion in Nigeria now within the APC governors and President Buhari, there would be nobody from the South-East.

    This is what the APC chairman has done in the zone. “I think it’s a capital attempt to frustrate the efforts of the South-East, but I appeal to every Nigerian to support the cause of the South-East. The cause is germane and it should be supported in whatever position that is due them. They shouldn’t think about giving South-East whatever position for giving sake. You can’t just wake up and give them any position.

    The South-East is a key zone in this country and if we don’t get the number one seat, we should get the number two seat.” Asked why his party was not making any case for him to be issued with a Certificate of Return after he was declared winner of the Imo West senatorial election, Okorocha said: “I won’t be surprised because you know the imposition we suffered in the party. When you say the party, you talk about the leadership of that party; it’s not the party.

    “I don’t have problem with the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, I only have problem with the chairman of the party, who took it upon himself to do the wrong thing against me for just no cause and to fight a battle that he can never win. He is the one that is behind all these impositions. Can you imagine, as I speak to you, the APC candidate in Imo State did not win a seat; APC does not have a councillor in Imo State now. It does not even have a member of the House of Assembly. But, the AA candidate has eight seats in the Imo State House of Assembly, two House of Representatives seats and they have one senator about to come to the Senate.

    “This is why internal democracy must be respected. Let the will of the people prevail rather than this imposition. It is unfortunate what has happened in Imo State. At least, I have been vindicated for the fact that I said the APC candidate they are imposing on Imo people is not popular and he came from the opposition. For the first time, APC doesn’t have a seat in Imo State. When I was running the affairs of the party, we won 24 seats in the House of Assembly, we had governor, federal house members, but today, APC does not have any because of imposition,” he said. Okorocha maintained that withholding of his Certificate of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is unconstitutional as the returning officer, who claimed that he was forced to declare him (Okorocha) as winner of the election has not been able to name who held him hostage to make the declaration under duress.

    He described as gangsterism, INEC’s declaration of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Emeka Ihedioha, as Imo State Governor-elect, saying such if not corrected, a time would come when a mad man could be conscripted and declared winner of an election in the country. Okorocha said Ihedioha didn’t win two-third of votes in the 27 local government areas in the state as required by law, adding that the votes cancelled were more than the margin with which the PDP candidate won. His words:

    “The governorship candidate of PDP never won that election because the election flouted section 179 of the constitution, which says that you must have the highest votes and you must have 25 per cent in two-thirds of the local governments. Now, this gentleman who was declared the winner by the same INEC, had 135,000 votes from 24 local governments, but had over 130,000 votes from his three local governments. “Of course you know, he didn’t win that election. But, even at that, we had the highest mark. The returning officer of INEC was never patient to even calculate to know that there was 200,000 cancelled votes and there was supposed to be a rerun, thereby flouting that basic provision of the constitution, which says you must have 25 per cent in two-third.

    “So, as far as I am concerned, there will be a rerun in Imo State and the professor that did that should either be de-robed or should be charged for that serious offence of not respecting the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. What this means is that someday, one crazy person might just walk on the street and take one mad man, give him result sheet and declare him winner even if the man does not belong to a party.” The governor said notwithstanding his problem with the ruling party, he maintains a cordial relationship with President Buhari and was in the Presidential Villa to invite him to commission several federal and state funded projects in Imo State before the end of May. According to him, “As a matter of fact, Buhari is a great man, he is a man of wisdom, a visionary leader. That is why you see some of us going along with him.”

  • Its obvious INEC worked against APC in 2019 elections – Oshiomhole

    The national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of working against his party in the just-concluded general election.

    Oshiomhole disclosed this during an interview tagged: “Hard Copy” on Channels Television on Friday evening.

    “I have huge reservations about the way INEC conducted this election. INEC bias against APC is so clear”, he said. “INEC was biased even in the way it dealt with our primaries, INEC was biased in the way in which it selectively used the card readers or the non-use of card readers in some states where it suits them.”

    The former labour leader alleged that the non-use of card readers caused the APC to lose elections in some states.

    Recall that the APC lost governorship elections in four states it currently governs (Imo, Oyo, Adamawa and Bauchi) but won in two states currently governed by the opposition (Kwara and Gombe).

    Oshiomhole said he would never defend INEC’s “gross misconduct regarding (the) last election.”

    Responding to a question on the election of the leadership of the 9th National Assembly, Mr Oshiomole said he has no power to appoint anyone as Senate President.

    “Do I look like someone who can appoint and impose somebody on the Senate, even if I wished to? All I have is to persuade. The power to negotiate and the power to point out what might go wrong if the party does not organise itself as to obtain a process for electing leadership,” he said.

    He, however, said all six geopolitical zones will have a principal officer in the Senate and in the House of Representatives.

    Oshiomhole and the APC leadership had endorsed Ahmed Lawan as the next Senate president and Femi Gbajabiamila as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

    The move has, however, been opposed by other APC elected lawmakers, including Ali Ndume, a Borno senator who seeks to be Senate President.

  • Ninth Senate: Defiant PDP replies Buhari, Oshiomhole, insists members can vie for positions

    Ninth Senate: Defiant PDP replies Buhari, Oshiomhole, insists members can vie for positions

    The national leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Tuesday said that its federal lawmakers elected into the Ninth National Assembly can contest for leadership positions in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    A statement by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said despite their minority status, opposition lawmakers are constitutionally eligible to seek election into any of the presiding positions in the bicameral legislature.

    Specifically, the main opposition party stated that the positions of President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Senate President and Deputy Speaker are not the exclusive preserves of any political party, but a constitutional right of every elected lawmaker in both chambers.

    Presently, the PDP has about 42 senators elect in the upper chamber while the All Progressives Congress (APC) has 66 with the recet defection of Andy Ubah who originally elected on the platform of Young Progressives Party (YPP). In the lower chamber, APC has about 222, against PDP’s 110 with about 10 seats shared among a number of fringe parties.

    The PDP said, “It is therefore laughable and amounts to empty grandstanding and self-delusion for President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, to posture as if the presiding offices and committee chairmanship in the National Assembly are exclusive rights of the APC.

    “President Buhari and Oshiomhole should wake up to the fact that the National Assembly belongs to no political party but to all Nigerians, who exercise their control through their elected representatives.

    “For emphasis, Section 50 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is clear in providing that ‘There shall be:- (a) a President and a Deputy President of the Senate, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves; and (b) a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves’

    “Section 92 (1) makes the same provision for the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of State House of Assembly.

    “The PDP, therefore, does not only have a constitutional say in the process of the emergence of the leadership of the 9th National Assembly, but will, as a matter of constitutional right, field candidates into presiding offices of both chambers, if need be.

    “The PDP wishes to remind President Buhari and Oshiomhole that the APC had in the past benefited from the provisions of section 50, with the defection of then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal from the PDP to the APC, in October 2014, without relinquishing the speakership of the House to the PDP; a development that was applauded by President Buhari, as then opposition leader as well as the APC, through its then National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed.

    “In fact, the former Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, echoed the Constitutional provision that when he said the constitution requires only that the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be elected by members of that House from among themselves”.

    “Moreover, in June 2015, Hon. Terkimbi Ikyange and Hon. Peter Azi, both of APC, were elected Speakers of Benue and Plateau State Houses of Assembly respectively, though their party, the APC, was minority in both Houses”.

    The PDP insisted that the only party offices in the legislature are the Majority and Minority Leaders and Deputy Leaders as well as Majority and Minority Whips and Deputy Whips.

    The party cautioned President Buhari, Oshiomhole and the APC to respect the independence of the legislature, end their imposition plot and to stop sowing seeds of discord among the lawmakers, saying such is directly against the overall national interest.