A coalition of support groups of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has demanded the immediate resignation of the party’s national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, over the misfortunes that befell the party in some states.
The coalition said it was joining the calls for Oshiomhole’s resignation because since his emergence as APC national chairman, the party’s fortunes have been dwindling.
A statement on Tuesday night by James Ovia and Ismaila Faruq for the coalition said with Oshiomhole on the saddle, it would be difficult for APC to emerge victorious in the 2023 general elections, hence he should give way for the emergence of a more serious and committed leader.
“We have noted with dismay how our party, the APC, has lost grounds in a number of states during the last general elections, all due to the impunity instituted by the leadership of the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.
“It is on record that in 2015, the APC won elections in all the states without any issues. However, under Oshiomhole’s leadership, the party, in what has now become a bad history, could not conduct primaries in Rivers and Zamfara states as a result of which APC had no candidates for a single elective office in the state.
“More painful was the case of Zamfara state, where after participating in the elections and winning all elective offices, all the votes scored by the APC were voided, paving the way for opposition PDP to be declared winner of all elective offices, including the governorship, the three Senatorial and seven House of Representatives seats. All these happened because of Oshiomhole’s bad leadership.
“Between the last Presidential and National Assembly elections and now, APC had lost several seats for both National and States’ Assemblies to opposition party largely due to the poor handling of the party’s primaries by Oshiomhole.
“We have observed that Oshiomhole’s leadership has now resorted to blaming the leadership of his predecessor, John Odigie Oyegun, as being responsible for the current travails of the party.
“Though we do not wish a return of the Oyegun era as he was a weak leader, we make bold to say that all the structures put together under Oyegun were dissolved immediately after Oshiomhole’s emergence through the congresses he conducted at the wards, local governments, states and national level, hence the former chairman has no portion of blame on the matter at hand.
“We believe that with all the happenings within the APC, and with Oshiomhole in the helm of affairs in the party, there is no way the party will emerge victorious in the 2023 general elections.
“We feel it is therefore imperative to demand the immediate resignation of Adams Oshiomhole as the National Chairman of APC to pave the way for the emergence of a more serious and committed leader that will shepherd the party ahead of the elections ahead,” they said.
They said as part of his game to stay put as chairman of the party despite his abysmal performance, Oshiomhole recruited one of the states’ chairmen of APC from Southeast who in turn contacted 12 other states’ chairmen to pass a vote of confidence on the national chairman.
“The chairmen contacted included those of Benue, Delta, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Kogi, Borno, Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Kaduna and Nasarawa. Each of the state chairman is being promised the sum of N10 million.
“We believe that this should not be allowed to happen, and Oshiomhole should waste no time in accepting one fact: that he has failed woefully in his leadership of APC, therefore he must give way for another person,” they added.
As at the time of filing this report, Daily Trust could not independently verify the claims of the coalition regarding attempts to make the APC states’ chairmen to pass a vote of confidence on Oshiomhole.
