APC has improved significantly under Oshiomhole, says Party spokesman

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has improved significantly since after the 2015 general election, contrary to the ‘assertion in some quarters that the party’s fortunes were dwindling, the party’s spokesman has said.

Speaking during an interview in Abuja, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said despite some 2019 election losses recorded in some states that the APC had improved significantly on the result of 2015 under the leadership of Adam Oshiomhole.

He said the National Chairman could not be blamed for the avoidable losses recorded in some states as some stakeholders failed to follow the party’s directives and ensure internal democracy.

Issa-Onilu said: “Since we are comparing 2015 to what has happened now, we should remember that our President was elected in 2015 with over 15 million votes as against the PDP’s 13 million plus. There was about 2.5 million votes difference.

“Under Oshiomhole, we have over 15 million votes as against PDP’s 11 million plus. There you have nearly four million votes difference. So for the Presidential election, our party has improved significantly on the result of 2015.

“The situation was expectedly different at the state level. The state players have the foremost responsibility to win elections in their states. What we can do at the national level is to provide the necessary support. The support starts from conducting transparent primaries that ensure the party produces popular candidates.

“Of course, certain state players in our party expected business as usual where other players are subjugated for them so that their wishes are imposed on other APC members in their states. This, we could not do and I don’t think we need to apologise for doing the right thing. By now, the states that failed to follow the party’s directives are the ones that may be regretting.”

Issa-Onilu said governors, who were true progressives, worked with the National Working Committee to ensure things were done right in their respective states.

“Look at Kaduna, Plateau, Niger, Kano, Nasarawa, Katsina, Jigawa, Borno, Yobe, etc. The Governors and leaders of APC in these states worked according to the rules in conjunction with the NWC and we all can see that the sweetest victory is the one achieved under a free and fair engagement with the opposition.

“This is what our party wants to showcase. This is the example President Buhari has shown by ensuring that we had a presidential election in this country without seeking to award himself any advantage over his opponents.

“These people who are looking for who to blame are not talking about Kwara and Gombe. These were PDP states that we won landslide. We won in these two states because the local players adjusted to the change agenda of the party.

“I am from Kwara, we won 100 percent in such a transparent manner that the PDP had nothing to complain about. Do not forget that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki is from Kwara. Kwara presented us the evidence that if we shun impunity and play by the rules, Nigerians would reward us with votes. The same is the situation in Gombe. Do these people want to give Oshiomhole credit for our victories in Kwara and Gombe states? Or they just believe APC must win by all means everywhere?”