Oshiomhole divides APC NEC

The position of the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has divided members of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC).

A team of aggrieved NEC members led by the Zamfara State APC chairman, Hon. Lawal Liman, yesterday addressed journalists calling for the resignation of Oshiomhole as national chairman.

Liman said most of the goodwill acquired by the party by reasons 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.

He said this might have been responsible for the admonition by President Muhammadu Buhari who insisted that the party organs at the state, local government and ward levels must be strengthened and accorded due respect with regard to the powers and responsibilities conferred on them by the constitution of the party.

“The APC was founded as a platform for the progressives in Nigeria in 2014, with ‘change” as the slogan of the party.

“The party was positively embraced by the citizens of Nigeria, culminating in the record breaking victory of President Buhari as the first opposition leader to defeat an incumbent president…

“Most unfortunately, the facade conducted by the National Chairman, today, the 22nd of November, 2019, 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 regard to the huge responsibilities bestowed on us as officers of the party and in the overriding interest of our our members, we are left with no option but to demand that Comrade Oshiomhole resign 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.

Meanwhile, the APC NEC has adopted the recommendation of the national caucus that President Buhari as leader of the party constitutes a National Reconciliation Committee.

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