The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) deepened yesterday as Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha urged the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to stop dropping President Muhammadu Buhari’s name in perpetrating illegality in the party.
Okorocha, who fielded questions from journalists after meeting with President Buhari, lamented that the party had lost about five million members due to impunity under Oshiomhole’s leadership.
His words: “I have to clarify that the presidency is not behind what Oshiomhole is doing in some of the states and which has affected our party negatively.
“From my understanding of Mr. President, there is no such directive for Oshiomhole to do anything illegal or create injustice. So, the party Chairman is on his own in this whole thing.”
He lamented that National Leader of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was in the state House on Wednesday, where he applauded Oshiomhole, saying the APC Chairman had piloted the affairs of the party well and that those who are angry should join hands to build the party.
But Okorocha said: “The presidency is not in support of him to refuse candidates who won elections and give wrong candidates who did not win election. He is not doing those things with the President’s consent.
“I also requested that Oshiomhole should learn to respect the rule of law and obey court orders where they apply. Disobeying court orders must stop because it does not reflect the image of our party.”
Okorocha, who is Chairman of Progressive Governors’ Forum, however, discountenanced insinuations that the party was on the verge of disintegration.
Also yesterday, Ogun State Governor, Ibukunle Amosun reacted to comments credited to Oshiomhole over the controversy surrounding the primary elections in the country, especially in Ogun State.
He stated that the last primaries in the state fell short of minimum standards of justice, equity and fairness, insisting that hiding under the false claims about ‘conscience and integrity’ is cheap.
A statement issued by the Commissioner for Information, Dayo Oduneye, noted that Oshiomhole said his posture on the primaries was because he would not sell his conscience to hold on to National Chairman’s position.
“We state without any fear of equivocation that no one, at least not on the side of Amosun, has requested Oshiomhole to sell his conscience. The least we expect from him is to abide by the rules and guidelines of the APC. Oshiomhole knows that the Ogun case is an instance of injustice.
“He knows that there was no other governorship primaries in Ogun State other than the one that produced Adekunle Akinlade as APC’s candidate,” the statement reads.
