By OBISESAN LAOYE
The challenge of APC’S control of the National Assembly which has preoccupied its leadership since the conclusion of the elections in April is direct fallout of the political crisis created by the leadership style of its national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. It was also this political crisis that led to its loss of the two states – Rivers and Zamfara – to the opposition, the PDP at the law courts in cases instituted by members of the party against others.
Ordinarily, the APC as the ruling party has enough members in the which will be inaugurated this week NASS to elect anybody of its choice as Speaker of the House and President of the senate, , without losing sleep, but for the bullish and antagonistic posturing of the chairman. This has further polarized the party and estranged the opposition who support and understanding is necessary for a smooth operation of the legislature.
These issues have culminated in the call by party members for his removal especially after the Zamfara debacle.
It seems the controversial manner in which he emerged as continued to determine the way he runs the party by pitching people against themselves. The way he emerged, which many members believed was not through the proper channel, is still angering those who are not well disposed to the ‘coup’ against Chief John Odigie Oyegun whom they said was a victim of vendetta by some powerful groups in the party who were not comfortable with his loyalty to President Buhari at the National level of the party because of their personal ambition, which they felt would be jeopardised, if Oyegun still remained the national chairman of the party.
The event of Oshiomhole’s emergence further deepened the hitherto divisions and power of supremacy among those justling to control the party. His tenure, according to some of the party members instead of stabilising the party has continued to tear it apart. In the last one year, the party has been in one internal crisis or the other.
A major grouse against the chairman is allegedly his unguarded utterances, which always seem to be out of tune with the common sentiment and often without consultations with the stakeholders. Following his declaration that the party will not offer any position to the opposition, many people were so miffed that they appealed President Muhammadu Buhari to call him to order. Unconscious that he even insulted the President, he had said that if the president, condones disrespect for his office, he will not condone disrespect for the party as the Chairman Most people accuse him of dictatorship.
Unknown to him, that statement got the loyalists of President Buhari angry as they accused him of being rude to the office of the President and that he portrayed the President as being very weak.
There are many things against Oshiomhole and as they were trying to sort out, some of the issues created by him, the chairman was diggping deeper into more troubles. His actions before, during and after the 2019 general elections were alleged to have undermined the APC which is adversely affecting the party in all fronts.
The guidelines the National Working committee of the party led by Oshiomhole dished out for the primaries of the party in the recently concluded general elections caused series of problems in many states and the party is now paying dearly for that.
The guidelines pitched him against some governors, like Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, Rochas Okorocha, of Imo State, Mallam Nasil El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo, some Senators and some serving Ministers. The party adopted both direct and indirect primaries.
During the primaries of the party, Oshiomhole’s controversy began with the way he handled the presidential nomination form to favour just only one aspirant, President Buhari. The amount of N45million he placed on the nomination form for contestants was said to have been outrageous to the extent that President Buhari who was favoured,
could not even afford the amount. He was bailed out by Farmers Association who eventually paid for him.
It was not the presidential, nomination form alone that generated crisis. The amounts placed on the nomination forms of other elective positions were challenged to the extent that Dr.Pat Utomi had to complain that the party ripped him off and he was said to have been forced to described APC under Oshiomhole, as fraudulent because he was deceived despite paying, N22.5million for nomination form.
He alleged that when he was to go to the venue of where the governorship primaries was to be held, he was still looking for the venue when a friend phoned him, that the primaries had been held. He was said to have declared APC is occultic group.
What has compounded the APC chairman’s problem are the results of the elections in some states but the one that really made party stalwarts to call for his head, was the Zamfara issue, in which the party lost through the court case, all the elective positions to the PDP.
They believed that it was the chairman’s strategy that contributed to the fall of the party.
The latest attack on Oshiomhole, was that of the former chairman of the APC Chief Odigie Oyegun who described him as a carpenter who fights with his tools. He said his successor is a man who engages his mouth before mind, adding that Oshiomhole has been engaging in actions that are demarketing and degrading the APC. He further said that he has been chasing people away from the party, rather than bringing more to it, adding
that Oshiomhole has been using ‘garage boy’ style in directing the affairs of the party.
Also, former Ogun state governor, Ibukunle Amosun who had a brush with Oshiomhole, described him as a person that lacks respect for the truth and decency and called for his removal.
A former Sokoto state governor, Yaya Abdulkarim said that Oshiomhole is digging the grave of the APC where it would be buried in 2023, if care was not taken before the end of President Buhari’s second term.
Former Minister of Communication Adebayo Shittu said Oshiomhole is a confusionist who was planted to destroy APC.
What made members of the party labelled him as a dictator and headmaster was his Statement about the Labour and productivity Minister, Dr. Chris Ngige. Oshiomhole had threatened that he would suspend Ngige from the party if he did not constitute the board members of his ministry and inaugurate them, adding that the President would be made to realised that he could not keep someone who has no respect for the party in his cabinet. He was lampooned for saying that to a minister appointed by the President.
The heat is now heavy on Oshiomhole, and his Deputy Senator Lawan Shuaibu is one of the people fueling the heat; he has called for his head by asking him to resign. Senator Shuaib did not hide his feelings, he wrote an open letter to him to quit the chairmanship, accusing him of diminishing the party, saying that the numbers of the states, and seats controlled by the party in the National Assembly diminished since Oshiomhole took the leadership of the party.
He said that was not acceptable and he should resign. Among others who detests Oshiomhole are the governors of Kaduna State, El Rufai , Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and Rochas Okorocha who described him as a liability to the party.
But while defending the APC chairman and the NWC, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lanre Issa-Onilu said that it was wrong to say that Oshiomhole is ruling the party as a sole administrator, saying that he is only changing the party to be a full progressives party that would not do things with impunity which affected the Peoples Democratic party. He said that Oshiomhole was only trying to build a democratic party where all members would be subjected to the rules regulations and convention of the party.
