Akande laments effect of disagreement on party ’ s unity
Chief John Odigie -Oyegun ’ s political future is hanging
in the balance .
TheAll Progressives Congress ( APC ) chairman should
step down, some forces within the party are pushing,
ahead of tomorrow’ s meeting of the National Caucus
Committee.
Odigie- Oyegun ’s offence , sources said at the weekend,
is his perceived failure to nip in the bud the National
Assembly crisis that has shaken the party so much .
Most of the APC governors , some members of the
National Working Committee ( NWC ) and party elders
are unhappy that Odigie -Oyegun allowed the “ crisis to
fester ” .
They alleged that his “ slow pace ” attitude emboldened
Senate President Bukola Saraki and House Speaker
Yakubu Dogara to “ negotiate ” with Peoples Democratic
Party ( PDP ) members.
The delay in sending the list of APC nominees for
principal offices in the Senate and the House of
Representatives has fuelled the anger against Odigie-
Oyegun .
Party leaders are divided on whether to retain Odigie-
Oyegun or dump him .
A source , who briefed some reporters in Abuja on the
situation in the party and the backlash of the crisis in
the National Assembly , said there was apprehension in
APC that if the chairman remained in office , it might
collapse.
The source cited two instances where Odigie- Oyegun
failed to be “ decisive ” on the choice of principal
officers in the National Assembly .
The source alleged that the chairman was virtually
forced to hold the mock elections that elected Senator
Ahmed Lawan and Hon . Femi Gbajabiamila as the
party’ s choices for Senate President and House
Speaker.
It also took the intervention of the APC governors
before he could send the list of party nominees for
some principal posts to Saraki and Dogara.
The source added : “ There is much anger in the party
against Oyegun . Many leaders have accused him of
being indecisive or afraid to take the right decision.
“ It is as if the man has no backbone or self -respect .
When he should move, he sits down. When he should
talk, he is mute. When he should make a decision, he
sleeps and after finally making a decision , he takes
days to implement something that could be done in
minutes.
“ After Saraki and Dogara rebelled by aligning with PDP
National Assembly members , Oyegun remained
strangely mum and unmoved to the harm being done to
his and the party ’s authority. ‘ He took the rebuff too
lightly and quickly as if he almost welcomed it . ’
“ It was only after APC governors intervened and
applied heavy pressure that he wrote a letter to the
Senate President and House Speaker naming the
party’ s choices for majority leader and the other posts .
“ Even then, the letter was half -hearted , oddly brief and
strangely passive in tone. It was as if he wrote it under
compulsion because he had been boxed into a corner
by the governors and not by conviction . Once again ,
Saraki and Dogara rebuffed him and once again Oyegun
took the insult as if he asked for it. ”
Also , a member of NEC said : “ What happened in the
National Assembly was a pure case of failure of
leadership by the National Chairman.
“ Certainly, his lapse is one of the major issues we will
discuss at the National Caucus meeting in Abuja and
later at our NEC session.
“ We are all disappointed and feel betrayed by Oyegun
because he refused to take action at the right time
even when President Muhammadu Buhari said he
would leave the party to resolve the logjam in the
National Assembly . ”
Analysing the APC and the National Assembly crisis in
an article published on page 3 of this newspaper ,
former Interim National Chairman of the party , Chief
Bisi Akande, warned of the danger ahead for the party
if nothing urgent is done to remedy the crisis arising
from the election of Saraki and House of
Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara.
He said : “ Now that the whole conspiracy has blown
open , it is doubtful if the present institutions of party
leadership can muster the required capacity to arrest
the drift .
“ It is my opinion that President Buhari , and the APC
governors should now see APC as a recking platform
that may not be strong enough again to carry them to
political victory in 2019 and they should quickly begin a
joint damage control effort to reconstruct the party in
its claim to bring about the promised change before
the party’ s shortcomings begin to aggravate the
challenges of governance in their hands. ”
The former Osun State Governor added : “ Before the
party knew it , the process had been hijacked by
polluted interests who saw the inordinate contests as a
loop- hole for stifling APC governments ’ efforts in its
desire to fight corruption .
“ Most Northern elites , the Nigerian oil subsidy barons
and other business cartels who never liked Buhari ’s
anti -corruption political stance are quickly backing- up
the rebellion against APC with strong support .
“ While other position seekers are waiting in the wings
until Buhari ’ s ministers are announced, a large section
of the South -West see the rebellion as a conspiracy of
the North against the Yoruba . ”
Odigie- Oyegun himself has said that he cannot be
stampeded out of office , saying efforts will be made to
resolve all issues.
The party ’ s state chairmen also last week after a
meeting in Abuja, expressed support for the party
chairman .
In a communique signed by Chairman of the Kano
chapter Alhaji Umar Haruna Mohammed , the party
chiefs expressed concern over the crises rocking the
party over the emergence of the leadership of the
National Assembly .
“ As state party chairmen and direct grassroots leaders ,
we are all concerned about the development and
therefore re -affirm our belief and loyalty to our party ,
the APC , its supremacy as contained in the party ’s
constitution and the decision of its leadership .
“ We are also not happy with recent development in the
National Assembly , especially the lower chamber , and
call on the party leadership to put in place proper
machineries to checkmate further occurrences.
“ We also call on the party leaders to use the long
break with the view of resolving the matter so that the
much needed change will be seen and enjoyed by
everybody . ”
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