EDO: APC chronicles Oshiomhole’s ‘sins’, tells him to resign

The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole has been asked to resign.

The chairman of Edo State chapter of the party, Anselm Ojezua made the call on Monday while addressing a World press conference at the APC secretariat, Benin City.

The Ojezua leadership of the party in the state has since suspended Oshiomhole as a member of the state APC.

Speaking at the conference on Monday, he said Oshiomhole, who was the immediate past governor of the state, lacked legitimacy, temperament and moral authority to continue to lead the APC.

Ojezua who chronicled alleged ignoble roles Oshiomhole has been playing in the crisis rocking the party in Edo State, said the former governor having been placed on suspension as a member of the party, “has lost the legitimacy to act in any capacity in the party.”

He said, “We draw particular attention to Article 21 of the Constitution of the Party which relates to discipline of party members and the powers of respective organs of the party to take disciplinary actions against members.

“In the circumstances, any action taken in the capacity of national chairman including documents he signs and meetings he presides over may well be futile as his membership is already compromised. In particular, we are guided by the admonition of President Muhammadu Buhari who has consistently maintained that we must live up to the tenets and provisions of the Constitution of the All Progressives Congress.

“Mr. President has also maintained, quite rightly, that anybody who is not relevant in his Ward, Local Government Area and State cannot hold office at the National Level.

“We therefore urge Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to do the honourable thing and resign or be precluded from functioning in office while his suspension subsists.”

On Oshiomhole’s role in the party’s crisis Ojezua said, “Arising from the recent controversies and false narratives presented by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, (Suspended National Chairman of the APC), it has become necessary to set the facts straight and properly inform Nigerians of the true circumstances concerning the affairs of our dear party in Edo State. It is clear that there had all along been a grand plan to falsely create the impression of a crisis of leadership within the party in the State and these plans were hatched and executed under the directive of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and executed through his acclaimed ‘infantry division’.

“The ultimate objective of these activities appears to be a forcible regime change in our party in defiance of democratic norms and the wishes of the people.

“Our problems started with the conduct of Primaries to elective offices in 2018. In accordance with the resolution passed by the National Executive Committee of the Party, the leadership in Edo State decided on their preference for the indirect mode as the preferred one for Edo State however the National chairman decreed that it must be done by Direct Primaries.”

“In order not to unnecessarily heat up the polity being sensitive of the fact that he is from Edo State, we complied.

“Contrary to the calendar circulated by the National Working Committee (NWC) where a separate day was dedicated to the conduct of the exercise for each position, the NWC did not appoint a committee to conduct Primaries in Edo State until the very last day. What is even worse is that the primaries which we conducted was unilaterally and arbitrarily cancelled by the suspended Comrade Oshiomhole Chairman, as he then was, without reference to either the State Executive of the Party or the Governor of the State.

“Even a convict is first confronted with his offence before punishment is pronounced. Although we took serious exception to this naked display of abuse of power, we had to comply with his directive to conduct fresh primaries. Had we not done that, Edo would have been exposed to the fatal consequences that befell our brothers in Zamfara and a number of other states.”

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Speaking on the activities of the Edo People’s Movement (EPM), he said, “Recently, when his dissident group EPM attempted to set up parallel structures in the Local Government Areas of the State, the State Executive Committee of APC considered that the matter was getting out of hand.

“The committee met, pronounced the group unconstitutional and set up a committee to investigate reports of the activities of the group with a view to identifying those propagating it and to make appropriate recommendations to the State Executive Committee. One of those cited for investigation is the erstwhile State Secretary Mr. Lawrence Okah who was then requested to proceed on suspension pending the outcome of the Committee report.”

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