APC governors ask Oshiomhole to convene NEC meeting or resign

The Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) on Wednesday asked the National Chairman of the All progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, to immediately convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting or accept his failures and resign from his position.

The governors stated this in a statement issued in Abuja by the PGF’s Director -General, Salihu Lukman.

The governors were reacting to the worsening crisis in the Edo State chapter of APC as a result of perceived rift between Governor Godwin Obaseki and Oshiomhole, among others.

The APC in Edo State had on Tuesday suspended Oshiomhole over his alleged ignoble role in the crisis rocking the party in the state.

The party said its decision to suspend the former governor was based on the vote of no confidence passed on him by the chairmen of the APC in the 18 local government areas of the state.

In its statement, the PGF said: “Why is it impossible to convene a NEC or even National Caucus meetings, which are supposed to hold every quarter to resolve all these issues? Why should the NWC under Comrade Oshiomhole continue to imagine that it can conduct affairs of the party without mandatory meetings of party organs?

“What legacy is Comrade Oshiomhole hoping to achieve as a National Chairman by running the party in a way that suggests almost zero commitment to issues of party development?

“In the current circumstance, nothing short of a NEC or National Caucus meeting of the party can resolve all our increasing organisational challenges as a party. It is either Comrade Oshiomhole respect the provision of party constitution and convene superior organ meeting to deliberate on all our challenges, or he should just accept his inability to manage the party and simply resign.

“Our national leaders must rise to the challenge facing us as a party and take all necessary measures to convene superior organ meetings to begin to resolve all our challenges as a party. The current public disgrace must end!”

The governors further noted that it was very painful for many of them, who had the privilege of being mentored by Oshiomhole, to see him being devalued to a local factional leader from a very high pedestal of an illustrious national leader.

They added: “As national chairman, Comrade Oshiomhole hardly appreciate that he now has a national constituency and not just a state constituency, which may have been responsible for his apparent intemperance in the handling of matters affecting Edo State. I wish he paid similar attention to handling of issues affecting Rivers and Zamfara States during the 2019 elections.

“Information coming from Edo State indicates that members of the State Executive Council of APC have passed vote of no confidence on Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, National Chairman of our party, APC. In so many respects, it could be argued, it is a natural outcome of unfolding power play between Comrade Oshiomhole and Governor Godwin Obaseki since June 2019 with the contentious inauguration of the Edo State House of Assembly. Possible retaliatory response from both Comrade Oshiomhole and groups such as Edo Peoples Movement who are loyal to Comrade Oshiomhole should be expected. In other words, there could be counter pronouncement suspending Governor Obaseki.

“Side by side with the news of the vote of no confidence was also the discomforting report of the Federal High Court judgment in Abuja disqualifying Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo as our Deputy Governorship candidate for the November 16, 2019 Bayelsa election. While expecting that every necessary step will be taken to vacate the judgment, it is very depressing for every committed party member to be subjected to such ignominious reality, which only remind us of our reckless conducts in states like Zamfara, Rivers, Bauchi and Adamawa, which chiefly gave away electoral victories to PDP.

READ ALSO: Edo APC sinks deeper in crisis as party suspends national chairman Oshiomhole, dismisses secretary

“Instead of focusing on working to win elections, we are busy undermining ourselves. All these are ominous signs that we are about to re-enact the Zamfara, Rivers, Bauchi and Adamawa experiences in Bayelsa. It is Bayelsa today, Anambra, Edo and Ondo are being setup for similar experiences. Somehow, unfortunately, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party, which is the organ vested with the statutory responsibility of responding to all these challenges appear to be suspended. The last time it met was August 2018. In its place, the National Working Committee (NWC), which is an administrative organ with the responsibility of implementing decisions of NEC and other higher organs seems to have usurped the powers of NEC.”

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