Oshiomhole resumes as APC National Chairman …Says, “struggle for his seat a distraction”

• Ajimobi, Bulama surface at NWC meeting

National chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on Tuesday, resumed at the party national secretariat.

The atmosphere around Blantyre Street, Wuse Street was tense as policemen, complemented by officers of the Department of State Service, were on ground to beef up security at the party secretariat, prior to Comrade Oshiomhole arrival.

The Court of Appeal, on Monday, vacated the Order of the Justice Danlami Senchi of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja which ousted Comrade Oshiomhole as national chairman.

Tribune Online investigation revealed that the immediate past Oyo State governor, Isiaka Ajimobi, who was announced as deputy national chairman, South as a replacement for the erstwhile occupant of the office, Otunba Adebayo, was present at the meeting of the National Working Committee. Also in attendance was Architect Waziri Bulama, who was pronounced as national secretary. Both Ajimobi and Bulama were announced as new national officers through a statement released by the National Working Committee on the eve of the Court Order suspending Comrade Oshiomhole.

The deputy national secretary, Victor Giadom, who assumed the position of acting national secretary, was also sighted at the meeting.

The axed national vice chairman, North West, Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir also attended the meeting.

Addressing the gathering before it dissolved into a closed-door session, the APC national chairman dismissed the orchestrated plot to remove him as mere distraction for the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He cautioned those behind the plot to focus their energy on how to seize the initiative to formulate ideas that would promote good governance.

He said: “As we meet here now, any one of us will appreciate that we are facing huge challenges. We have budget that was crafted on the basis of certain assumptions.

“The foundations for these assumptions have now been shaken such that our projected revenue from the oil sector has dropped but the expectations of Nigerians have not diminished because our revenue has diminished.

“Our responsibility as a party now is to engage the government, what do we do differently to this reality so that the government elected on our platform delivers our promises to Nigeria people? These are the kinds of things we should spend more time doing, the Nigeria project not becoming Chairman. If I am Chairman and can not walk the streets of Nigeria with pride because my party has not done what is expected, I cannot be a happy Chairman and I don’t think any of you will be a happy member.

“I ask us, in addition to putting what has happened behind us to find time to have objective conversation on how we can generate ideas to support the government. I want to spend time on something that concerns Nigerian people, I didn’t come just to be a Chairman, I wasn’t unemployed and known you here was unemployed, what brought us here is the fact that we have party that we have formed not to create divisions.”

Oshiomhole thanked President Buhari for using his good offices to placate the aggrieved governors and ensured that he returned to the exalted seat. He promised the governors to keep his doors open for them to express their reservation, disaffection and words of encouragement.

He said:” I want to appreciate our president, with all the challenges he faced that he has time to listen to those who approach him with a view to ensuring that our party remains on course.

“I want to appreciate our governors elected on the platform of our party who regardless of whatever anybody feels, I have absolute respect for each and every one of them and I have personal relationships with each and every one of them. But, I also recognise that the fact of having personal relationships is not enough not to have personal differences and even suspicion.

“The weapon against suspicion is more dialogue and more dialogue. People probably need to be reassured that I am not capable of being bias by the very background that I come from, and I recognise that one tree can never make a forest.”

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