- Accuses Amosun, Okorocha of desperation
- Party orders fresh congress in Rivers
By Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole has said that President Muhammadu Buhari will repeat the feat of beating the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar in an electoral contest.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on yesterday, he also dismissed insinuations that the ruling party has erupted into crisis over the primary elections, especially with the opposition mounted by some aggrieved governors.
Oshiomhole said the major grouse of the Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha and his counterpart from Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun was his inability to help them establish political dynasties in their states.
With respect to the recent Supreme Court judgment, which annulled all levels of party executive in Rivers state, Oshiomhole said as a law abiding entity, the party had decided that there would a fresh congress in the state.
Oshiomhole also apologised to the Supreme Court over the invasion of a High Court in the River State capita, Port Harcourt by supporters of a faction of the APC during a court hearing., Oshiomhole said the party would be setting up reconciliation panels to be headed by eminent party members to help heal the wounds and assuage the feelings of aggrieved members ahead of the 2019 general elections. On the strategies for the 2019 general elections, Oshiomhole said the party was still intact and would be marshalling out plans for campaigns.
“Now that our opponent is Atiku Abubakar, we will defeat again the way we have defeated him before and I have confidence that President Muhammadu Buhari will return because he has the quality which none of them has – integrity”.
He described the move by Amosun and Okorocha to cast him and the National Working Committee in bad light as unwarranted.
On the injunction given to him by Okorocha to always abide by the rule of law, Oshiomhole said the governor is preaching to the converted.
Oshiomhole who described actions of Okorocha against the Christian community in Imo State as an embarrassment to APC said the party was not ready to join him in antagonising his people.
According Oshiomhole the desperation to have to himself a Senate ticket and a governorship ticket for his son-in-law amounted to turning Imo state into his family dynasty.
He said Okorocha had been a beneficiary of the party’s adherence to rules and procedures adding that the new leadership had taken measures to redo the congress in Imo state which now gave the structures back to his loyalists.
” We followed due process to rescue him because the congresses conducted by my predecessor swept Okorocha out of the system but the NWC thought it wise to restore due process and ordered fresh congress in the state.
“Yesterday, I watched Okorocha on television urging me to obey the rule of law.”
He explained that the after the NWC studied the report of the Ahmed Gulak-led governorship primary election committee for Imo State, it was convinced that it did a good job and therefore approve the candidacy of Senator Hope Uzodinma.
on the tussle for the Ogun State governorship ticket, Oshiomhole said that he had submitted the name of Dapo Abiodun as its candidate.
He accused Amosun of resorting to self-help by boycotting the authentic primary election approved by the party to go and conduct his own version. “However, Ogun state governor decided in his wisdom to conduct its own self help, I mean resorting to what you can call self-help by conducting what he called his own primary,” he said.
Oshiomhole also accused both Amosun and Okorocha of attempting to armtwist the party using exparte motions from courts but to no avail.
Speaking on the fate of APC in Zamfara State, Oshiomhole said the party had sought legal advice from its lawyers and would be heading to the court to ensure that it fields candidates for elections in 2019.
