•Says won’t accept national chairman position again
By Alex Enumah
The immediate past Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, has denied insinuations in some quarters linking him with a recent court action challenging the dissolution of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party under his leadership.
Oshiomhole, in a statement yesterday, said the court documents are “clear” as to who is the plaintiff in the suit, adding that his resolve not to challenge his sacking as national chairman of the party has not changed because he is done with politics.
He explained that while 18 out of the 21-member NWC under his leadership worked as a team, three others were “used by forces desperate to take control of the party.”
According to him, his decision not to go to court over the NWC’s dissolution is personal and not collective.
He said: “The majority of 18 members worked as a team and not as allies or loyalists of anybody.
“When the National Executive Committee (NEC) in its wisdom dissolved the NWC, I immediately announced publicly that I accepted the decision, regardless of its illegality or otherwise, as it affected my position as national chairman.
“I was the only one at the press conference where I made the announcement for personal reasons. The reason, of course, was that some of my colleagues in the dissolved NWC obviously didn’t share my position not to contest the dissolution in court. I can only accept responsibility for my own decision.”
He said to demonstrate his resolve of not going to court, he instructed his lawyers to withdraw the suits challenging his purported suspension from office by proxies of those bent on removing him as chairman.
“It is, therefore, the height of mischief to insinuate, as it is being done in some quarters, that I would publicly accept the decision and later surreptitiously seek to contest it in court,” Oshiomhole said, declaring: “That chapter of my political life is closed. Even if another NEC decision or a court order reverses the dissolution, with utmost humility, I will decline to return as APC chairman.”
He said he was proud of the accomplishments of the NWC under his leadership and expressed gratitude “to the principled 18 members who worked as a team committed to the cause of the party.”
He added that he bears no grudges against anyone for the manner of his removal from office.
He said: “Instead, I am grateful and loyal to President Muhammadu Buhari, who encouraged me to contest the chairmanship of the party.
“I am also very much appreciative of the support of President Buhari who encouraged me to assert the authority of the party without fear or favour.
“Indeed, I would not have lasted as long as I did as national chairman but for the president’s support for me.
“I will continue to support his administration to succeed in serving the common good of the people of Nigeria.”
