NationalLeader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, has accused National Chairman of the party, Chief John
Odigie-Oyegun, of sabotaging the party’s reconciliation process,
TheCable reported yesterday.
Tinubu, who forwarded a copy of his
letter to Oyegun to President Muhammadu Buhari, his deputy, Prof. Yemi
Osinbajo, Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara,
pointedly accused the national chairman of contravening the spirit of
the discussions they had at the party secretariat, last week, after the
president gave him the assignment of reconciling aggrieved members,
ahead of the 2019 general elections.
In the February 21 letter, the former
Lagos State governor said: “Disappointment greeted me when I discovered
that you had swiftly acted in contravention of the spirit of our
discussions. Instead of being a bulwark of support as promised, you
positioned yourself in active opposition to the goal of resuscitating
the progressive and democratic nature of APC.”
Tinubu said while Odigie-Oyegun mentioned
Kogi, Kaduna, Kano and Adamawa states as places affected by serious
party issues, “you have taken it as your own personal ambition to thwart
my presidential assignment in these key states” and pointedly accused
the chairman of rushing to Kogi, to unilaterally inaugurate officials
“parallel to the officials already heading the state chapter of the
party.
“While this may place you in significant affinity with those
parallel officials you handpicked, this machination suggests no
improvement in the welfare of the party in Kogi or at the national
level.”
Tinubu added that Odigie-Oyegun
apparently seeks “to undermine my mandate by engaging in dilatory
tactics for the most part. When forced to act, you do so in an arbitrary
and capricious manner.”
The former governor said even if
Odigie-Oyegun had personal qualms with him, it is his right, as a human
being, but, “you have no such right as the chairman of this party… The
party belongs to all of its members.”
He asked Odigie-Oyegun to refrain from
taking any more “improper unilateral decisions with regards to the
national and state chapters of the party” and reminded him that the
assignment was given to him by Buhari.
“In furtherance… I request that you make
available to me, the status reports and all the pertinent information
regarding the state chapters without further delay.”
When contacted on telephone, yesterday night, Oyegun simply told Daily Sun: I’m still studying the letter. I will make my formal response known at the appropriate time.”