The lingering crisis between the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and estranged friend, the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu deepened yesterday when the former replied the later saying a call for his resignation is not a child's play that should be done on the pages of newspaper.
This is even as some youths, have, however, protested Tinubu’s vituperative call on Odigie Oyegun to resign from office.
Oyegun made his position known yesterday after a secret meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Rock.
The crisis in the party blew open recently when Tinubu, in a statement, called for the resignation of the party chairman.
The bone of contention was the party’s governorship primary in Ondo State, which produced Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu as the candidate for the November 26 governorship election in the state.
Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, had faulted Odigie-Oyegun for overruling the decision of the party’s National Working Committee that upheld the decision of the Appeal Committee which recommended the cancellation of the primary.
The party chairman, who had said he was engrossed in the preparations for the Edo State governorship poll, which was won by APC’s Godwin Obaseki, however, refused to take issue with Tinubu, who he said he held in high esteem.
Odigie-Oyegun lost his ward to the Peoples Democratic Party in the governorship election, held on September 28, 2016.
On Tuesday, however, Odigie-Oyegun took his grievance to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The meeting between the President and the party’s national chairman, who is also a former governor of Edo State, was held behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting with Buhari, Odigie-Oyegun said Tinubu was too harsh on him.
He, however, said the situation between the two of them could not be described as a rift but a difference of opinion.
“There is no rift with Asiwaju. We have difference of opinions, difference of perception and I think that is normal. Yes, I agree that the nature of the (Tinubu’s) statement was a bit harsh,” he said.
When asked if he would resign as demanded by Tinubu, the ex-governor said, “The methods of getting rid of a national chairman, if that is what I will call it, are spelt out in the constitution. They don’t take place on the pages of newspapers.”
He said it was proper for all arms of the party, including the National Executive Council, to meet and the meeting would hold at the appropriate time.
Odigie-Oyegun denied being the brains behind the youths who protested against Tinubu at the party’s national headquarters earlier in the day.
He, however, promised to investigate the matter.
“God forbid (that I sponsor the protest)! Anybody who knows me knows that it is not my style. I am equally shocked and I am going to look into it and find out why and who is behind it.
“Do people know how far back our association goes? Do they know that we were in the trenches together in the NADECO days? Why can’t people, who have mutual respect for each other, have different opinions?
“All we had was difference of opinions. Yes, it was expressed a bit harshly but that doesn’t remove the basic fact that we have worked together for a very long time,” he added.
Odigie-Oyegun said all that transpired in the party’s primary election in Ondo State were contained in the report of the chairman of the primary committee.
When asked whether the party would consider a change of mind since the result is generating controversy, the party chairman said, “It is only INEC (the Independent national Electoral Commission) that can make a U-turn on the Ondo primary.”
Odigie-Oyegun described the recent governorship election in Edo State won by the party’s candidate, Godwin Obaseki, as a referendum on the performance of Governor Adam Oshiomhole and on the quality of the party’s candidate.
Earlier on Tuesday, a group of youths stormed the APC National Secretariat to protest what they claim was Tinubu’s overbearing influence on party’s affairs.
Meanwhile, a chieftain of APC and an aide to the Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Chief Bola Ilori has disclosed that the APC national leader, Tinubu did order some of the aggrieved members of the party in Ondo State to rejoin the Alliance for Democracy.
Ilori, who spoke on TVC political programme said ”I don’t know APC before; it was Asiwaju Tinubu that said we should move to APC and we did.
According to Ilori, Tinubu’s decision was taken following the way he was treated on the party’s governorship primary election which was upheld on September 3, by the national executive committee members, led by Chief John Oyegun.
It will be recalled that Tinubu had been reportedly supporting one of the aspirants, Mr. Segun Abraham to become the party’s candidate, ahead of the November 26, gubernatorial election in Ondo State.
Also read: BOMBSHELL: Ondo APC Crisis: Tinubu ORDERED Us To Rejoin Alliance For Democracy, AD – Bola Ilori, Watch Video
Also read: BOMBSHELL: Ondo APC Crisis: Tinubu ORDERED Us To Rejoin Alliance For Democracy, AD – Bola Ilori, Watch Video
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