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| John Odigie-Oyegun, APC Nationa Chairman |
Ahead of this week’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Former Governors’ Forum has thrown its weight behind the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.
There are indications that Odigie-Oyegun’s tenure may be cut short at the meeting, as a vote of no confidence is likely to be passed on him with a motion for his replacement. But an insider in the Forum of Former Governors told New Telegraph yesterday that the caucus of the 1992 governors, led by former governor of Yobe State, Senator Abba Bukar Ibrahim, met over the weekend with the aim of mobilising other governors to stop the plot to remove the APC National Chairman. Odigie-Oyegun, who was elected in 2014, has two more years to be in office, going by the constitution of the party.
However, some party members have been plotting for his removal after falling out of favour with some chieftains despite APC’s victory in the 2015 general elections.
It would be recalled that the APC National Chairman recently went on a 10-day vacation and it was reported that he went on terminal vacation. A source at the party’s secretariat said “the plot might come to fruition at the National Executive Committee meeting coming up on Thursday.”
He added that part of the party’s activities for the week is to consult widely before the last decision would be taken at the NEC meeting. However, to avert Odigie- Oyegun’s removal, the former governors met on Thursday where they strategised on how to save the former Edo State governor’s job.
A source revealed that the caucus of the 1992 governors led by Senator Ibrahim and former governor of Cross River State, Chief Clement Ebiri, are at the forefront of mobilising members to back Odigie- Oyegun.
The source further stated that they are reaching out to other former governors, including the National Leader of APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, to make sure that the no confidence vote would be raised against the party chairman.
“Also, the team would try to see President Muhammadu Buhari on the issue if responses from other party chieftains are not positive. We have many of our members in the party and outside the party.
We have chosen to back Odigie-Oyegun after our meeting because we have seen that some people are only looking for how to control the party at all levels,” the source quoted one of the former governors to have said. The Forum is chaired by former governor of Anambra State, Senator Jim Nwobodo, formerly a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before his recent defection to the APC.
Source: New Telegraph
Source: New Telegraph