APC Rises Against Oshiomole

Comrade Adams Oshiomole became prominent on the national scene as a labour leader organizing and leading successful workers’ protests government policies believed to be unfavourable to Nigerian workers. Now as National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress(APC), the tide has turned and he is now at the target of heady protests by members of his own party.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is expected to meet early next month and the main agenda will be how to resolve the crisis arising from the party primaries, which is threatening to consume the leadership of the party and sweep the party out of power in 2019.

The primary election crisis rocking the ruling party could be said to be propagated by powerful elements in the party who are dissatisfied by the way and manner the APC National Working Committee( NWC) led by its National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole stirred the party through its just concluded primaries across the country.

Unfolding developments in some states have shown that some governors, legislators and supporters of the party were still nursing grievances against the party leadership.

One of the governors who have openly criticized Oshiomole’s style of leadership is Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu who also in a recent statement described Oshiomole as “incompetent.”

He said he had warned the party beforehand that Oshiomole would spell doom for the party.

The governor had expressed preference for someone else during the contest for the office of the Chairman of the party.

He did not hide his opposition to Mr Oshiomole’s aspiration for the simple reason that the leadership of a party that just emerged from a merger, should distance itself from egregious and inherently destructive narcissism.

“Recent events seem to justify this position as prescient. Only sycophants will fail to see the obvious. Mr President would not have expressed worries over the crises in the Party if everything had gone on smoothly,” Akeredolu had said.

Another example is the Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, who had in a statement attributed to him, threatened the party leadership, insisting that no one could win an election in the state on the platform of the APC without his support.

Okorocha also insisted that his anointed candidate who is also his in-law, Uche Nwosu won the APC Gubernatorial Primary in the state.

The party leadership had accused Okorocha of violating the rules of the party to impose candidates who are his cronies on the party in the state.

Also, Osita Okechukwu, Director General of the Voice of Nigeria, during a Channels Television breakfast show on Wednesday asked Oshiomole to resign as national chairman over what he called ‘double standard’ and the threat by INEC not to recognize the party’s candidates in some states

In the same vein, Zamfara State Governor, Abdulazeez Yari has been one of those calling on Oshiomole to resign as National Chairman of the APC.

Recall that on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, hundreds of loyalists of the party in all 14 local government areas of Zamfara state staged a protest demanding for the sack of the party’s leadership.

INEC had on October 10 said the APC was not eligible to field candidates for the Governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly positions in the state for the 2019 elections, owing to its inability to conduct free and fair primaries within the stipulated time-frame, set by the electoral umpire.

But Oshoimole still appears to enjoy the confidence of some of his party men who described calls for his resignation as unnecessary and selfish. One of them is the Senator representing Zamfara Central, Kabiru Garba Marafa, who alleged that governors calling for Oshiomole’s removal are those who failed in their bid to impose candidates on the party.

Marafa asked the party to ignore Governor Yari, assuring that majority of APC family members in Zamfara were solidly behind Oshiomhole’s led APC.

But the forthcoming NEC meeting of the party may be crucial for the survival of Oshoimole and the APC going forward.