•I’m studying the letter, will respond appropriately –National chair
National Leader 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.”