By Wale Odunsi
The All
Progressives Congress, APC, national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has
demanded the immediate resignation of the national chairman of the party, Chief
John Odigie-Oyegun.
A statement by
Tinubu’s media office on Sunday accused Oyegun of sabotaging the will of
democracy in Ondo State by overriding the decision of the appeal panel which
asked for a fresh governorship primary following investigations that showed
that the delegates’ list used for the exercise was tampered with.
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| President Buhari (Middle) , flanked by Tinubu, left and Oyegun. |
Michael
Olusegun Abraham, an aspirant for the governorship ticket of the APC in Ondo
State, had in a statement at the weekend, expressed
disappointment at Oyegun over the emergence of a former
President of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, as
candidate.
In his
reaction, Tinubu said “The APC, a party born of the quest for democratic good
governance is under critical threat by those who managed to be in the party but
never of it. From the party’s inception, the principles of democratic fairness
and justice were to guide APC internal deliberations. Party founders realized
that only by intramural fair dealing could the party remain faithful to the
progressive ideals that we presented to the Nigerian electorate as our
governing creed. If the party could not justly govern itself, it would find it
difficult to establish and maintain just government throughout the nation.
“In essence,
the party was the embodiment of a democratic promise made between its members
as well as a democratic vow made to the public. Evidently, some errant members
believe promises and vows are mere words to be easily spoken and more easily
broken. Chairman John Oyegun has breached these good pledges in a most overt
and brazen display. In doing so, Oyegun has dealt a heavy blow to the very
party he professes to lead. It is an awful parent who suffocates his own child
for the sake of a few naira. The party was supposed to buttress APC members
elected to government at all levels. Because of Oyegun’s conduct of our
affairs, the party is rapidly becoming an albatross to those it was meant to
help.
“Oyegun’s
comportment regarding the Ondo State primary will become the textbook
definition of political treachery and malfeasance of the basest order. In early
September, the state primary was held. A purported winner was named. Having
faith in the ways of the party, Tinubu publicly accepted what he assumed to be
a verdict honestly derived. As a democrat, one must face the possibility of
defeat and accept such as outcome with as much grace as one would embrace
victory. One of the few bright spots during the conduct of the primaries was
Jigawa Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar. He chaired the primary
convention with decorum and impartiality. He was unaware that a tampered list
had been slipped into the process.
“Indeed within
hours of the announcement, news began to filter in that gravely disturbed me.
Credible allegations of fraud troubled the waters. The delegate list had been
materially altered by someone in a strategic position to so do. The names of
over 150 valid delegates were excised to make room for an equal number of
impostors. This was not a clerical error. The alteration was willfully executed
that the primary would be directed toward a chosen end that bore nothing in
common with the will of most state party members. A cunning few had tried to
deceive the many into believing they were outnumbered. “A conspiracy to steal
the Ondo primary had been uncovered.
“Fortunately,
the grand deception afoot had been unable to cover its tracks fast enough.
Truth began to cry for justice. Several candidates filed petitions contesting
the result. The party established an investigative board to review the
evidence. In a two to one decision, the panel found the delegate roster had
suffered tampering. The panel recommended that a new primary should be held
using the valid delegate list. This recommendation was tabled before the
National Working Committee (NWC).
“After many
hours of deliberations spanning several days, a final vote was held by the NWC.
Before hand, NWC members agreed that the decision of the majority would become
the stance of the party. Such is the way of democracy. The NWC voted six
against five to cancel the fraudulent results and hold an honest primary. For a
moment, it seemed the party would restore its integrity by giving democracy a
chance. However, those who sought to scam an entire state would not let the
vote of 11 people spoil their enterprise.
“After the NWC
vote, a noticeably agitated Chairman Oyegun proposed the NWC engage in prayer
before concluding the meeting. Adhering to this chairman’s request, NWC members
began to pray. Seeing that the others had taken his bait, Oyegun used the
prayerful interlude to secretly excuse himself from the meeting. Contravening
the NWC decision and in violation of all rules of fundamental decency, Oyegun
decided to safeguard the fraud done in Ondo by perpetrating a greater fraud.
Oyegun arrogated to himself the right to submit the name of Rotimi Akeredolu to
INEC as the candidate of the party.
“Truth has
finally come to light. There exists a regressive element in the party that
cares nothing for the progressive ideas upon which this party was founded. They
joined the APC because it was the best ride available at the time. Now they
want to guide the party into the ditch. They want to turn the party into a
soulless entity incapable of doing good, just like they are. When such a person
tastes power, they shed all good restraint. They come to abuse the trust given
them as if they are the owners of that trust and not its mere custodians. These
people did little to build the party but now will do much to wreck it.
“Our party was
to stand for change. Oyegun and his fellows seem to be on a different wave
length. They are the cohort of Unchange. The APC wants to guide Nigeria into a
better tomorrow. Oyegun and the cohort of unchange want to pull Nigeria back
into the past where rigging and vote stealing were the old and new testaments
of politics. They want the people to think that there is no alternative to
their reactionary system of skewed politics and imperious government.
“Thus, they
seek to turn the APC into a factory of the very political malpractices the
people soundly rejected in the past election. To choke the APC in this manner
is to kill the chance for progressive reform for the foreseeable future. Much
more than the Ondo primary is at stake. Oyegun has revealed his team’s game
plan: It is the destruction of progressive politics and governance on behalf of
the people.
“As party
chairman, Oyegun was supposed to protect our internal processes and be an
impartial arbiter, a person in whom all had confidence. Instead, he donned the
garment of a confident man, duping the NWC, the party, and INEC in one fell
blow. He has robbed APC members in Ondo State of the chance to pick in a fair
manner who they believe is the best candidate. As such, he has broken faith with
the party and probably has broken a few laws. The consequences of what he has
done are more expansive than a man of his scope can fathom.
“With strong
expectation, we await a response to Oyegun’s wrongdoing from those who clamored
so long and loudly about Tinubu’s alleged role in the Ondo primary. Leading
into the primary, a prominent lawyer from Ondo published lengthy missives
alleging that Tinubu was a malicious hand intent on rigging the primary. His
letters spoke of his great love for democracy and justice. Though Oyegun has
assaulted democracy in a most public and vulgar way, this lawyer’s prolific pen
will remain stilled. He dare not publish a word about this travesty. His
silence will be sign for all who care to decipher its meaning.
“The plan was to
point the accusing finger at Tinubu. With everyone focused on Tinubu, they
would have distracted all attention from the heist they had set in motion. As
fate would have it, the trickery they hoped to conduct in the shadows has come
to light. Those who so actively attributed imaginary wrong to Tinubu now stand
dumb and mute in the face of confirmed impropriety. They remain silent for
reasons they cannot divulge. Oyegun and his ilk turn out to be gangsters
adorned in the tunic of party authority.
“Oyegun has
engaged in the strange math where five is greater than six. This smacks of how
the PDP conducted its affairs and orchestrated its own downfall. Tinubu
disparaged such malpractice when it was not in his party. Tinubu surely disowns
it now that it has invaded the party he helped bring to fruition.
“Tinubu has
consciously refused to hold any official position with the party to avoid the
perception that he was trying to control all and sundry. Tinubu has even kept
his peace for some time despite many things that happened within the party that
were not quite right. He exercised this forbearance because the party is young.
A collective endeavor cannot avoid the mistakes and errors of organizational
newness and evolution.
“Yet, the
wrongs Oyegun committed had nothing to do with newness or the mistakes
occasioned by the path of reform. His actions are in the nature of the old
wrongs that have afflicted our national politics much too long. If Oyegun wants
to walk backward into the past, he has every right to it. However, he has no
right to drag the party or any of us with him. Against our choosing.
“The informal
title of national leader of the party was given to Tinubu at the onset which he
accepted it as a sign from those who wished to recognize my contributions to
the party’s formation. It is an honorific title which he has been proud to wear
until today. I would rather not have any title yet reside in a party that
honors democracy than hold a title in a party that says it honors me but that
treats justice with indecency. I find greater honour and comfort where
democracy and fairness are found and respected.
“Oyegun has
done the irredeemable. His coup is an insult to party and to patriot, to reason
and to the reform agenda of this government. To remain silent would be to admit
the defeat of the reform and progressive change many have labored to bring
forth. While the forces resistant to change and reform are strong, Tinubu dare
not submit to them. Tinubu encourages all party members not to submit to them.
If we acquiesce in this wrong, the one greater than this shall cascade upon us.
“Oyegun’s
transgressions are a warning. He is but the mercenary of forces that seek to
return the nation to the old ways. If they get away with this infraction, no
telling what or whom they will undermine tomorrow. Much is at stake. On the
chopping block, lies the future of the political party in which the majority of
voters had placed their confidence. To rescue the party, Oyegun must go. He has
shown that he and democratic fair play cannot exist in the same party at the
same time.
“If Tinubu is
to choose between John Oyegun and progress toward a better Nigeria, the choice
has already been made. For those who care about the party, who care about Nigeria
and its chance for a better tomorrow, now is the time to stand against this
brewing evil before it grows to encompass all we have built and all we hold
dear.”
·
Source: Daily Post
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