I Am Not Plotting To Come Back As APC Chairman, Says Oshiomhole

The immediate past national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has denied the report of a plot to bring him back to his former position.

A statement yesterday by his media aide, Mr Victor Oshioke, made available to journalists in Benin explained that the plot, which was revealed by one Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, a former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who is now a member of the APC and self-styled aide of Minister of Transportation, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, was fake.

Chief Eze was quoted as saying that Mr Festus Keyamo SAN, Minister of State for Labour and Employment and others were scheming to bring back Comrade Oshiomhole as national chairman of the APC.

Oshioke remarked that the ex-Edo State governor would ordinarily have ignored what he described as a nonsensical suggestion.

He however said that it was pertinent to set the records straight and put to rest this ridiculous falsehood being marketed by Eze.

Continuing, the spokesman reminded that Keyamo was in the forefront and indeed provided legal support through his personal legal assistants who went to court to argue on behalf of those that filed cases for the removal of Oshiomhole as national chairman of the ruling party.

Oshioke added that Keyamo also offered legal advice on the legality of the NEC that was convened for the dissolution of the Oshiomhole led National Working Committee of APC and emergence of the Governor Mai-Mala Buni led Caretaker Committee.

He said: “It is therefore frivolous for any right-thinking person to assume that Mr Keyamo who actively supported the removal of the National chairman elected by over 6, 500 party delegates from across the 36 states and the FCT, because 8 out of 27 Ward executive members purportedly suspended a national party chairman, would now plot to bring the same Oshiomhole back to the office.”

The spokesman continued: “It is strange that a serving minister would share on public social media platforms, what he captioned as a “Private and Confidential” legal opinion for Mr President who appointed him, especially considering that he was in the political kitchen when the pot of crisis he is now offering advice on was being cooked.”

He argued that if Keyamo had no ulterior motives behind his sudden change of legal interpretations of relevant aspects of the APC constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the right channel would have been to sit down with his co-minister, the Attorney General of the federation behind close doors and put forth his arguments.

Alternatively, he said that the Labour minister could have sought a private audience with President Muhammadu Buhari or write a confidential memo to him, explaining why his earlier opinion supporting the dissolution of the National Working Committee and setting up of a Caretaker Committee has changed or no longer tenable instead of going to the “market with his bogus arguments.”

He charged: “His action is reminiscent of the indiscipline from some senior leaders of the party which Oshiomhole sought to deal with decisively as national chairman.

“A Minister certainly should know better how to communicate his concerns with Mr. President and party leadership in a truly constructive conversation behind closed doors.

The truth of the matter is that Mr Keyamo seems to have lost out in the power play and failed to secure the benefits he anticipated in Oshiomhole’s removal from office with the consequent dissolution of the NWC and other structures of the party. This is the main reason for his self serving new legal opinion which contradicts his earlier stance.”

While reaffirming the erstwhile national chairman loyalty to Governor Buni’s leadership, he said that Oshiomhole will not be part of any plot to destabilise or ridicule the party in any way or for any reason, stressing that he (Oshiomhole) took serious exemptions to his name being dragged into an issue that he has no hand in.

According to Oshioke, with the successful conduct of the Ward Congresses nationwide, the Committee should be encouraged to proceed with the local government areas, State Congresses and eventually the National Convention of the party.