Buhari, NEC told to find Oshiomhole’s replacement now

Funke AzeezMarch 7, 2020

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The All Progressives Congress, APC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and other stakeholders have been advised to appoint the replacement of the party’s National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in an acting capacity.

Giving the advice is the Director-General of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, Salihu Mohammed Lukman, who also warned that retaining the former Edo State Governor in that position will cost the party governorship tickets in the forthcoming Edo, Ondo and Anambra states elections.

Lukeman commended the non-interference of President Muhammadu Buhari in the situation but demanded that the President gets involved and play a lead role in the efforts to find a viable replacement for Oshiomhole.

He said this in a write-up he entitled ‘Injunction against Adams Oshiomhole: The big opportunity for party building’, where he suggested that replacing the former labour leader will be the best panacea to the legal impasse currently holding the party to ransom.

“How can we get all these started? First, pending the settlement of all the cases around Oshiomhole’s membership, we need to invoke provisions of Article 17 (vi) which provide that in the event of a vacancy, ‘the relevant party organ shall appoint another person to act in his place pending ratification by the National Convention or Congress.’

“The relevant party organ, in this case, may have to be the NEC. Given all the vacancies about six so far, National Chairman, Deputy National Chairman (South), Deputy National Chairman (North), National Vice Chairman (North West), National Secretary and National Auditor, who convenes the NEC?

“This is where the organising, consultation and negotiating capacity of our leaders will be tested. Combinations of majority of the remaining members of the NWC in consultation with President Buhari, Governors, and other party leaders who are leading members of the National Caucus can resolve all these issues and convene the NEC to appoint an Acting National Chairman.

“It is important to ask the question, assuming in all of these, Oshiomhole remained as the National Chairman and proceed to organise primary elections for Edo, Ondo and Anambra, how advantageous will that be to APC?

“Let us also assume for the purpose of analysis that undisputed candidates emerge from the primaries in which no one within the party is contesting the results.

“Whether those undisputed candidates include Governors Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN of Ondo State is immaterial. The Zamfara and Bayelsa judicial cloud would appear to have already gathered with any opposition party led by PDP just positioned to harvest what will come with such clouds.

“Given such reality, it will be foolhardy for any upright thinking politician to aspire to contest on the platform of the party with Oshiomhole as the National Chairman. The only possible remedy will be if Comrade Oshiomhole is able to humble himself and go back to the root cause of the problem and resolve it.

“What is the root cause of the problem? It is the suspension by his Ward 10 in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State. Since November 2, 2019, the Ward 10 Executives passed a vote of no confidence on Comrade Oshiomhole and suspended him from the party. Somehow, Comrade Oshiomhole and his supporters treated this action of the Ward Executives with contempt to the point of projecting Comrade Oshiomhole as superior to the Ward.

“This now has turned out to be the very albatross that is setting the stage for Comrade Oshiomhole’s downfall as the National Chairman. Other than issuing another suspension order on Obaseki and Aselm Ojezua, Edo State APC Chairman, Comrade Oshiomhole hardly initiated actions to challenge his suspension from his Ward, at least not to public knowledge.”

Source: Daily Post