I"ve no role in National Assembly crisis - Odigie-Oyegun

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, yesterday exonerated himself from the National Assembly crisis.

He noted that the crisis hasd assumed an unbecoming dimension with people accusing him of accepting gratification from senators.

APC National Chairman, Odigie Oyegun

The chairman spoke while playing host to the Southeast/Southsouth Professionals in his office in Abuja.

Oyegun described those peddling the rumour as devoid of conscience, noting that God would eventually vindicate him and make his opponents regret their actions.

His words: “So, if they are saying you have taken money from a Senator, I am not a Senator. I cannot do it. I cannot at this age be a Senate President, Senate Leader.

“So what is he giving me money for? And in politics when you throw this into public domain, how many people know me personally? So, it is annoying, it is dirty. It is crude, it is unbecoming.

“It shows the people are so devoid of conscience. It doesn’t make me lose sleep because I have God that is so preventive of me because the people who are doing this will eventually eat their own words. I have no doubt at all in my mind.”

“One of the reports said that we cannot leave the present executive leading us to election 2019. You haven’t even finished with 2015, you are already talking of 2019. They are saying that it is a conspiracy for the north. How does it even fit in? Am I from the North? Am I the one organising them?”

Oyegun, who thanked the group for paying him a solidarity visit while he is “under severe attack,” said the crisis had become a threat to the upright character he laboured to build for the last 75 years.

His words: “It is an attempt to rubbish 75 solid years of character that I have put together.  They said taking gratification. Gratification from what? They don’t even know my background and history.”

He urged his accusers to cross-check his record whether there was any evidence of corrupt practice while he was the chairman of the Federal House Authority (FHA) board and other offices.

According to him, he neither allocated any plot to himself nor a member of his family.

Oyegun said: “I was chairman of the FHA, let them go and check records. I did not award a single plot to myself, not to any member of my family. Not a single piece of land. I was in the board of NPA, I was physically inspecting houses for building low cost houses at the Badagry Road. I don’t have a piece of land. I would have acquired acres in the process for myself.”

The chairman said for his love for Nigeria and democracy, he was in exile for four years.

He added that for the eight years former President Olusegun Obasanjo ruled, he did not visit the State House, Aso Rock of Abuja for any reason.

“That is the kind of person I am,” he said.

The president of the group who led the delegation, Emeka Uwgu-Oju, congratulated him for leading APC to win national elections barely a year old in office.

I"ve no role in National Assembly crisis - Odigie-Oyegun