EXCLUSIVE: Ikimi, Orbih, Igbinedion planning to hijack PDP candidacy for anointed candidate

• We cannot compare Oshiomhole with PDP 8yrs in Edo – Senator Roland Owie


• Never Again Shall we deal with Imposition – Prince Edobor

By Ehi Ekhator.

All is not well in the camp of Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the choice of candidate in the next coming governorship election.

Just as there is a problem over an alleged imposition of candidate in the state All Progressives Congress, NAIJA CENTER NEWS gathered that the PDP aspirants are equally fighting the some cabals planning to impose their anointed candidate.

dan orbih

According to investigation, Edo State Party Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih invited some leaders to Abuja for a meeting at Chief Tony Anenih’s residence. Those in attendance were reported to be loyal associates of one of the aspirants, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Discussion concerning the upcoming governorship election and state congress were top on the agenda in the meeting.

The leaders who were in support of other Aspirants other than those for Pastor Iyamu were not invited. For example, Senator Rowland Owie and Chief Ben Edo, two very top members of the Edo South curcus as number two and three respectively were not invited, a move that did not augur well with the other aspirants and their supporters.

NAIJA CENTER NEWS gathered that those projecting their candidate are Chief Tony Anenih, Chief Tom Ikimi, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, Dan Orbih and host of others.

Our correspondent gathered that upon their return a week later, Chief Tom Ikimi as Chairman of a special committee and one of those solidly behind the secret anointed aspirant, sent a text message to all aspirants and a meeting was held at his GRA residence in Benin.

The list of those invited for this Special Committee meeting includes:

Edo North:-

(1) Alhaji Kassim Ozeto

(2) Chief Mike Oghiadomhe

(3) Col. Tunde Akogun

(4) Hon. Henry Tenebe

(5) Hon Pascal Ogbome

(6) Chief Dan Orbih (State Chairman)

Edo Central.

(1) Arch. Mike Onolumeme

(2) Sen. Odion Ugbesia

(4) Sen. Cliff Odia.

(5) Hon. Joe Edionwele

(6) Hon. Sergies

(7) Dr. Prince Tony Omoghae

(8) Hon Giwa Agbonmelere.

(9) Chief Tom Ikimi (Committee Chairman)

Edo South

(1) Chief Gabriel Igbinedion (Esama.)

(2) Dr. Oni Edigin

(3) Owerri Dickson Imasogie

(4) Barr. Ahimien

(5) Hon EJ Abonayima

(6)Hon. Omosede Igbinedion

(7) Hon. Omoregie Ihama

(8) Sen. Matt Ughrohide

Aspirants present in the meeting were:

(1) Chief Solomon Iyobosa Edebiri (ISE)

(2) Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu (POI)

(3) Hon Mathew Iduyokemwen (MAI)

Aspirants who shunned the said meeting or took excuses not to attend were:

(1) Senator Uzamere

(2) Osaro Onaiwu

Tony Anenih

NAIJA CENTER NEWS gathered that the meeting almost ended in chaos when the aspirants were told that the committee was saddled with the primary responsibility of scaling down the number of aspirants to an initial two and finally one as time goes on.

The meeting tensed all the aspirants except one aspirant who said a level playing field be provided.

The leaders of the meeting, according to NAIJA CENTER NEWS finding advised the aspirants to discuss within themselves with a possibility of arriving at some stepping down for another which they all rejected.

Uncomfortable at the turn of the event, the Committee Chairman stated that the party will dictate what happens and not the aspirants, again a statement that resulted in complaints.

However, the Edo South curcuss Chairman Chief Gabriel Igbinedion who was absent came just as his Daughter, Hon Omosede Igbinedion was stepping out to catch her scheduled flight back to Abuja alongside other elected PDP National Assembly members who were all invited to the botched meeting.

He (Chief Igbinedion) pleaded for calmed nerves and asked to be given time to consult and submit two names to the committee for consideration. Two of the aspirants except one again rejected the suggestion.

The Aspirants again protested that anyone who continue to show interest be allowed to see his ambition to a logical conclusion; the Primaries. The meeting thus closed without any concrete resolution. The committee Chairman and Party Chairman gave him (Chief Igbinedion) two weeks to come out with these names.

Tom Ikimi

NAIJA CENTER NEWS investigation revealed that the plot continued in Chief Igbinedion’s residence where he invited five persons per Local Government including the Party L.G. A Chairmen over the burning issue. Again nothing concrete came out as those against the plot to impose a candidate successfully thwarted the move.

Majority of the Party Leaders who may have learned from the Presidential election are said to be in favour of a true and transparent primaries nothing that the party failed at the National level as a result of the same imposition; a scenario they are no longer willing to see repeat itself in Edo State, therefore raise posers:

What is the role of National PDP in State chapters if the state chapter does anything that is unconstitutional?

What will be the role of the people if a few persons are allowed to determine their destiny?

After the imposition by these persons (assuming they even succeed), will the general election also be by consensus?

Lucky Igbinedion

Is the party not at risk of incurring the people’s wrath considering the fact that the Igbinedion dynasty is frantically trying to foist one of their own through the back door?

Senator Roland Owie who spoke with NAIJA CENTER NEWS on the issue confirmed the plans.

The Senator stressed that they would not succeed in hatching it, insisting that though they may plan but they can’t as it will go against the tenet of the party.

On the secret meeting that took place in Abuja, the Senator said he challenged Tom Ikimi’s right to be in the meeting knowing fully well that he is supporting a specific candidate.

Some of us have told them it is illegal and they cannot try it. They were trying to do that nonsense and we told them it is not possible.

I told Tom Ikimi that he doesn’t have moral right to be there because he has a candidate he is supporting, how will you then chair such a committee. The PDP constitution is very clear, only NEC, PDP at national level that can constitute the committee at the appropriate time.

They were just wasting their time with what they were doing, it is unnecessary and they do not have the authority to do that.

Ikimi has his own aspirant which everybody has right to have but certainly my own arguments have been that the governorship election is not on party level but who is fielded.

I have said it that any aspirant that has close link with PDP eight years in Edo State cannot be the governor because that regime did not do too well. Everybody is free to choose candidates, but Edo people will choose their candidate. If they choose a candidate that is not salable or not, we wish them luck.

Oshiomhole may not have done to the extent that is expected to be but you cannot compare the governor’s achievement on ground to that of Lucky Igbinedion because if a man is not objective and as a Catholic Knight i am bound to say the truth in public and private.

There are some achievement Oshiomhole has made which PDP in Edo State did not do. All we should do is to tell the people that we would do better than what Oshiomhole had done by bringing a credible candidate, but if they bring a candidate within the system that failed (Lucky Igbinedion administration), we will distance ourselves throughout the campaign.

So they won’t try it, and if they dare, it will be aborted.

Revealing Oshiomhole’s plan, Senator Owie said the governor’s plan is to roll out a big board of Pastor Ize-Iyamu with Lucky Igbinedion to warn Edo people if he emerged as the party flag bearer.

Quoting the governor, the Senator said: “If Pastor Ize-Iyamu emerge as PDP candidate, he would roll out big board from Ofusu to Okpila with picture of Lucky Igbinedion and the Pastor with an inscription “don’t draw Edo State back again”,  and during campaign we will be defending ourselves.

Speaking on the issue, another chieftain of the PDP, Prince Edobor Eghosa said “We must not forget where we are coming from as a political party. First we are guided by the provision of our constitution. The founding father of this party have in mind when they postulated the motto of this party that there must be justice, unity and progress and the law two is not attainable without the first one.

“The slogan of PDP is that power must be to the people. We say no to imposition, and the selection of candidate must be through free, credible and democratic process. That is how in the end, there will be unity and progress because justice has been served.

“Making reference to what happened at the federal level, Prince Eghosa said i think our people have learned from their mistakes. The problem of the general election in 2015 has become an opener to the people.

“We drifted from the primary constitution of the party and that was why we lost the election. Not again shall we now deal with imposition and cabals who are bent on destroying this party.

EXCLUSIVE: Ikimi, Orbih, Igbinedion planning to hijack PDP candidacy for anointed candidate

How Buhari’s Victory Altered Edo Political Calculations

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State prior to the emergence of presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) General Muhammadu Buhuri, as president-elect in the March 28, 2015 presidential election appeared ready to sink the ruling APC led government of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

The party had campaigned vigorously across the nook and crannies of the state winning more supporters who have been disenchanted with the APC in the state coupled with the calculation that victory for the PDP at the presidential election would further put the final nail to the political coffin of the APC in Edo State.

The presidential and the National Assembly election saw the PDP winning the entire senatorial and House of Representatives seats in Edo South and Central senatorial districts, a victory which further boosted the fortune of the party. However, as the PDP was basking in the euphoria of the victory it recorded in Edo State lasted, the hope was dashed after General Muhammadu Buhari was declared the winner of the March presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Expectedly the victory of Buhari unsettled PDP in Edo State as prominent members of the party move in droves to the APC. Those who ensured the failure of PDP in the state are now the one defecting with their numerous supporters.

Those who had in the past vowed not to dine and wine with the APC even with a long pole today are singing praises of Buhari and Oshiomhole to high heavens. In fact some of them described their days in the PDP as “nightmare” adding that with the loss of the PDP at the centre it is now clear that the PDP is dead finally.

Today, one of the major reasons they adduced for their mass defection was the fact that Edo State cannot remain in opposition to the ruling party at the centre adding that it would drag the state backwards in terms of development.

But the most shocking of all the defections was that of General Charles Airhiavbere (rtd) the PDP governorship candidate in 2012. Before his defection, he was one of the coordinators of President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign in the state.

The retired army general during his defection said, “I believe today which is also an Easter Sunday, is the day the Lord has made and set aside for the people of Edo State to have sustained peace and political progress. Since after my election of 2012, Edo State has experienced heightened political tension, which has brought development of the state to a back stage.

“That I was the governorship candidate of the PDP in 2012 election and its aftermath is history. I have decided to join the team of change that has come to the nation in the last election of March 28, 2015, so that Edo State will continue to enjoy the benefits of the party at the centre. Any politician who means well for this state will ground their arms of hate and join the change train of the APC government ably led by His Excellency, Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole.”

The former governorship candidate of the PDP added that, “I know for sure that with APC at the national and the state, there will be rapid development and all the campaign promises will be delivered to our dear state that is yearning for rapid development. Kudos to all APC members for your resilience and victory at the last election”.

“We will do it again in the state on April 11, 2015 election,” he added.

When asked why he didn’t defect before the March 28 presidential election, Airhiavbere said, “PDP didn’t give me any money. My drive and passion for Jonathan is from my personal efforts. I will ensure that Edo State remains in the mainstream. Money has never motivated me. I will always be loyal to the centre. We delivered to PDP in Edo South; we will deliver to APC on April 11 state elections.”

Professor Oserheimen Osunbor, was the immediate past governor of Edo State, a major pillar of the PDP in Edo Central senatorial district. He was governor of Edo State for 18 months before the emergence of Oshiomhole through the court ruling. No doubt, Osunbor, who is a major player in the PDP contributed to the massive victory recorded by the party in the March 28 election. Curiously, on Tuesday, March 7, he equally defected to the ruling APC with his teeming supporters.

Receiving Osunbor and thousands of his supporters at Iruekpen, Oshiomhole said, “I will be working with a respected professor of law like you and many of your supporters. We thank God for what he has used us to achieve. I appeal to our people to vote for our APC House of Assembly candidates because they will help me to develop our state rapidly and with the APC government at the top, the sky is our limit”.

Other prominent members of PDP who defected with their supporters are Emmanuel Arigbe-Osula, former deputy minority leader in the House of Representatives and co-founder of the Friends of Goodluck Jonathan Support Group and former provost marshal of the Nigerian Army, Brig. Gen. Idada Ikponmwen.

Ikponmwen, who defected in Benin urged all his supporters to vote APC all the way in the April 11 state elections. “I am exceedingly happy that our people and the entire nation have overwhelmingly voted for the man of the moment, a perpendicular person, a leader of proven character, a courageous and detribalised man with zero tolerance for corruption, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari to lead this nation.

“I urged all Nigerians and particularly our people of Edo State to give their votes en-mass at the un-concluded Edo South senatorial and House of Assembly elections coming up on the 11th of April, 2015 to APC candidates in order to support the ongoing political revolution in the country”, said Ikponmwen.

It was reliably gathered that all arrangements have been concluded to receive a major financier and governorship aspirant of the PDP, Kenneth Imansuagbon (Rice man) into the APC fold. It was also learnt that Chief Tom Ikimi, former APC chieftain and Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Edo South co-ordinator of Jonathan campaign are being wooed back into the APC. It is a known fact that both Ikimi and Ize-Iyamu played crucial roles in the merger talks that gave birth to APC, before defecting to the PDP.

It was also learnt that the daughter of Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, Omosede Igbinedion, who just won the Ovia Federal Constituency House of Representatives seat is equally warming up to defect to the APC.

Interestingly, most of these defectors played major roles in the Jonathan campaign and ensured his victory over Buhari in Edo State, but shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC announced the APC presidential candidate as winner, things have fallen apart in Edo PDP.

If the on-going defections are anything to go by, then Edo is gradually becoming a one-party state.

In a swift reaction to the defections, which has become a daily affair, the state chairman of the embattled party, Dan Osi Orbih said it is a non-issue. “Those who defected have no political value”, said Orbih.

How Buhari’s Victory Altered Edo Political Calculations

I decamp to PDP to earn my respect - Tom Ikimi

A former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Tom Ikimi on Thursday said that he decamped to the Peoples Democratic Party to earn his respect.

Tom Ikimi

Chief Ikimi, who disclosed this in Benin when he was received by the leadership of the PDP at the secretariat of the party, also noted that had implicit confidence in the national leader of the party, Chief Tony Anenih, adding that, “we shall have a common agenda of working for the party in Edo state and Nigeria in general.”

He insisted that he was not leaving the APC for the PDP to vie for any elective political office, saying that, “I left the APC for the PDP where I shall be given my respects and my personal dignity respected.”

The former minister also stated that he had consulted with his family and the National Executive Committee of the PDP before joining the party.

Ikimi said, “I come here today not as a new member. I come here to be fully identified with my groups of 1999 and 2003.

“In politics, the party is supreme. We came here as cooks to cook the food and share it to others. But those who came in took the food away, the plates, the pots and everything away and left the cooks with nothing.

“The PDP will take over the state once again and once beaten, twice shy. I am not interested in being in a party of enemies, where a party man will plot against the party; I am at peace with all the leaders of the PDP whether big or small.

“I have implicit confidence in Chief Tony Anenih and we have had several meetings and I believe we have bridged the gaps. We shall have common agenda in working for the party in the state and Nigeria.”

Earlier, the Edo State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, described the membership of the former APC chieftain as boost to the party, adding that Ikimi was a “prophet” who had honour in his home.

“Your joining the PDP is a plus for the party and a minus to the APC. As we begin to move towards the next election and, although it is said that a prophet has no honour in his home, you are the prophet who has honour at home,” he said.

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I decamp to PDP to earn my respect - Tom Ikimi

How Ikimi created problems for Oshiomhole — Idahosa

The name Charles Idahosa, the son of Akakasiaka, rings bell in the politics of Edo State. The journalist— turned-politician is the only man who challenged Governor Adams Oshiomhole in the governorship primaries of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN, now APC) in 2007.

Tom Ikimi

After the emergence of Oshiomhole as the party’s flag bearer, he became the Political Adviser to the Comrade Governor, a position he occupies since that time. As he clocks 61 today, he bared his mind on some political issues in the country and Edo  in particular.

Excerpts:

How do you feel at 61?

At 61 I don’t feel any different, I feel the same way I felt when I was very much younger in my 20s; it is just that some things you used to do have slowed down. I used to stay out late but  now I don’t enjoy night outings anymore, I just stay till ten or eleven and I am home.

But it is still the same. I feel healthy, we thank God, but that energy of being on for 24 hours, you can’t afford that now. You need more rest now and the grand children are coming in, so I just enjoy hanging out with them and having fun. I still have the same fun and the same good friends.

Edo APC experienced some troubles recently when some leaders defected to the PDP. Do you think the coming primaries will not further split the party?

There will be no problem in the APC primaries. You just saw what happened in Adamawa, that was  a test run of what to expect. The guidelines for choosing National Assembly members, governors and  others  are out.

We are going to follow the guidelines, but the Constitution of APC also recommends consensus. What consensus means is that if we all agree on a particular candidate, it is okay. In a situation where we don’t agree, we go for congress.

The best candidate is going to win. There will be no imposition. You saw what the Comrade Governor did during the congresses. What people must put at the back of their minds  is that there are people who are just losers and they cannot accept losing. You saw what happened that led to the deluge of people decamping from the APC to the PDP.

Congress took place, some people lost; they cried foul and the governor cancelled it. They did a second one, it was a repeat performance and the person who lost said he was leaving, even when his village people rejected him. However, I can assure you that in the APC, we will not impose anybody; if there is a consensus candidate in any place; we will agree on that. If there is no consensus and they say no, we go for full blown primaries.

Those who defected to the PDP are boasting of defeating the APC in the coming elections.  Are you not worried?

They have the right to boast, but, honestly, I am not worried because we know these people. Most of them cannot even win election in their families, it was when Oshiomhole came that some of them who are today deceiving Jonathan  that they will win Edo started winning election.

Some of them who are boasting today like super stars are always at the golf course playing golf during elections; after that, they will be  crying and complaining that  a godfather  sent thugs to defeat them in their wards.

The PDP can never win Edo.  A situation where people left due to their personal interest shows they are  not  for the welfare of Edo people. One of them said  he  left because he wanted to control  his  area, the other said they didn’t make him National  Chairman of APC,  I don’t know how that one affects the work on ground. I sympathize with a lot of our people who don’t have an idea of what is going on. The PDP is even worse off now.

There are three different blocs. I was watching Tom Ikimi’s arrival the other day to Benin on television, I could see APC bloc  inside PDP. The people that spoke  are all APC decampees from APC. So, PDP has a problem already. Osagie Ize-Iyamu made a powerful speech in Ikimi’s house and one Mrs. Omokhodion. I could not see any strong leader in the PDP that they joined that was there. So,   they have moved into PDP as a bloc and they are going to remain there as a bloc.

Those people they met in the house there who have been suffering now and these just came after enjoying this side and  went there. The original PDP members are waiting, they are not fools . So there is going to be an implosion. Look at the people at the House of Assembly at Ring Road, nine of them, fooling themselves from morning till night.

You are sitting down there, what they are saying have no meaning to anybody. You sit down there talking rubbish from morning till night to summon a Commissioner, the Commissioner said  who are you summoning? Yet you keep  fooling yourself.  It is unfortunate because they are betraying the people that sent them there.

But judgment day is  February. I cannot predict accurately, if we go less than we did in the last elections, then I am no longer a politician. We are going to beat them black and blue.

The people that will vote are not card carrying members of any political party. If Charles Idahosa as a leader of Uhunmwonde decamps tomorrow, I can assure you that my people will not go with me if I am not decamping because of their problem.

How can you tell people because they didn’t make you National Chairman you are leaving? That is rubbish. Meanwhile Ikimi is the godfather of imposition. All the problems Oshiomhole is encountering today were caused by Ikimi. The last congress we did in Edo, it was war.

Ikimi wanted to impose people everywhere. I personally clashed with him on two or three occasions in some of our meetings. He put  Adams Oshiomhole in such a tight corner; the problem we are having around Esan is tagged around him because he believed that anything that has to do with that area must be zoned to him.

He insisted in this last congress that Modino Emovon must not be state Woman Leader. We resisted;  at the end of the day, Ikimi prevailed on Oshiomhole to pick somebody else. We even appealed to the old woman to go and beg Ikimi.

That is the daughter of one of the highest and most respectable chiefs in this town; the Arala of Benin kingdom. We convinced her and she went. Do you know she was standing by the gate of Ikimi and Ikimi drove past her? The state Woman Leader of the party?   That congress would have been a disaster if not for the wisdom of Governor Oshiomhole.

He was caged by Ikimi and because Oshiomhole wanted to respect him, the governor was helpless. Modino walked out of the congress because of what Ikimi did. That is why some of us were laughing when he was lamenting that Tinubu manipulated the congress that brought Oyegun. He drove Imsansuagbo out of APC, now he is going to meet Imasuagbo there with all the people he drove out.

Oshiomhole did not sleep after the congress due to the problems created by Ikimi;  meanwhile Ikimi was sleeping peacefully in his house. The governor was over protective of him and that made him feel like a super star. Now he is crying that because he did not get the national chairmanship of APC, he left, but they don’t know the implication.

But we are very happy that it happened this way. If Ikimi had defeated Oyegun, Oyegun would not have left. Oyegun rose through the system to become a  federal Permanent Secretary and the first elected civilian governor of Edo; who is Ikimi to compare himself with Oyegun? Ikimi has never run for any election in his life.

I saw it in one of his interviews, abusing Tinubu, talking about Otedola, but he forgot that Lucky Igbinedion, his candidate, lost to Oyegun. He did not make that example. How he feels that he is  superior to Oyegun I don’t understand  because he became a mouthpiece for one of the most useless military governments in this country.

When you become a minister under a military regime, I don’t recognize you as a minister, I don’t see you as important because anybody can be anything under a military regime. So it means nothing.

‘Ikimi’s outburst has political implication in Edo’

But the implication is for the politics of Edo  and we have recorded it; at the appropriate time, we will unleash it. When there were two political parties in this country; Anenih and Tom Ikimi were national chairmen.

The Binis who constitute over 60 percent of the population we didn’t quarrel. He is angry now that for the first time a Bini man is the National Chairman.

I saw him on television; he said he has come to join his brother Anenih’. We will see. Because a Bini man became a National Chairman, you have gone to meet your Esan brother, we are here, we have the population. We know the script they are trying to do to reduce our population. Prince Edun Akenzua already raised the alarm.

So we are waiting, he doesn’t know the war he has started. I don’t know the pedestal he can compare himself with  Oyegun.  Because you served under a  military administration, you think other people are not human beings.

So Bini people have become something people can toy with. APC is even happy he left because we know how much it usually costs  us to win his unit for him in Igueben. As long as we are concerned, Ikimi is a political light weight in Edo and he will lose his unit on the day of election. I can bet that.

 

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How Ikimi created problems for Oshiomhole — Idahosa

Excessive Drugs Consumption Has Damaged Tinubu’s Memory – Ikimi

A founding leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Tom Ikimi who recently left the party has descended on Asiwaju Bola Tinubu over his recent attack on his person, saying the former Lagos State Governor has memory problem derived from excessive consumption of drugs.

Tom Ikimi

Ikimi, who said he was glad to be part and parcel of the founding of the Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the creation of the APC, while expressing surprise at the welcome home reception accorded him by PDP members and party stalwarts who in their hundreds stormed Benin Airport, described APC as a party whose leadership comprises people who engage in plotting against one another.

“But I want to clarify that I read the kind of response the leader from Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, tried to make and I think he has lost it all. For once, I think he has a memory problem and I think the memory problem derives from his excessive consumption of various things”.

On the fear that he may likely sell the party to the ruling PDP, coupled with the purported betrayal of late MKO Abiola as reasons why he was denied the APC chairmanship position, the former foreign affairs minister said, “Did I need to spend twelve years to create a party in order to sell it? I created the party, I did not join the party.“

“First of all, if he has a good memory, Abiola was in SDP not in NRC. I in NRC cannot betray someone who is in PDP. Secondly I stopped being chairman of NRC in 1992. Abiola’s elections was in 1993. The National Chairman was Dr Hamed Kusamatu who was his own kinsman. How can I become the chairman to betray Abiola when I was not Kusamtu. Even if it was NRC, between Kusamotu and myself was Mrs Okolu. So there were two other chairmen before me.

“Now SPD went to election, the first foreign minister was Baba Gana Kingible who was his running mate. How could I have been the one who betrayed him? I did not join Abacha’s government until 1994. So, tell Bola Tinubu to get his historical facts correct”

“I have heard people talked about Abacha. Who did not work for Abacha? Who was that woman who was carrying market women to demonstrate on behalf of Abacha. So, let be very careful when pointing accusing fingers at others. I created the PTF. I was adviser, somebody ran the PTF. When the time comes, find out where he is now. Today they are building a lot of projects in Lagos and who is the contractor who is doing it, he is a contractor who used to work with Abacha.”

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Excessive Drugs Consumption Has Damaged Tinubu’s Memory – Ikimi

Ikimi"s action to go back to PDP, an insult to Binis - Idahosa

• …Says Oshiomhole’s problem in Edo State spearheaded by Ikimi


• Ikimi, father of imposition

By Ehi Ekhator, Naija Center News

Charles Idahosa has vowed that the Binis would use their numerical strength to teach the conspirators a political lesson in the forthcoming elections, also attributed some of the political challenges in the APC to the overbearing attitude of Tom Ikimi, who has in recent time, disassociated himself from his former Party, The All Progressives Congress (APC), and planning to cling to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

APC National Chairman, Odigie Oyegun

Idahosa expressed disappointment over Ikim’s decision to go back to the PDP due to his inability to get what he wanted in APC. He said that Oyegun was more experienced than Ikimi, and promised that him, and his brother, Tony Anenih will never get support  from the Bini People.

“What Ikimi has done now? By saying that he has gone back to PDP where his Esan brother, Anenih, is, just because Chief John Odigie Oyegun, a Bini man, was made national chairman of APC is an insult to the Binis and they will pay for it come February 2015 because when both of them were national chairmen of NRC and SDP, the Binis supported them because we see them as our brothers, but for Ikimi to say because Oyegun – who is even more experienced than him – is national chairman, he decided to quit the party to join his brother, they will never get any support from the Binis.

“How can you tell people that you are defecting because you were not made national chairman, that Oyegun was imposed? Meanwhile, Ikimi is the godfather of imposition. All the problems that Oshiomhole has encountered in Edo State were spearheaded by Tom Ikimi. Ikimi created a lot of problems for Oshiomhole. The last congress we had in Edo State, the problem we were having in Esan was tied around him because he believed that everything done in that area must be tied to him.

“If he is not involved, he will accuse Oshiomhole of undermining him. He insisted that Modino Emovon must not be the state women leader. We resisted him but at the end of the day, Oshiomhole agreed with him. We now appealed to Modino Emovon to go and beg Tom Ikimi, and that woman is the daughter of one of the most respectable chiefs in Benin, the Arala of Benin.”

Do you know she was standing by the gate of Ikimi’s house to see him and Ikimi drove past her like she was a nobody?

He accused Ikimi of driving Imasuagbon out of the PDP, adding that he was happy that he experienced how it feels to impose a candidate.

He said “I am so happy because Ikimi now knows how it feels to impose people. He drove Imasuagbon out of APC, now he is going to meet Imasuagbon there. The governor is so protective of him. But he does not know the implication of what he did. If Ikimi had won, Oyegun would not have left. Oyegun rose through the system to become a federal permanent secretary and the first elected executive governor of Edo State”, he said.

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Ikimi"s action to go back to PDP, an insult to Binis - Idahosa

Don’t join PDP, Inegbeneki chieftain urges Ikimi

FOLLOWING the resignation of the former Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Tom Ikimi from the All Progressives Congress, APC, a chieftain of the party in Edo Central senatorial district, Chief Francis Inegbeneki, yesterday, urged the former APC leader to quit politics rather than return to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Tom Ikimi

Inegbeneki gave the advice after a meeting of leaders of the APC at Ebhossa, in Igueben Local Government Area, home town of Chief Ikimi, where the leaders disassociated themselves from the exit of Ikimi from the party and vowed not to follow him to the PDP.

The leaders declared that they are not joining Ikimi to PDP because “he left because he was not made the National Chairman of the APC, and not that the APC led by Governor Adams Oshiomhole has not delivered the dividends of democracy to the people of the state.”

According to Inegbeneki, “if you recall, when Chief Anenih who also is an Esan man was removed as BoT Chairman of the PDP by Obasanjo, Anenih did not leave the party; he remained and today, is he not the chairman of BoT of PDP? So Ikimi should emulate Anenih if he wants to have respect in Esanland. That is why I am advising him that rather than rejoin the PDP as being rumoured, he should quit politics.

“APC members in Igueben have echoed that they are not following him to PDP if he decides to return, and he is alone. He is blaming Bola  Tinubu. If Tinubu had left for PDP, will Nigeria today have a strong opposition like the APC, no. The only way we would have followed him to PDP is if he had told us that Oshiomhole has not performed, but he did not say that.”

 

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Don’t join PDP, Inegbeneki chieftain urges Ikimi

Muazu, Anenih woo Tom Ikimi back to PDP

NATIONAL Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, has led some leaders of the party to former National Chairman, National Republican Convention, NRC, and immediate past Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Tom Ikimi, begging him to rejoin the party.

Tom Ikimi

Muazu, who made the visit, Friday night, to the Abuja Maitama residence of Ikimi with the Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, BoT, Chief Tony Anenih, and PDP deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Uches Secondus, stressed that the visit was among others designed to finalize arrangements for his formal return, adding that the PDP was happy that Ikimi had decided to return to its fold.

The PDP boss described Ikimi as a highly organized and patriotic Nigerian who has the interest of the nation at heart, saying such attribute made it hard for him to be in a party like the APC. He said that PDP will immensely benefit from Ikimi’s “wealth of experience, strong political structure and massive followership across the country”.

Also speaking, Anenih commended Ikimi for his decision to dump the APC and return to PDP, stressing that it was in the overall interest of the nation.

Responding, Ikimi told his visitors that he had concluded plans to return to PDP and promised to bring value to the party by serving at any level.

He vowed to use his position and political structures especially in the South-south to ensure that the PDP emerged victorious in the 2015 general elections. “I look forward to bringing value to the PDP. I believe that my contributions will again be noteworthy. By my joining PDP, we are assured of victory not only in Edo State but in the entire South-south geo-political zone”, Ikimi said, noting that he was ready to serve the party in any capacity deemed appropriate by the leaders. Also at the meeting were Secretary of the PDP BoT, Senator Wali Jibril; a former FCT Minister, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo, as well as other political stakeholders from the South-south.

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Muazu, Anenih woo Tom Ikimi back to PDP

Ikimi claims influence he doesn’t have - Oyegun

• Wish Ikimi well in lion’s den – APC

NATIONAL Chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegu, yesterday, lambasted the former Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Tom Ikimi over his comments that he (Oyegun) was imposed on the party, saying that Ikimi was arrogating “to himself an influence he does not have both in Edo State and Nigeria as a whole.”

Tom Ikimi

Similarly, the APC in Edo State, said it wished Ikimi well in “the lion’s den,” adding that his movement to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP was a good omen for the party in the state because “We have always found it difficult to win election in Igueben his home town because he is not on ground.”

Ikimi who resigned from the party Wednesday, alleged that the party was being run by a cabal, adding that the APC does not practice the true democracy it preaches to Nigerians.

However, Chief Oyegun, said “Ikimi is so boisterous that he has over priced himself but I will sit down and respond to all his nonsense in the papers. Ikimi is giving himself undue importance which he does not deserve, he is insulting all the leaders of the party both from the North and South, saying that he was the only sensible person in the party, that is not true and that is not possible. What he is doing is reporting himself to the entire nation, displaying the kind of person he truly is.

“What is happening really is that both the PDP and APC are being purified and that all the birds that ought to flock together are beginning to fly together and that is a good thing for this country. It is good for the APC and the PDP. We don’t want people who don’t think like us, don’t have the same ideology and not as committed to the ideology of APC. We are losing some and gaining some. The process of ideological purification is underway and those who don’t share the same belief with us are all leaving and we have no regret about that.

“I don’t know how many votes he controls that will make us lose Edo State and Nigeria, but we will see.”

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Ikimi claims influence he doesn’t have - Oyegun

APC chietain, Tom Ikimi quits withdraws membership

A founding member of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Tom Ikimi, has withdrawn his membership from the party.

Tom Ikimi

He said he ceased from being a member of the party from tomorrow, Wednesday, August 27, 2014.

Ikimi, who tried in vain to be the national chairman of the party, accused some leaders of the party, especially former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, of imposition.

The former minister of external affairs stated this in a statement he issued in Abuja on Tuesday.

He however did not say if he would join the Peoples Democratic Party, but merely said he was studying the other political parties in the country.

He said, “I am at the stage of currently critically re-examining the two dominant political parties in our country, which are the APC and the PDP, in both of which I have had close working knowledge.

“I have not ignored the other political parties but in the light of the foregoing I must now search to really ascertain where indeed my true political friends exist. I need to be, at this time of my life where I have friends who share a common vision with me and where my freedom, respect, honor and dignity would be guaranteed.

“Notwithstanding my enormous contributions over the past 12 years or so to building the alternative platform, after very deep thought and the widest consultations I have made the decision to withdraw my membership from the All Progressives Congress from today, Wednesday 27th August 2014.”

More details later.

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APC chietain, Tom Ikimi quits withdraws membership

APC runs around to reconcile Tom Ikimi, others

The All Progressives Congress on Wednesday said it had made progress in its bid to reconcile aggrieved members of the party, including Chief Tom Ikimi, who claimed he was prevented from contesting the national chairmanship of the party at its national convention in Abuja.

Ikimi, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, who had boycotted APC’s first national convention, accused the leaders of the party of selecting Chief John Odigie-Oyegun as the national chairman before the convention.

Some other stalwarts of the party including a former Ogun State Governor, Olusegun Osoba, and a former Borno State Governor, Modu Sheriff, have also had conflicts with the leadership of the APC, sparking off speculations that they were planning to defect from the party.

However, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, told our correspondent that the party was making efforts to reconcile all aggrieved members with its leadership.

Mohammed said the APC National Chairman, Odigie-Oyegun, and some other leaders of the party had reached out to Ikimi, Sheriff and some other aggrieved members individually.

He said, “The chairman has reached out individually to all these members. And more specifically, he has reached out to Tom Ikimi; he has reached out to Sheriff and some other members of the party have done so.

“And I know that a committee has been set up to reconcile all aggrieved members. It’s an ongoing matter and the committee will not give up until total reconciliation is established.”

Apart from settling conflicts within its fold, Mohammed said the APC was actively wooing politicians in other parties, including the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.

“We are also reaching out to new friends. Politics is about winning more and more people to your side. There is a deliberate drive to reach out to more and more people, even from their (the PDP’s) camp,” he said.

APC runs around to reconcile Tom Ikimi, others

Tinubu hijack powers, predeermined convention exercise - Tom Ikimi

Tinubu operated as the core of one of these caucuses, whose membership varied from time to time within the realms of his whims and caprices

FORMER Minister of Foreign Affairs and chieftain of All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Tom Ikimi, has said that he stayed away from the party’s recent national convention in Abuja because the APC Governors Forum, AGF, and  former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had already predetermined the outcome of the exercise.

He said that Tinubu and the AGF hijacked the powers of convening the  event from the National Interim Executive Council of the party, adding that same led to the alleged undemocratic manner through which party executives emerged.

Ikimi, in a statement, regretted that Tinubu allegedly arrogated to himself the right to decide for the party, who the national officers should be, adding that he unilaterally appointed  Chief John Odigie-Oyegun as the National Chairman.

Charade

He said: “I did not attend, neither did I participate in the charade called convention. I paid N250, 000 for the form to contest for the national chairmanship on the basis of the overwhelming support I received from my state, Edo State. The form is still with me, which I will return and ask for a refund of my money. I did not step down for anybody. When it became clear to me and many others, including my supporters, that the outcome of the contest would not be determined by a free and fair vote at the convention, most of the delegates, tired and weary after waiting for more than 24 hours for accreditation all day at Eagle Square, departed. The venue was then over run by all manner of people who broke through the barriers.

Secret meetings and caucuses

‘’The National Interim Executive Council was never convened again to approve any of the arrangements before the convention and it was never even accorded the courtesy of a valedictory session. All that transpired thereafter leading to the convention happened mostly at secret meetings and caucuses some of which I have since become aware were convened in Europe. The party was now run as a private property.

“Tinubu operated as the core of one of these caucuses, whose membership varied from time to time within the realms of his whims and caprices. The other known caucus was the APC Governor’s Forum. These two groups hijacked power from the National Interim Executive Council, which is the body known to Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. However, it was from these two caucuses that the idea of zoning the party positions emerged. Zoning is a principle alien to our party’s constitution, but if at all it had to be employed at some stage and the process democratically carried out to ensure the equitable distribution of key offices in the party and government to the different geo-political zones in the country, it is my view that the process should be open and transparent and should be approved by the Interim National Executive Council of the party.

‘’Chief Bisi Akande cannot produce any such approval. In addition and in my opinion, I felt strongly that if we were bound to proceed on the basis of zoning that both party offices as well as key offices in government such as President, Vice President etc., should be put on the table and zoned at the same time. My suggestion was motivated by strong information I had received of plots being hatched to steam role a Muslim Muslim Presidential and Vice Presidential ticket for the APC in the 2015 election and with specific individuals in mind as the beneficiaries.”

 

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Tinubu hijack powers, predeermined convention exercise - Tom Ikimi

APC convention: Senator Modu-Sheriff, Tom Ikimi, others set to dump APC

Trouble appears to be brewing in the All Progressives Congress, APC, as strong indications emerged that former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff along with other aggrieved leaders of the party, including Chief Tom Ikimi, are set to dump the party in protest over the outcome of its maiden national convention on Friday.

John Odigie-Oyegun, a running mate to Malam Ibrahim Shekarau in the 2011 presidential elections, emerged national chairman of the APC while Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, emerged national secretary. The duo’s emergence did not go down well with Sheriff, who reportedly sponsored the candidature of former foreign affairs minister Ikimi and Kashim Ibrahim Imam for the two prime positions in the party.

Sheriff or SAS as he is fondly called, who confirmed his displeasure about the convention to a Daily Trustcorrespondent, described the results of the convention as a sham and is contemplating joining another party.

Speaking through his close associate, Dr. Umar Duhu, a former interim national vice chairman (North-East) of the APC, Sheriff said he was not only victimized, but that his associates including Tom Ikimi whose house was used to actualize the merger of APC, were schemed out of positions in the party despite his initial endorsement.

“Sherriff views the outcome of the congresses as a witch-hunt. All his associates including Kashim Imam, Umar Duhu and Tom Ikimi were not considered at the convention despite endorsement. Even though there is appeals committee, Sheriff is angry with the APC but has not decided whether to join another party”, Duhu said last night.

“What happened is a charade that is orchestrated by Buhari and Tinubu’s men who want to actualize their Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket and I can tell you that it is not realizable in the present Nigeria”, he added.

Sheriff and his associates are particularly irked by the process that produced Odigie-Oyegun as chairman of the party while nothing has been done to compensate him with other key party positions.

He is also angry that he has failed to get any of his associates to prominent positions within the party and is feeling short-changed at the outcome of the convention.

The former influential governor is said to have thrown his weight behind Ikimi as national chairman of the party but failed to get the very important endorsement of party leaders led by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, whose camp rooted for John Odigie-Oyegun.

At the convention proper last Friday, the picture began to unfold that Odigie-Oyegun, who was the first executive governor of Edo State was the preferred candidate for APC’s top position, when another candidate for the position, ex-Bayelsa State governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, was prevailed upon to step down.

It was learnt that Ikimi refused to step down for Oyegun initially even after the party’s leaders made their choice known before the convention. He had to later on following the political horse-trading that saw Sylva withdraw from the race, thereby, foreclosing the chances of an open contest.

Sheriff, sources say, had another card up his sleeves that would enable him pick the national secretary of the party.

But his plan ‘B’ did not see the light of day as the party governors had their way when they moved against Kashim Ibrahim Imam (Sheriff’s choice for party scribe) and instead backed Mai Mala Buni, the Yobe APC chairman, who joined the race at the last minute following the withdrawal of Alhaji Tijjani Tumsah from the race.

This is said to have angered Sheriff and his group, more so as the former governor has been reportedly engaged in a cold war with Tinubu over the control of the party.

National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, when contacted, said the party will respond to the grievances raised by Ikimi and the others in due course.

Meanwhile, how the APC navigates through this gathering storm remains to be seen as the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is on standby, ready to snap up those who are purportedly displeased with the outcome of the National Convention.

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APC convention: Senator Modu-Sheriff, Tom Ikimi, others set to dump APC

APC crack: I never stepped down for Odigie-Oyegun - Tom Ikimi

Following the national convention of the All Progressives Congress held on Friday, cracks have started to appear in the nation’s main opposition party, SUNDAY PUNCH checks have revealed.

Contrary to feelers from the APC that its leaders emerged at the convention through hitch-free consensus, some notable members of the party have expressed anger over the manner the leaders emerged, threatening future actions.

A notable founding member of the party, Chief Tom Ikimi, in an interview with one of our correspondents, denied reports that he conceded the chairmanship position of the party to the eventual winner, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

“I did not willingly step down for Chief Odigie-Oyegun. I was not there. I did not step down for anybody because I was not there. Whoever said I stepped down is telling a lie because I was not at the convention. I didn’t participate. I boycotted the convention,” Ikimi responded, angrily.

Ikimi, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, was credited as being instrumental in the merger process of the Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance and Congress for Progressive Change.

It was he who announced the merger of the four political parties to form the All Progressives Congress.

Ikimi, who was the chairman of the ACN Merger Committee, had said during the official announcement of the merger and the new name of the party, that the APC was “a recipe for prosperity”

He said, “At no time in our national life has radical change become more urgent. And to meet the challenge of that change, we, the following progressive political parties, namely ACN, ANPP, APGA and CPC, have resolved to merge forthwith and become the All Progressives Congress and offer to our beleaguered people a recipe for prosperity”.

He also explained that the new party came about in view of the need to promote principles of internal democracy and bring about national development.

On what his next line of action will be, following his discontentment with the convention, he said, “I am preparing a statement which I shall release in the next few days.”

Also, a former Deputy Governor of Ogun State and member of the Senate, Adegbenga Kaka, said he did not attend the convention because he was not officially invited. He said even though he had the privilege to be at the event, he decided not to attend when he sensed irregularities in the conduct of the exercise.

He said, “There was no formal invitation and I was not waiting for any invitation. I perceived injustice and I decided not to go. I was not the only one; many of us in Ogun State did not go.

“The moment they (APC national leadership) decided not to review the appeal committee’s report and take action that would unite the party; and they decided to recognise a faction, then we lost interest in whatever was going on.

“We are waiting. We will do necessary analysis; we will listen and assess all that transpired (at the convention) and take a decision.”

In Cross River State, a co-chairman of the screening committee, who resigned to contest for the position of the national Vice Chairman, South-South, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, said he would seek redress to correct the manner in which consensus candidates were picked.

Obono-Obla contested against Mr. Hilliard Eta, who emerged winner as the consensus candidate for the position zoned to Cross River State.

He lamented that he was not invited to the meeting where Eta was picked as the consensus candidate.

“What criteria did they use to pick him? Before this convention, a delegate from the state called to inform me that I should not bother; That Eta had been picked. Why so,” he queried?

He said although the issue of consensus candidacy was in the party’s constitution, the manner of picking a candidate should be made more transparent.

Obono-Obla also alleged that during the convention, a list purported to have been endorsed by the APC governors, was sent round indicating the chosen candidates.

He said such a practice was wrong as the fate of contestants whose names were not on the list were known before the conduct of elections.

He said, “I am thinking of seeking redress. Why should they pass a list of preferred candidates. What criteria were used?”

Meanwhile, fresh facts have emerged on how a former Governor of Edo State, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, emerged as the first substantive National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, in the early hours of Saturday.

It was learnt that the emergence of Odigie-Oyegun, as the consensus candidate for the post was an arrangement perfected by the leadership and executed by the Alhaji Kawu Baraje-led election sub-committee of the first National Convention Planning Committee, at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

Odigie-Oyegun’s victory was made possible by a powerful lobby led by a leader of the party, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu. A few hours to the convention, a former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Tom Ikimi, was the only remaining contestant who could not be prevailed upon to step down for Oyegun.

One of the contestants, Chief Sam Jaja, told reporters at the convention venue that contestants and leaders of the party from the South-South geo-political zone “agreed to zone the position to Edo State.”

This, he said, reduced the number of strong contenders to two instead of the initial four, which included him and the former Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva. He, however, declined further comments on what else transpired after that.

It was learnt that Ikimi insisted on going ahead with the contest but could not get a majority of party leaders, who were more disposed to a consensus arrangement, to support him.

When it became obvious that he was in the minority, he stayed away from the convention ground to register his displeasure at the turn of events.

In line with an agreement brokered by the party leaders who met at the Sokoto State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro for several hours, the candidate of the APC Governors Forum, who is also a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Timipire Sylva, Chief Sam Jaja announced their decision to step down for Oyegun. This decision sealed the fate of Ikimi as Oyegun was announced as the sole candidate for the position.

A former governor of Ekiti State, who recently defected from the PDP, Mr. Segun Oni, emerged as Deputy National Chairman (South), while a former national secretary of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, Alhaji Lawal Shuaibu, was also returned unopposed as deputy national chairman (North).

The delegates also elected the interim National Secretary, Alhaji Ibrahim Bala Gubi, as the substantive National Secretary following the withdrawal of Alhaji Kashim Imam from the race, while the Interim Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, was returned unopposed to retain his former position.

However, the process of electing other officers was disrupted by a downpour, accompanied by strong wind, around 2:00am.

The voting process could not be completed as officers and delegates scampered to safety as the wind scattered ballot boxes, canopies and the public address system.

Other notable party members that were absent at the convention were the former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba, his erstwhile deputy and many other chieftains of the party from the state.

The reason might not be unconnected with the cold war between Osoba and Governor Ibikunle Amosun on who should control the structure of the party.

Some APC senators, who did not attend the convention, expressed mixed feelings over the consensus arrangement that produced the national officers of the party.

Some believe the development could force some members, perceived to be advocates of primaries, to leave the party.

A serving Senator from Ogun State, who preferred anonymity, said he shunned the convention in agreement with his colleagues because of the decision of some leaders in the state to hijack the structure of the party.

But the Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has said that it is satisfied with the conduct of the convention and the emergence of John Oyegun as the new national chairman.

Speaking with our correspondent on Saturday in Ibadan, the Chairman of the party in Oyo State, Akin Oke, who was at the convention, said, “We are satisfied with the election of Oyegun as APC National Chairman. He is a democrat and a man of clear vision of how an ideal nation should look like. Among the candidates that vied for the position, he was the most acceptable. We have confidence in him because in the days of the Social Democratic Party (defunct) we worked with him and we are satisfied with his leadership qualities.”

Similarly, the former military administrator of Rivers State, Mr. Sam Ewang, has commended the APC for organising a congress that was acceptable to members of the party.

Ewang said, “I am happy about last Friday’s APC congress. The congress met my expectation. I believe things are going to take a new turn completely. Whatever that are needed to be corrected are going to be corrected and that is my joy.”

Copyright – Punch Newspaper

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APC crack: I never stepped down for Odigie-Oyegun - Tom Ikimi