Bola Tinubu, a national leader of
the All Progressives Congress (APC), has written a scathing letter to the
national chairman of the party, John Odigie-Oyegun, accusing him of sabotage.
TheCable reports that Tinubu, who copied the president,
vice-president, senate president and speaker of the house of representatives,
pointedly accused Odigie-Oyegun of contravening the spirit of the discussions
both of them had at the party secretariat when President Muhammadu Buhari gave
him the assignment of reconciling aggrieved members.
In the letter, dated February 21,
2018, the former governor of Lagos state said “disappointment greeted me when I
discovered that you had swiftly acted in contravention of the spirit of our
discussions. Instead of being a bulwark of support as promised, you positioned
yourself in active opposition to the goal of resuscitating the progressive and
democratic nature of APC”.
Tinubu said while Odigie-Oyegun
mentioned Kogi, Kaduna, Kano and Adamawa as places affected by serious party
issues, “you have taken it as your own personal ambition to thwart my
presidential assignment in these key states”.
He accused the chairman of
rushing to Kogi state to unilaterally inaugurate officials “parallel to the
officials already heading the state chapter of the party”.
“While this may place you in
significant affinity with those parallel officials you handpicked, this
machination suggests no improvement in the welfare of the party in Kogi or at
the national level,” Tinubu wrote.
Tinubu said Odigie-Oyegun
apparently seeks “to undermine my mandate by engaging in dilatory tactics for
the most part. When forced to act, you do so in an arbitrary and capricious
manner”.
The third republic senator said
even if Odigie-Oyegun had personal qualms with him, it is his right as a human
being but “you have no such right the chairman of this party… The party belongs
to all of its members”.
He asked the former governor of
Edo state to refrain from taking any more “improper unilateral decisions with
regard to the national and state chapters of the party”.
He reminded Odigie-Oyegun that
the assignment was given to him by Buhari, stating that “in furtherance… I
request that you make available to me the status reports and all the pertinent
information regarding the state chapters without further delay”.
TheCable understands that Tinubu,
who is supporting Buhari for a second term, is not comfortable with
Odigie-Oyegun’s continued leadership of the party, although pro-Buhari
governors have impressed it on the president that it was better to elongate
Odigie-Oyegun’s tenure than risk a new convention that could further fracture
the party.
Tinubu’s relationship with
Odigie-Oyegun has been on a downward trend since the APC primary election for
Ondo governorship in 2016.
Segun Abraham, thought to be
Tinubu’s preferred choice, was defeated in controversial circumstances by
Rotimi Akeredolu, who went on to win the governorship election.
It's what brought all of you together that will put you asunder. So mote it be
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