John Odigie-Oyegun, a former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has lambasted his successor, Adams Oshiomhole, saying he lacks the temperament to run a political party.
Odigie-Oyegun made the claim in a statement issued by Ray Morphy, his Public Affairs adviser, in reaction to a communique issued by the South-South APC State Chairmen, who held him responsible for the current crisis rocking the ruling party.
Responding to a demand made by Lawal Shuaibu, Deputy National Chairman (North), for Oshiomhole to resign over his alleged inability to unite the party, the South-South APC State Chairmen claimed that it was the backlog of issues purportedly unresolved by Odigie-Oyegun while in power that has led to the present upheaval in the party.
But in his response, the former APC national chairman said his successor, who also hails from Edo State like him, has failed to manage the ruling party with the circumspection needed for such an office.
He described the claims of the state chairmen as “ludicrous and infantile”, adding that he cannot be blamed for the failures of Oshiomhole.
The statement read: “Oshiomhole fails because he lacks the temperament that is required to run a political party. He lacks the capacity to manage the different interests and tendencies that constitute a political party.
“He engages his mouth before engaging his mind, so he offends party members. So, how does that constitute traps by Oyegun, the erstwhile chairman?”
Odigie-Oyegun noted that his fears have been confirmed by Shuaibu’s letter, insisting that Oshiomhole manages the affairs of the party without resorting to the decisions of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
“He acts in direct opposite of decisions taken by NWC. No minutes of NWC meetings which, in any event, take place outside the party secretariat.
“How would you not have crises in states with the confusion that Oshiomhole created when he gave the states freedom to choose their methods of choosing candidates for elections?
“Much of the crisis in states arose out of sheer incapacity on the part of the current chairman. How does this Oshiomhole’s incapacity become traps by Oyegun?” the statement read.
He added: “Only a bad carpenter quarrels with his tools. Indeed Oshiomhole is degrading and demarketing the party. Rather than seek to bring more people on board, he is chasing people out of the party with his agbero style of engagement.”
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