By Bayo Bernard
For Adams Oshiomhole, the no-nonsense National Chairman of the ruling party in Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress, APC, the exalted position has suddenly become a burden.
The news that he was embarrassed by the commander of the Brigade of Guards, for occupying the wrong position at the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari at the Eagle Square in Abuja, the nation’s capital went viral on Wednesday.
Barely 24 hours, after that incident some members of his party are plotting to throw him out of his prime position.
Few days ago, the party’s Deputy National Chairman, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, fired the first salvo that other NWC and NEC members, as the magazine has learned, are now latching on to topple the former Edo state helmsman as the party chair.
The ex-Edo governor succeeded Odigie Oyegun as APC chairman.
Shuaibu had in a letter to Oshiomhole, accused the APC boss of running a one man show.
He also accused the APC chairman of destroying the party and all the gains it made during and after the 2015 elections.
Shuaibu said the election misfortunes the party suffered in two states of Zamfara and Rivers states were caused by the highhandedness of the party chair.
The Supreme Court had disqualified the party from fielding candidates in Rivers after a riotous primary election.
The apex court also recently nullified the governorship, senatorial, house of reps and state house of assembly elections in Zamfara state.
As a result of these loses, Shuaibu has pointedly told Oshiomhole to resign his position for leading the party astray.
Having destabilised the party since you became the chairman ” I want to advise you to take the path of honour, to step aside and allow the Party to embark on the onerous task of reconstruction and rehabilitation in those States it was weakened by the effect of manner (sic) the last primary election exercises were conducted or even the task of recreating the party where it is on the path of extinction, arising from the loss of a sitting APC Government, for example in Zamfara State, where you directly personally created the problem leading to the painful complete loss of APC’s electoral fortunes. From up to down, all these are uncontestable facts,” Shuaibu said in the letter.
The magazine learned from insiders in the ruling party, that Shuaibu’s letter is currently causing disquiet in the party.
The party has been polarized into two, with one group backing Oshiomhole while the other group led by former governors of the party has thrown its weight behind the Deputy National Chairman, the magazine was told on Tuesday.
Sources in the party told the magazine that more pressure will be mounted on the former governor to step down as “the president and new APC governors settle down to office.”
“Some former governors are apparently not happy with Oshiomhole over the role he played in their political misfortunes.
“The case of Zamfara, for instance, has presented a good ground for his traducers to move against him.
“Many APC stalwarts, particularly NWC members are angry that the party lost everything in Zamfara. They blame the party chairman for mismanaging the primaries in the state which led to the Supreme Court canceling the election of three senators, seven House of Representatives members and the governor,” the source told the magazine.
As at yesterday, the magazine learned that some members of the National Executive Committee, NEC have started collecting signatures to oust their National Chairman.
Some serving governors have also been mentioned in the plot. Former Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state is believed to be the hatchet man for the immediate past APC governors who are angry with Oshiomhole while Governor Nasir El Rufai is leading the pack for incumbent APC governors.
“Former Governors Abdulaziz Yari and Rochas Okorocha will never forgive Oshiomhole for the role he played in their states,” a member of NWC told the magazine on Wednesday.
But a member of the party from the south west, told the magazine that “the aggressors are angry with our chairman because he has put his foot down that discipline must return to the party.”
He explained that “what’s happening is about the permutation for 2023 presidential election. Everybody is trying to position himself for that purpose” the APC stalwart said.
