By Fola James
The All Progressives Congress, APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole is looking for political allies away from his state, Edo, where the controversial former labour leader has now been totally deserted by those who once ate and dined with him.
Some say the reason why the APC boss bowed to pressure to pardon former Governors Ibikunle Amosun, Rochas Okorocha and Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, may not be far from his desperate moves to consolidate his position as chairman of the party in the face of recent pressure on him by many APC governors to resign from his exalted position.
It was learnt that one of the demands of the governor for peace to return to the party, is that their former colleagues be pardoned.
Amosun and Okorocha were suspended from the party for supporting governorship candidates of other parties in the last governorship election.
The party said the pardon is in line with the party’s deliberate policy of fairness and actions targeted at ensuring harmony within the fold of the ruling party across the country.
“Through the suspension, our party has shown the capacity and willingness to implement its own rules and enforce discipline when there is an infraction.
We have also shown that no individual is above discipline and that the leadership of the party will always apply equity and justice in the day-to-day running of the party.
We hope the concerned party members will seize this opportunity to fully reconcile themselves with their ward, local government area, and state party structures.
They will key into the party activities, and continue to make their own contributions to the growth and stability of the party,” Issa-Onilu, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, said in the statement.
Apart from the three NWC members others who received pardon are Osita Okechukwu and Usani Usani, former minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
Oshiomhole has also recently swelled his camp with Ize Iyamu who dumped the PDP for the ruling party.
“The reason why the chairman is doing all of these is to prove to his critics in the party that he’s still very much in control and has not lost the confidence of majority of his party men and women,” an analyst told the magazine.
But as things stand, it doesn’t seem the storm is about to calm yet for the embattled chairman.
More pressure has been mounted in the last few days by angry governors, who the magazine learnt are rooting for a former Governor Abdullahi Yari of Zamfara state to replace the former NLC president.
Yari and Oshiomhole’s dispute led to the loss of Zamfara state to PDP in the last governorship election.
The choice of the ex-Zamfara helmsman, therefore, the magazine learnt is a clandestine plot to spite the former governor of Edo state, who’s involved in a battle royale with his successor who rode on his crest to office.
Oshiomhole said recently that Governor Obaseki, who the magazine learnt has the support of many APC governors, is not interested in fostering peace in the state.
He also accused the Inspector General of Police, IGP of colluding with Governor Obaseki to implicate him.
The duo had stopped Oshiomhole from organizing a rally in Benin, the state’s capital to welcome Ize Iyamu into the APC.
