Contrary to his oath of office to build and unite factional tendencies that have dogged the All Progressives Congress (APC) in most states, national chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has allegedly sworn in the factional chairman of the party in Delta State, Prophet Jones Erue.
Chief Cyril Ogodo, before the emergence of Comrade Oshiomhole as national chairman, was duly sworn in as the Delta State APC chairman by the outgone Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja.
Oshiomhole’s decision to alter the status quo is coming despite a subsisting court order restraining him (Oshiomhole) and the APC from recognizing any other person than the Chief Cyril Ogodo-led State Working Committee that was sworn-in by the then Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led NWC.
There are about 4 other suits already ongoing in the matter.
It will be recalled that Oshiomhole, just two days after his assumption of office as the party’s national chairman, had assisted the Ogboru/Agege faction to procure a Consent Judgment setting aside the Executive duly elected and inaugurated by the Chief John Oyegun-led NWC – a move that has torn the party apart in Delta.
To forestall further action, some members of Chief Cyril Ogodo-led SWC, which was duly elected by congress conducted by the Oyegun-NWC and inaugurated by same, had challenged the party’s national chairman’s action obtaining a High Court restraining order stopping the inauguration of any other SWC, except that led by Ogodo.
However in what is now seen as a reign of impunity, Oshiomole, in his bid to dismantle what he perceived as Oyegun loyalist structure in a seeming vindictive move, handed the party over to the Chief Great Ogboru-led group which held parallel congresses in the state.
Meanwhile, Oshiomhole’s action has since started generating tension in the party in the state with many stakeholders saying that the action is capable of dwindling the party’s chances of winning Delta State with the shutting out of other key stakeholders who have sustained the party before the entrance of the Ogboru group.
Reacting to this development, the party’s state publicity secretary, Mr Moses Kamanya, called on the party faithful to remain calm.
He stressed that the National Chairman, Oshiomhole could not be above the law and that there was no place for the reign of impunity in APC.
“If what we read in the media is true, it, therefore, confirms our fears that the National Chairman, in his bid to remove those he feels didn’t support his aspiration, may have decided to throw away the baby and the bathwater.
“One would have expected Oshiomhole to reach out to both parties in Delta and look for a way to reconcile them, not taking the side even where there is an order of a court forbidding him from acting to the contrary, this total disregard to the rule of law will not do the party any good.
“By his action, he’s telling all of us, who have kept the APC together since 2013, that we can go to hell, that he does not care, but we have good news for him; we are not bound by any act of illegality as the present action of the national chairman represents.
“If Oshiomhole believes that Ogboru and Omo-Agege alone will win the 2019 election for APC in Delta, he must be joking, because if Ogboru has such capacity, he would have won in AD, DPP and Labour Party.
So, if the NWC of our party wants to win, they have to retrace their steps on the Delta APC crisis and allow the rule law to take place, because Oshiomhole’s actions so far have compounded it,” the state’s party scribed noted.
He added that the Ogodo-led NWC will resist any act of impunity no matter where it’s coming from.
Chief Cyril Ogodo, before the emergence of Comrade Oshiomhole as national chairman, was duly sworn in as the Delta State APC chairman by the outgone Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja.
Oshiomhole’s decision to alter the status quo is coming despite a subsisting court order restraining him (Oshiomhole) and the APC from recognizing any other person than the Chief Cyril Ogodo-led State Working Committee that was sworn-in by the then Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led NWC.
There are about 4 other suits already ongoing in the matter.
It will be recalled that Oshiomhole, just two days after his assumption of office as the party’s national chairman, had assisted the Ogboru/Agege faction to procure a Consent Judgment setting aside the Executive duly elected and inaugurated by the Chief John Oyegun-led NWC – a move that has torn the party apart in Delta.
To forestall further action, some members of Chief Cyril Ogodo-led SWC, which was duly elected by congress conducted by the Oyegun-NWC and inaugurated by same, had challenged the party’s national chairman’s action obtaining a High Court restraining order stopping the inauguration of any other SWC, except that led by Ogodo.
However in what is now seen as a reign of impunity, Oshiomole, in his bid to dismantle what he perceived as Oyegun loyalist structure in a seeming vindictive move, handed the party over to the Chief Great Ogboru-led group which held parallel congresses in the state.
Meanwhile, Oshiomhole’s action has since started generating tension in the party in the state with many stakeholders saying that the action is capable of dwindling the party’s chances of winning Delta State with the shutting out of other key stakeholders who have sustained the party before the entrance of the Ogboru group.
Reacting to this development, the party’s state publicity secretary, Mr Moses Kamanya, called on the party faithful to remain calm.
He stressed that the National Chairman, Oshiomhole could not be above the law and that there was no place for the reign of impunity in APC.
“If what we read in the media is true, it, therefore, confirms our fears that the National Chairman, in his bid to remove those he feels didn’t support his aspiration, may have decided to throw away the baby and the bathwater.
“One would have expected Oshiomhole to reach out to both parties in Delta and look for a way to reconcile them, not taking the side even where there is an order of a court forbidding him from acting to the contrary, this total disregard to the rule of law will not do the party any good.
“By his action, he’s telling all of us, who have kept the APC together since 2013, that we can go to hell, that he does not care, but we have good news for him; we are not bound by any act of illegality as the present action of the national chairman represents.
“If Oshiomhole believes that Ogboru and Omo-Agege alone will win the 2019 election for APC in Delta, he must be joking, because if Ogboru has such capacity, he would have won in AD, DPP and Labour Party.
So, if the NWC of our party wants to win, they have to retrace their steps on the Delta APC crisis and allow the rule law to take place, because Oshiomhole’s actions so far have compounded it,” the state’s party scribed noted.
He added that the Ogodo-led NWC will resist any act of impunity no matter where it’s coming from.
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