Ex-gov, ex-minister join calls for Oshiomhole to resign

Party members seek parley with NWC

TRACKING >>Former governor of old Sokoto State, Yahaya Abdulkarim, has joined the deputy national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Lawal Shuaibu, in calling on the party’s national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to step down. Abdulkarim told newsmen in Sokoto yesterday that Oshiomhole had demonstrated poor performance since taking over, which reduced the party’s capabilities.
His words: “I am 100 per cent in support of the call for Oshiomhole to step down, for the party to have good leadership that will lead to its progress.”

According to him, the national chairman is supposed to lead the party to capture more states, because the essence of politics and political party is to win elections.He noted that Oshiomhole met APC with 26 states, but led it to lose Bauchi, Adamawa, Oyo, Imo and Zamfara to the opposition.

“Losing in six states is too much blow for members to bear. If Oshiomhole does not quit, the APC will be dead by 2023,” Abdulkarim said. Also, immediate past minister of communications, Adebayo Shittu, has thrown his weight behind the move.

Speaking in Abuja, Shittu, who was disqualified by the party from vying for the governorship of Oyo State, declared that Oshiomhole’s resignation would be in the best interest of the party.Said he: “I endorse it. The truth is, with Oshiomhole, this party would go down by the time President Muhammadu Buhari finishes his second term. Oshiomhole is full of himself. He has an ego problem and wants to dominate every environment. Democracy is not like that.”

The APC national legal adviser, Babatunde Ogala, had last year accused Oshiomhole of usurping his functions.Meanwhile, the forum of Non-National Working Committee (Non-NWC) members of APC yesterday demanded to meet with the Oshiomhole-led NWC.The call via a leaked letter signed by Nasiru Danu (chairman) and Omolayo Akintola (secretary) was against the backdrop of calls on Oshiomhole to resign.

Dated May 2019, the letter entitled ‘Demand for an Urgent Interface with NWC Organ of our Party, APC’ and addressed to Oshiomhole explained that the meeting would principally address critical issues affecting the party from the build-up to the 2019 poll.The letter was copied the chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum (APCGF)