Oshiomhole: Governors’ Forum Cries ‘Our Party Collapsing’ As Fayose Reveals Why APC Must Fall

The Director-General of the Progressive Governors' Forum, Salihu Lukman, has cried out that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is collapsing under the yoke of internal wranglings, with erstwhile Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose linking the crisis rocking the ruling party to God’s anger.

“Definitely, their matters will be made worse with time because for Nigeria and its people to return to the path of peace and progress, the APC house of lies that is being nurtured with the blood of Nigerians must collapse,” Fayose said.

AllNews reports that the APC has in recent times been engulfed in a crisis over its primary election in Edo State and the suspension of Adams Oshiomhole as the national chairman by the court. Following his disqualification by a screening committee, the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki had resigned his membership of the ruling party.

Hours after he publicly exited the party, a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, affirmed the suspension of Oshiomhole as APC national chairman. This led to a situation where three top officials of the party claiming to be the acting national chairman.

While the party announced former Oyo governor, Abiola Ajimobi, as acting chairman, APC deputy national secretary, Victor Giadom, declared himself as national chairman on Wednesday.

But members of the National Working Committee (NWC) loyal to Ajimobi nominated the APC vice-chairman south-south, Hilliard Eta, to act in the place of the former Oyo governor who is “unavoidably absent”.

In a statement on Thursday, Lukman said a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting should be called over the party’s leadership crisis, stressing that the party needs an “organ transplant” by replacing members of the NWC who constitute a problem to the party.

The Progressive Governors' Forum DG said, “It is very clear we need an organ transplant by way of replacing the members of the current NWC who constitute the problem. That the All Progressives Congress (APC) is having a leadership crisis is no longer news.

“What is news now is that the party is collapsing with no leader in charge.

“Following the appeal court ruling sustaining the suspension of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as the National Chairman of the party, late on Monday, June 16, 2020, members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party started making disparate claims as to who is the acting national chairman.

“It is as if the party doesn’t have a constitution or those who operate the constitution are either ignorant of its provisions or have decided to set aside the constitution and just embark on a free for all fight. Yet, APC is the ruling party in Nigeria.”

Lukman said the party could not have people like President Muhammadu Buhari and former governor of Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and still be in a crisis.

“How can a party so blessed with experienced and very skillful leaders such as Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, Chief Tony Momoh, etc. be incapable of resolving the problem of leadership vacancy.

“The combined moral authority of President Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu should have involuntarily moderated the conduct of other leaders of the party, especially members of the NWC.

“Does the current APC leadership crisis, therefore, suggest declining moral authority of our two leaders? It is very easy to reach conclusions,” he said.

On his part, Fayose, in a series of tweet on Thursday, said God is angry with the APC for its alleged governance failure and manipulation of elections.

He said the ruling party has done nothing to stop killings in the country, among other crimes.

The former Ekiti State governor said the worst is yet to hit the party, insisting that the APC must collapse for Nigeria to achieve peace and progress.

His tweets read, “The crisis being faced by APC is a show of God’s anger against the party for its role and that of its govt in impoverising Nigerians, promoting election rigging and looking the other way while Nigerians are being killed in their thousands.

“God will never be happy with a party that its govt is doing nothing to stop the bloodshed, raping of women; including children and destruction of people’s sources of livelihood going on in the country.

“God can also not be happy with a party like APC, that its govt has not only impoverished Nigerians but with its inept presidency, plunged the country into debt that future generations will have to pay.

“Will God be happy with APC after seeing how elections were rigged since 2015, the latest being in Kogi and Bayelsa States?

“Definitely, their matters will be made worse with time because for Nigeria and its people to return to the path of peace and progress, the APC house of lies that is being nurtured with the blood of Nigerians must collapse.”