By the time the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of All Progressives Congress (APC) ended last Friday in Abuja, it became obvious that the party’s leaders did not buy into the impeachment plot hatched against the party’s national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole. It was gathered that Oshiomhole’s saving grace came from President Muhammadu Buhari, who did not accede to the quest of aggrieved APC chieftains to remove the party’s national chairman.
Sensing that their major reason for insisting on the NEC meeting was ripe for execution, Zamfara State chairman, Lawal Liman, was signaled to move a motion of impeachment, only for the meeting to be brought to an abrupt end at the instance of Oshiomhole, who was said to have called instead for an adjournment motion.
Sources within the contentious NEC meeting confided in The Guardian that President Buhari, being conscious of the fact that the event could turn rowdy, took his leave to the consternation of anti-Oshiomhole forces led by Governors Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) amongst others who had warmed up for a showdown with Oshiomhole.
At the end of the inconclusive NEC meeting, such salient issues such as the need to reconcile Oshiomhole and Obaseki, filling existing vacant positions in the National Working Committee (NWC) were not ratified during the NEC as a result of the development. However, Buhari, who had been inundated with allegations of high-handedness against Oshiomhole prior to the meeting, reminded his party stalwarts of the need to ensure cohesion, just as he called for concerted efforts to ensure that APC does not “collapse” even before the end of his second term tenure in 2023.
Also, aside from the quest by Obaseki and Akeredolu to secure their second term tickets on the APC platform next year, the renewed push for Oshiomhole’s removal was seen as their last joker, particularly as the national chairman is widely seen as Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s man Friday.
Source: Guardian Newspaper
