Again, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) appeared to have enmeshed itself in another internal squabble as the relationship between the party leadership and the outspoken Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay, has turned sour; Sagay had in an interview described the party leadership as “the most unprincipled group of people.”
But the APC in a swift reaction to the verbal attack by Sagay, simply described his comments as “the quintessential rogue elephant behavior.”
The party in a press statement on Monday signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said that Sagay’s allegations are out of ignorance forgetting that he cannot call the leadership of the party “weak and unprincipled” without indicting President Buhari.
“In his sheer arrogance, he forgets that it is impossible for him to call out the leadership of the party as “weak” and “unprincipled” without indicting the President, who is the leader of the party and has the fundamental responsibility to build the party.
If Sagay had any iota of respect for the man who dug him back from inevitable oblivion and puts him in a position in which he now feels superior to everyone, he would channel his opinions and advice to the President on how to make the party stronger and more principled.
It appears however that Sagay does not have anything constructive to say about anything. He only knows how to tear down and assault everyone and everything.”
The professor of law was quoted to have explained thus: “The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the most unprincipled group of people” who are “encouraging and accepting rogues” in the party.
When I say ‘rogues’, I don’t mean stealing. In literature, when you say someone is a rogue elephant, it means people who are running riot and destroying the party.”
However, the APC also went further to define the meaning of the word used against its leadership saying; “The Webster dictionary defines ‘rogue elephant’ as one whose behavior resembles that of a rogue elephant in being aberrant or independent.
Clearly if we have today, anyone in our government or, by extension, the party who feels accountable only to his own ego; who does not feel the need to bridle his tongue for the sake of anything that is higher than himself; who feels independent of everyone and every institution; that person is Professor Sagay,” the statement said.
Sagay in the said interview when asked if he would stop speaking if the President asks him to stop said: “Yes, he is my employer. If he tells me to stop talking, I’ll stop talking.
But I have certain rights too that I can exercise in addition to that, because I’m not going to be in a position where I am impotent. So, I must obey him, but I can go beyond that and obey myself too.
That is it.” The APC said what Sagay is saying is that; “no matter what is at stake, he would rather resign than obey the President if the President tries to restrain him.
This is the quintessential rogue elephant behavior. “We want to remind Sagay and all other appointees of our government that the only reason they occupy their current position today is because the APC won the election.
There is, therefore, a matter of honour to show decorum and respect for the party and its leadership. You cannot love the fruit and hate the tree that produced it,” the party asserted. In his reaction to APC on Monday, the erudite Professor of law told Daily Times that his grouse is not with President Buhari but with the party Chairman who has been compromised by bringing all kinds of people into the party.
”My grouse is not with the President but the APC Chairman who has been compromised by bringing all kinds of people into the party. He, Odigie Oyegun, is sabotaging the efforts of this administration with his style of leadership.
The president is doing well but the chairman is frustrating his efforts because of the kind of people he’s admitting. We cannot continue like this and grow as a nation.
Oyegun and others will eventually ruin the party in particular and the nation in general if care is not taken.” Tom Okpe, Abuja & Peter Fowoyo, Lagos
