The sacked national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, says he has accepted the decision reached at the party’s controversial National Executive Committee on Thursday.
At the meeting attended by President Muhammadu Buhari, the party sacked its National Working Committee and appointed a 13-member caretaker committee to manage the affairs of the party until a national convention is held.
Speaking to journalists on Saturday, Mr Oshiomhole, in his first public reaction to the development, said he has accepted the decision, but would not talk about the legality or otherwise of the decision.
“A special NEC meeting was called and at the end of the meeting, the national working committee was dissolved and I ceased to be chairman,” he said.
“Mr President graciously invited me to his office in 2018, precisely two years ago. The president said ‘if you do not reform the All Progressives Congress (APC), you can as well forget about 2019.
“And, I know that reforms can be challenging and it will entail taking difficult decisions, but mine has been a life of trouble, I accepted this and I believe that I did my best,” he told journalists on Saturday at his office in Asokoro, Abuja.
He expressed his confidence in the leadership of Mr Buhari as he highlighted his achievements in office in comparison with his predecessor, John Oyegun, who was one of the vocal voices against his approach to his feud with the embattled Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki.
“I am happy that the 2019 elections have come and gone, thanks to Nigerians, our president had more votes in 2019 than we had in 2015 and we have more members in the Senate and in the House of Representatives.
“Unlike in 2015, we were unable to manage our victories in two chambers to an extent that we ended up with a PDP Senate President,” Mr Oshiomhole said, taking a swipe at the former chairman, Mr Oyegun.
‘No regrets’
Mr Oshiomhole said he has directed his lawyers to withdraw his case at the Supreme Court challenging his suspension by the lower courts in demonstration of his loyalty to Mr Buhari and the APC.
As against the speculations, he said he is “not going into the question of legality or illegality” but rather take a bow with no regrets from any of his decisions taken since he became elected to fill the seat in 2018.
“The process of leadership require that you make decisions. I am a man of very strong conviction and I live by what I believe in. I recognise that for every decision that you make, particularly when you embark on radical reforms, you are going to step on some toes.
“That was clear to me, I am not assuming leadership for the first time, I have taken my decisions and I am happy, at the end of the day, how do you judge the performance of a party,” he said as he boasted of the party’s victories at the last General Elections.
Mr Oshiomhole highlighted Kwara and Gombe states as his most delectable victories during his rule as the APC chairman.
