Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, one of the leading contenders for the national chairmanship of the All Progressives Congress (APC), believes the issues raised by the aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) bloc, which threatened to leave the APC, could be resolved.
“They have carefully articulated their feeling, a feeling that they are not properly integrated or they suspect that they are not properly treated. I feel what they mean is that they are ready for conversation, they are ready for a robust engagement and constructive conversation around the issues that they have raised. I believe those issues can be resolved”, Oshiomhole said in an interview aired on Channels TV.
The bloc, led by Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, had, in a petition, dated April 27, 2018 and titled, ‘Request for repressing of grievances of the former new PDP bloc within the APC, gave the Odigie-Oyegun-led National Working Committee (NWC) and President Muhammadu Buhari a seven-day ultimatum to address their grievances.
The bloc claimed its members had not only suffered intimidation and harassment, but had also been sidelined from the scheme of things in the APC since 2015.
Oshiomhole, however, said the case of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, one of the key members of the bloc, should not be lumped with the aggrieved group.
Oyinlola had, last week, announced he had left the APC for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on a day ADC merged with the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) floated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The APC national chairmanship aspirant said: “I don’t want you to join the Baraje group with Oyinlola.
“Oyinlola has come as a person and he has left as a person. We all know that in Nigeria there are two categories of politicians. There are those who are guided by what they believe in and there are those who dance on the street in response to the drummers near the bush. And we are looking forward to Oyinlola coming out to say his mind. Because when I watch Oyinlola talking about the country, I was a young trade unionist when he was governor of Lagos State; I was still active when he was posted by his commander-in-chief to Osun State as military governor. I was already politically aware when he was elected governor of Osun State on the platform of the PDP.
“And just less than three years ago my party the APC took over the Federal Government. I don’t think he will ever suggest that he contributed in ruining for sixteen years, the foundation he contributed in weakening as a military governor that all of that could have been fixed as magic over night as a military governor..
“I have said it that when it is time, and it is almost the time, we will be ready to engage all those who wish to engage us on history because, like I told somebody, it is nice to see old coaches looking for new players to challenge the APC and the more they look for players, the more they found that all they are able to assemble are the weakest of the old players and I don’t think that is the kind of things people will say what we are doing can be done better. Not by tired hands”.
