Oshiomhole: Nigerians appreciate APC better under me

Adams Oshimhole, chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says Nigerians appreciate the ruling party better under him.

Speaking with state house correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Oshiomhole said the party has recorded numerous achievements under him.

He said this is evident with the leadership of the national assembly where the party’s consensus candidates won. 

“You talk about rumors, what about what you see. I am very proud to say that under my chairmanship, our party has made tremendous progress. I am not at the mercy of fake or even disgruntled analysts,” he said.

“I write my own testimonials by myself in terms of what l do, how I do it and what the unbiased people say. Irrespective of all the speculations, for example, it was said that 17 governors were going to remove Oshiomhole, what happened? At the end, we provided leadership and had more votes. In the 2015 election, the difference between our candidate and President Jonathan then, was slightly less than three million, but this time around, we had slightly less than four million. I am a national chairman, not a zonal or state chairman.

“So, my responsibilities include to get the APC at the national level going, including relating with the president, the ways we expect the state chapter chairmen to relate with their governors and the local council chapter chairmen with their local government council chairmen. That is the way it works and I believe that Nigerians under my leadership appreciated APC better under my chairmanship, as evidenced by the fact that we had more senators and house of representatives members this year, than before.

“For the first time since 1999, the letter of APC under my signature was read on the floors of both chambers of the national assembly, announcing the principal officers of the party, as determined through consensus by the leadership of the party, which is why unlike 2015 where APC as a party had no say whatsoever as to who emerged as the senate president, speaker of the house of representatives and principal officers of both chambers. This time around, we got six out of six. Can I do better than that, can I score more than 100 percent? You talk about turmoil, if this is how to be in turmoil, I want to live there.”

The APC chairman maintained that inauguration of house of assemblies in Bauchi and Edo states is against the constitution.

He said: “Here, l spoke to you that what happened in Edo and in Bauchi are unacceptable. It is not about me. But as a Nigerian who believes in democracy, for nine persons in Bauchi to purport to inaugurate a house of 31 members is wrong.

“Go and read relevant sections of the constitution, it states clearly that a House cannot be less than 24 and not more than 40 members, 11 people in Bauchi where you have 31 members. It is not about me, not about you. I ask, can you form a quorum of something that does not exist? All my life, l have run associations, I could say, for instance, when I was leader of the NLC, we had a quorum of National Executive Council of the NLC, now when that quorum had not been formed, I could not say we had formed a quorum. So, you cannot form a quorum of the House of Assembly, when it has not been inaugurated. It is about the system. If I condemned Bauchi and I do so in the strongest terms, I cannot condemn less, what happened in Edo state. It just shows that truth has no political affiliation. God must give me the courage to condemn what happened in Edo.

“In the security meeting we have had with some of the senators, governors and law makers, it was agreed that when it comes to proclamations, you do not only write a proclamation letter, but you ensure that it is communicated to all those concerned and you give them ample time so that wherever they are, they can come in.”