Oshiomhole on APC crisis: I won’t mortgage my conscience to keep my job

Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says he cannot mortgage his conscience to keep his job.

The national chairman said this while briefing state house correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday.

While answering questions on the crisis rocking the party from the recently concluded primaries, he said only three APC governors were not happy with the way he was running the party while others are rest assured that he is doing his best.

The national chairman said he would rather listen to his conscience than give in to pressures and do what is wrong.

Oshiomhole said it is only in Nigeria that 10 aspirants will compete for one seat, one person wins and the other nine will wonder why they did not win.

“Let me say that if there is a choice between my conscience – what I believe is right and mortgaging that conscience in order to keep the job, I will have no difficulty resolving it in favour of my conscience,” Oshiomhole said.

“And those who know me know that at my age, I cannot learn new tricks. I am absolutely committed to justice, fairness, I am a stickler to enforcement of rules; because the source of relevance is derived from rules. I have lived my life fighting for justice and fairness.

“Three governors are not particularly pleased with the outcome of the primaries in their states.

“These are internal family issues; they are my friends, and that is important, even in moment of distress, that friendship is I want to believe is enough to help us to build a reconciliation.

“There is no running away from the fact that we are the governing party who has a higher stake; we are the one in the news; if we were in the stock market, our shares would have increased considerably.

“So, it is not surprising that there is some disquiet but I remain a friend to this governors, I respect them; I appreciate them for the fact that but for their support, I will not be chairman and you don’t go stepping on toes of those who helped you to get into position.”