“Self-aggrandisement” by Tinubu called himself national leader, forced weak leadership made his exit from the party inevitable’ – Tom Ikimi

Citing his inability to coexist with those he described as petty-minded people or condone what he claimed to be the domineering influence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Tom Ikimi, yesterday, withdrew his membership of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Tom-Ikimi-and-Tinubu While expressing pain in pulling away from a party he played a crucial role in forming, Ikimi said the “reckless self-aggrandisement demonstrated” by Tinubu who he claimed gave himself the national leader of the party and forced a weak leadership on the party made his exit from the party inevitable.

Ikimi who was national chairman of the National Republican Convention, NRC in the Third Republic, alleged a conspiracy against fellow conservatives that has led to the exit of several party leaders. Among those he claimed to have been hounded out of the party were former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, and former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd.).

Ikimi’s assertions contained in a treatise entitled, ‘My Reflections’ followed the cleavage in his relationship with the party leadership following his observations on internal wrangling ahead of the party’s June national convention where he aimed to vie for the office of national chairman.

Interim leadership

Ikimi said that he refrained from vying on the basis of what he alleged as the attempt by Tinubu to foist a weak leadership on the party for his own agenda.

He also faulted the APC’s inclination towards a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket which he said arose from Tinubu’s perception that the Northwest and Southwest could, through their population, win the 2015 presidential election. He said that inclination had helped to move people away from the party.

Ikimi also accused Tinubu of doctoring the party’s constitution to extend the tenure of the Bisi Akande interim leadership of the party. He was, however, not clear on his next political direction even as he admitted he was still critically appraising the other major political party in the country, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

The APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the party had not been notified of the development when contacted on the imminent withdrawal of Ikimi from the party.

However, former APC chieftain, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode welcomed the development in a tweet, yesterday, where he said: “I congratulate my leader and my chairman Chief Tom Ikimi on his historic decision to leave the APC. He has shown immense courage.”

While noting his role as chairman of the merger committee of the four political parties that collapsed into the APC, Ikimi said that his problems with Tinubu were despite entreaties from stakeholders on Tinubu’s goodwill to the APC. He said,“I was always told that the man was the overwhelming financier of the party.

While I disagree stoutly with this bluff it is true that the particular individual constantly boasted of his wealth and of his funding of the party. I on the other hand could recall that this was a man I knew who was an easily forgettable character in the 1990s when I was national party chairman and when my candidate Sir Michael Otedola of blessed memory, won the Governorship of Lagos State.

“To further bolster his image it was also frequently said that Tinubu has control of all the votes from South Western Nigeria which, as has been currently touted, when added to the votes of North Western Nigeria would guarantee victory for the APC in the upcoming Presidential election.

This reckless and arrogant self-aggrandizement paved the way for the imposition of a strange leadership on the APC in July 2013 when the party obtained registration from INEC.

Those of us who had worked so hard towards the successful merger and creation of the APC were manipulated out of the scheme of things. In the bizarre struggle to seize control of the party we were even openly accused by the self-proclaimed owners of the party, of wanting to steal “their” party.

”Many of us in the party as well as keen observers outside frowned at the skewed leadership image of the party that was being paraded; an image that blatantly ignored national sensitivity.

The draft constitution prepared by the Merger Committee included an exit clause, which provided a time limit of six months for the Interim Management of the Party.  That clause mysteriously disappeared from the version of the constitution that was smuggled into INEC records. Chief Bisi Akande’s National Chairmanship was therefore primed to stay on in power ad infinitum! Asiwaju Bola Tinubu frantically constituted a group of friends and cronies which he proclaimed to be the APC Leadership.”

“Rather than freely open up critical issues to free debate at the Interim Executive Council for democratic decisions to emerge, positions plotted at the notorious Asokoro parlor were being desperately foisted on the party for execution.