"He Runs His Mouth Before Putting His Mind" – Former APC Chairman Oyegun Attacks Oshiomhole

Oyegun has accused Oshiomhole of chasing people out of the ruling party with his agbero style of engagement. 

A former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, has slammed current chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, for his disruptive leadership of the party.

Oshiomhole’s reign as APC chairman has been rocked by many clashes of personalities with him at the centre of many of them.

In a letter dated May 27, 2019, the party’s deputy national chairman (north), Lawal Shuaibu, said the APC project is failing due to Oshiomhole’s leadership and asked him to resign.

In defence of the former Edo State governor, six South-South APC State Chairmen had blamed the party’s current crisis on Oyegun’s past leadership.

However, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Ray Morphy, on Sunday, June 2, Oyegun said Oshiomhole has failed because he lacks the temperament that is required to run a political party.

He said the former governor lacks the capacity to manage the different interests and tendencies that constitute a political party and accused him of sending people away from the ruling party.

He said, 

“He (Oshiomhole) acts in direct opposite of decisions taken by NWC. No minutes of NWC meetings which, in any event, take place outside the party secretariat.

“How would you not have crises in states with the confusion that Oshiomhole created when he gave the states freedom to choose their methods of choosing candidates for elections?

“Much of the crisis in states arose out of sheer incapacity on the part of the current chairman. How does this Oshiomhole’s incapacity become traps by Oyegun?

“Only a bad carpenter quarrels with his tools. Indeed Oshiomhole is degrading and demarketing the party.

“Rather than seek to bring more people on board, he is chasing people out of the party with his agbero style of engagement.”

Oshiomhole was elected the APC’s national chairman in June 2018 and has clashed with many high-profile members of the party including former governors Abdul’aziz Yari, Rochas Okorocha, and Ibikunle Amosun.

Three serving state governors, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and dozens of lawmakers also dumped the party ahead of the 2019 general elections due partly to clashes with Oshiomhole.