South-South APC chiefs back Oshiomhole

The South-South All Progressives Congress (APC) State Chairmen have passed a vote of confidence on the National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

This is as the former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC and now a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Timi Frank, has enjoined the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), to thread carefully over the Supreme Court judgment on the pre-election cases in Zamfara and Rivers States.

The party chiefs in a statement maintained that the call by the Deputy National Chairman of the party, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, on Oshiomhole to resign his position was not in the interest of the party.

They faulted Shuaibu’s claims that Oshiomhole was responsible for the multiplicity of court cases bedeviling various state chapters of the party.

They rather blamed Oshiomhole’s predecessor, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, for the unfortunate situation in Zamfara State and other chapters of the party across the country just as they debunked the allegation of high-handedness levelled against Oshiomhole.

According to them, the claim was a veiled plot to crucify him over his uncompromising stance on truth against elements bent on destroying the party from within, urging Shuaibu to exercise restraint.

They also asked Shuaibu to employ more civilised ways of expressing whatever private grievance he has against Oshiomhole instead of playing to the gallery by granting interviews to launch unprovoked attacks on the National Chairman and by extension, the very party he claims to love.

They thereby gave him a seven-day ultimatum to apologise to Oshiomhole or face the wrath of party members in the South South.

The party chiefs comprises Messrs Ini T. Okopido, state chairman, Akwa Ibom State; Amos Lalabunafa, state chairman, Bayelsa State; John Ochalla, state chairman, Cross Rivers State; Prophet Jones Ode Erue, state chairman, Delta State; Aslem U. Ojezua, state chairman, Edo State and Ojukaye Flag Amachree, state chairman, Rivers State.

They passed a vote of confidence on Oshiomhole and vowed to resist any attempt to blackmail him out of office for standing against injustice that was the hallmark of his predecessor.

Frank, in a statement yesterday, enjoined Sagay to appeal the rulings of the Supreme Court at the court of God if he was not satisfied instead of beating war drums capable of provoking anarchy in the country.

Sagay had last Thursday urged the APC’s legal team to apply to the Supreme Court for a review of its judgment on Zamfara and Rivers states.

In Rivers, the APC was excluded from fielding candidates during the general elections following a Supreme Court ruling.

In the case of Zamfara, the Supreme Court last week nullified APC’s participation in the general elections due to non-conduct of the mandatory primaries and gave victory to the PDP, the party with the highest votes after APC.

But the Bayelsa-born political activist in his reaction through a statement on Friday in Abuja, warned that if Sagay was not urgently called to order, his statement was capable of negatively overheating the polity as the Supreme Court is the highest court of the land.

His words: “At his age and level of experience, Sagay should learn to stand by the truth instead of twisting the law for selfish ends. Sagay cannot claim to be more learned or more patriotic than the Justices of the Supreme Court. Therefore, asking the apex court to attempt to reverse itself is to court chaos.