Oshiomhole Declares For APC Chairmanship
Immediate past Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Thursday formerly declared for the chairmanship of All Progressives Congress, APC, ahead of the party’s National Convention on June 23.
At a crowded ceremony in Abuja, the former President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, said: “To promote party supremacy and party unity on a sustainable basis, the party must ensure discipline within its ranks and evoke sanctions where appropriate. For us, rules and policies are useful to the extent that they are enforced.
‘To sustain party unity, there must be party discipline. Once a party position is taken, anyone who goes against the party position will be subjected to party discipline in line with the party’s constitution following due process. Without sanction for misconduct and commendation for proper conduct, there cannot be party discipline. Oshiomhole
“I want to be of help, I want to be of use to all those who need it but I am not capable of being used. I believe that this needs to be clarified because there is so much suspicion in our political space. People fight often for things they are not even quite sure of what they think they are. They are fueled and sustained by suspicion. The way to eliminate suspicion is to put on the table what is on the table. What is under the table, keep under the table until it moves to the top of the table.
“I want to assure Nigerians that I believe with a new leadership of the APC and with our president whom I believe is ever determined, no matter what anybody wants to say, I want to take that again, no matter what anybody wants to say, there will be time to engage in all of those contestations as we approach 2019 the electioneering campaign and those who wish to contest on various party platforms come to the open, we will know the players, we will know their coaches, we will be able to engage.
“Until then, so that I don’t change headlines, there is only one thing I want to say here and now that the worst critic of the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, will agree that the President is not a thief. That for me, is the starting point and we will challenge others,” he stated.
According to him, “If I am privileged to become chairman, I will be able to help the executive and the legislature to find common grounds to win together. We shall hold regular party meetings
“We will strive as much as humanly possible to promote internal democracy within the party.
‘For me, I am clear that a political party is a structured, voluntary association and not an amorphous informal mob that is not governed by the mood of its leaders at various levels. Therefore, APC must be seen to operate on the basis of its rules which is the party Constitution and other laws of the Federation, as they relate to the formation and administration of political parties. Indeed, the Constitution of the party is the basis of the contract between the party members. Thus a credible membership register is a pre-condition for sustainable internal party democracy.”
Speaking at the event, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State said: “Another thing I think Oshiomhole will address is that our party has begun to play the same kind of politics like PDP. All of a sudden, we have started derailing and playing the PDP kind of politics.
‘This started by some of those people who found themselves in political offices especially appointment, who did not win their polling booths and wards. Adams your first assignment when you become the national chairman of the party is to ensure and cancel that principle of ‘monkey de work, baboon de chop’.
‘Because some of these people who are seated here before you, won their booths, delivered their wards but those who didn’t win their booths or delivered their wards are holding big jobs in the federal government of Nigeria.
In this new dispensation, “no more monkey de work, baboon de chop.” If you work, you chop, you don’t work, you don’t chop. We have a lot of urban masqueraders in APC now and you must force them out. And I know Adams Oshiomhole is a no nonsense man, he will stand forthright, he will face them both in debate, action, physical, mental, moral, spiritual he can face the opposition.
