Amosun said Oshiomhole conducted the worst primaries in the history of contemporary democracy in Nigeria during his stint as the APC Chairman.
The former Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has fired a strong rebuttal over the allegations of gang-up made by the Senator representing Edo North in the 10th National Assembly, Adams Oshiomhole.
Oshiomhole, a former Governor of Edo State, was forced out of office as the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2020 following his run-ins with some governors who disagreed with the direction of the party under his leadership.
Revealing the plots that led to his eventual ouster, the veteran politician, who spoke at the launch of the book “APC and Transition Politics,” authored by Salihu Lukman, in Abuja on Tuesday, December 20, 2023, pointed accusing fingers at Amosun and erstwhile Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, and the book author.
He alleged that Amosun and Fayemi orchestrated the moves that pulled the rug from under his feet, adding that some governors also accused him of working for his “paymaster in Lagos” and his “paymaster in Bourdillon.”
The senator recalled that Lukman, in cahoots with the aggrieved governors, spearheaded the campaign of calumny against him due to his efforts to establish party supremacy.
“Lukman wrote several letters, dismissing my leadership without calling me. When you ride on the back of a tiger, there is only one destination,” he asserted.
Amosun fires back at Oshiomhole
Reacting to the allegations, the former Ogun State Governor argued that the APC took the best decision to salvage itself when it got rid of Oshiomhole as the National Chairman.
In a statement on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, Amosun lambasted the former Edo Governor, saying that besides the fact that his narratives were fraught with lies, he didn’t boast the requisite integrity to speak the truth.
Amosun said the APC conducted the worst primaries in the history of contemporary democracy in Nigeria under the watch of Oshiomhole.
“It is not in doubt that I have participated fully in the formation and sustenance of our party, the APC, and I can boldly say that the party under Adams Oshiomhole conducted one of the worst primaries in the history of Nigeria’s contemporary politics and ended up shopping for his own enemies, leading to his eventual removal as Chairman of our party.
“Nigerians should not be in a hurry to forget the allegations that preceded the conduct of those primaries and his eventual invitation by the Department of State Service, DSS, to clarify certain grave allegations.
“If anyone was in doubt that Senator Oshiomhole posed the biggest and most destructive threat to the existence of the APC at that time, and the party’s best bet was to dispose of a canon folder that he was and unfortunately still is, his utterances and grandstanding yesterday at an occasion to find solutions to our democratic and party challenges, would have cleared such mindset,” he said.
