Oshiomhole's deputy asks him to resign as APC chairman

APC national deputy chairman, Lawal Shuaibu, blames Oshiomhole for the party's loss in Zamfara and has asked him to resign.

The Deputy National Chairman (North) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Lawal Shuaibu, has asked party chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to step down for the future of the ruling party.

In a letter dated May 27, 2019 and addressed to the former Edo State governor, Shuaibu, a former representative of Zamfara North senatorial district, said the APC project is failing due to Oshiomhole's leadership.

He accused Oshiomhole of being directly responsible for the party's recent loss of all its electoral seats in Zamfara State.

Shuaibu said the former governor has to resign to allow the party embark on the task of reconstruction and rehabilitation.

He said, "I write this letter with my hands shaking, arising from the realizing of my involvement in a project that is currently seen as failing, even before achieving the ambition of its founding fathers. I never found myself in any failed project.

"In advanced democracies, people who fail to add value or build over and above what they met on assumption of duty show some civilized examples, they honourably bow out.

"In that connection, therefore, I want to advise you to take the path of honour, to step aside and allow the Party to embark on the onerous task of reconstruction and rehabilitation in those States it was weakened by the effect of the last primary election exercises.

"Or even the task of recreating the party where it is on the path of extinction, arising from the loss of a sitting APC Government, for example in Zamfara State, where you directly personally created the problem leading to the painful complete loss of APC's electoral fortunes. From up to down, all these are uncontestable facts.

"You cannot exonerate yourself from what happened to APC (in) Zamfara State, thereby destroying the hopes and aspirations of 534,541 APC members and supporters."

Oshiomhole was elected the APC's national chairman in June 2018 but his reign has been rocked by many clashes of personalities with him at the centre of most of them.

The primary elections of the APC to choose candidates to contest in the 2019 general elections were most especially rocked by a lot of divisions and controversies within the party.

A lot of state governors openly feuded with Oshiomhole over what they alleged to be his role in truncating the processes to install certain candidates.

He was interrogated in November 2018 on allegations made by certain governors that he received bribe to manipulate the APC's primary elections across the country.

He openly engaged in a war of words with outgoing Zamfara governor, Abdulaziz Yari, on the conduct of the state's primary elections.

The party eventually failed to conduct proper primary elections, and despite being allowed to participate in the general elections, the Supreme Court last week invalidated its participation.

All the victories secured by the party in the governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections were instead handed to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which came second in all the elections, except one.

A State House of Assembly seat went to a candidate of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).