President Buhari receives APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun at the Statehouse on 4th October, 2016.Some leaders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday purportedly described the action of the ’embattled’ Deputy Publicity Secretary of the Party, Comrade Timi Frank as harmful to the country’s democracy and appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to stop him and his alleged sponsors from destroying the ruling party.
In a statement signed by the Chairman of APC United Front, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa, the leaders (who were not named) praised the National Chairman of the Party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, for ‘taking into consideration the shapes of opinion of the different party leaders, supporters and well-wishers concerning the party’s growth and progress’.
“APC is not in trouble. Chief John Odigie-Oyegun is not APC’s problem. He is a man of facts, not given over to wild speculation or sensationalism. His moral reputation is a great asset to the party,” they were reported as saying, according to a statement sent to TheSimonAtebaNews.
Mr. Oyegun and APC National Leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu fell out recently after the emergence of APC candidates in Kogi and Ondo states that were not backed by Tinubu and reports said not long ago that Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar were considering pulling out of the APC ahead of the 2019 general elections.
But in a statement to TheSimonAtebaNews, some leaders of the APC who were not named commended the national chairman for playing according to the rules and policies of the party, adding that “controlling the party ahead of 2019 election cannot happen through political blackmail and intimidation”.
They chided Frank for not respecting the national chairman of the party, urging him and his sponsors to stop factionalizing the party and focus on party programs and policy statements.
“People like Frank are very inexperienced politicians without focus”.
The leaders who also praised Oyegun for promoting democratic values and adhering to basic elements of internal democracy, urged him not to succumb to any intimidation from anybody.