Oshiomhole replies APC legal adviser: I’m CEO of the party, you’ll take directive from me

Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), says every member of the party’s national working
committee (NWC) must take directive from him.

Babatunde Ogala, national legal adviser of the party, had
accused Oshiomhole of usurping his office.

In an internal memo addressed to the chairman, Ogala said the
national chairman is fond of sidelining the party’s legal
department.

He alleged that Oshiomhole had refused to consult him over
issues his office should handle.

But in an interview with Daily Trust, Oshiomhole said the
constitution of the party provides that he is the chief executive
officer (CEO) of the APC.

He said: “We have a constitution. It’s very clear that nobody is
an island to himself or herself. Yes, we have 21 elected members of
the NWC. We constitute an organ. It is not 21 NWCs, it’s one, and
the duties and responsibilities of the chairman are well-stated.
Among others, it provides that the chairman is the chief executive
officer (CEO) of the party. He is also the chief accounting
officer.

“The word CEO has the same meaning everywhere in the world. The
fact that you are the head of a department or a division, or a
unit, does not isolate you from taking a directive from the CEO.
So, if there is anyone, including a legal adviser, who thinks that
he is running a different system that is not accountable to the
internal structures and power and control within the party, the
challenge may be his.

“But again, those are all part of the distractions. What happens
in government and some organisations is that if you don’t pay
attention to some minute areas, they become the entry point for
opponents to infiltrate and create maximum damage. What are the
issues? The right to nominate who represents us, the right to be
consulted.

“If I am taken to court as national chairman, and my name is
mentioned, or they just write national chairman and write All
Progressives Congress, common sense should ask, should I have the
right to be informed and to approve who represents the party in a
lawsuit? Why would anybody want to monopolise that? For me it’s
straightforward. I have seen ridiculous situations in which people
who took our party to court come to me to say, ‘Allow me to
nominate the person who’ll represent the APC’ so that they are
guaranteed of the outcome of the case.

“I cannot oblige such a request, and if insisting that the right
thing is done leads to internal memos that some choose to publish,
my eye is on the ball, to protect the corporate interest of the
APC.”

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