APC replies Amosun over allegations against Tinubu, others

The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday replied Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state over his allegations that the national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu and a former governor of the state, Segun Osoba, are responsible for the crisis rocking the state chapter of the APC.

Amosun had kicked against the emergence of Dapo Abiodun as the governorship candidate for 2019, saying Abiodun Akinlade, his preferred candidate, is the people’s choice.

He accused the national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, of conniving “with a cabal in Lagos” to write fake results that produced Prince Dapo Abiodun as governorship candidate.

However, on Wednesday, Lanre Issa-Onilu, spokesperson of the ruling party, said both Tinubu and Osoba could not have imposed any candidate on the state.

“The question to ask is whether they were the one who gave directive to him to organise his own primaries or they were the one who instructed him not to participate in the primaries or his candidate not to participate in primaries the party organised.”

He said though the governor took some monarchs in the state to see President Muhammadu Buhari, he should know that the president will ask for the rules to be followed.

“It is a straight forward case. If we speak to the merit of this case, the whole world saw it; the visuals were everywhere, where the Ogun state governor gathered some aspirants, stakeholders and said clearly, there won’t be primaries and right there he pointed at who the next governor, senator, house of representatives candidates would be. He named himself the next senatorial candidate,” he said.

“On the day they all came for screening including the governor, he suddenly left with other aspirants and returned back to Abeokuta, gathered some people and sent back to the NWC that they wanted indirect primary and the other aspirants said we were all here together, that they didn’t know when this change was made.

“Eventually, the NWC panel that was constituted to conduct the primary went to Abeokuta and did the primary. The governor’s preferred candidate chose not to participate in that exercise. So the party stands by the result of that primary it conducted in Ogun state.

“Secondly, he took some monarchs to meet the president. I am surprised because someone like him, with due respect to him should have understood the nature of the president we have, that no matter how close you are to him, he will listen to you but he will ask for the rules to be followed.”