Yahaya Bello joins northern leaders to remove Oshiomhole

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has been alleged to be among the sponsors of northern leaders in the ruling party to remove the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole.  Sources close to the party Secretariat in Abuja revealed that the Kogi State governor has volunteered to allegedly pay up the bills of whatever it will take the northern APC leaders to force the APC national chairman out of office.

The party sources said that Governor Bello has not been receiving positive responses from Oshiomhole in his campaign for second term ticket of the APC for the November governorship election in Kogi State. The governor, party sources told National Daily, has held several consultations with Oshiomhole to negotiate express consideration for automatic ticket of the ruling APC for his re-election but the efforts were not successful.

The governor was, therefore, said to have seen the handwriting on the wall on the direction the APC national chairman is going.

Indeed, party sources told National Daily that Oshiomhole has always referred Governor Bello to the political liability of over 22 months unpaid salaries of workers in Kogi State, explaining to the governor that the party cannot afford the luxury of such political liability in the November 2019 governorship election in the state.

Our sources further said that Governor Bello had promised the APC chairman that he would do everything to clear the salary arrears of workers in the state or at worse bring it down to the minimum level people can bear but Oshiomhole was not convinced.

ALSO READ: Another APC chieftain backs call for Oshiomhole to resign

The party sources told National Daily that the Kogi State Governor is becoming frustrated and feeling disappointed with Oshiomhole’s stance. Governor Bello was, therefore, said to have resolved that even if he pays all the salaries owed the workers by the Kogi State government under his leadership, the APC national chairman may not still give him the party’s governorship ticket. “Thus, the governor resolved to join forces with the northern leaders to remove Adams Oshiomhole from office immediately and ensure he doesn’t stay to conduct the APC governorship primary election in the state. The Kogi governor further fears that even if he mobilises his legion of supporters in the state to get the APC ticket, what happened in Zamfara, Adamawa, Rivers and other states may be repeated in Kogi State at the instance of Oshiomhole,” the party sources told National Daily.

It will be recalled that APC Deputy National Chairman, North, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, had in a six page letter to Oshiomhole on Tuesday, demanded his immediate resignation as the party’s national chairman.

Shuaibu accused Oshiomhole of incompetence, high handedness and immaturity in his handling affairs of the party. He maintained that Oshiomhole lacks the capacity and necessary composure to lead the APC. Shuaibu decried that the respect and sympathy APC was enjoying among its members and sympathisers before Oshiomhole became national chairman had been eroded.

APC Deputy National Chairman, North, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, is in the vanguard of the struggle to dethrone Oshiomhole as APC national chairman while several other party leaders are playing strong roles from the sidelines.

National Daily gathered that besides, Governor Bello of Kogi State, other governors, including certain political interests from the south west and south east are also involved in the battle to unseat Oshiomhole. National Daily will bring you details on these in subsequent report.