The meeting was held behind closed doors inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to a Presidency official who
spoke with reporters on the condition of anonymity, the sole item on the
agenda of the meeting was how the governors would work towards the
emergence of a former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, as the
party’s national chairman.
The party’s national convention where
new members of the party’s National Working Committee will emerge has
been slated for May 14 in Abuja.
It is not clear yet if the party’s
current chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, will be seeking re-election
at the convention but the President has resolved to support Oshiomhole’s
candidature.
“The President called this meeting with
the APC governors to ask them to back Oshiomhole’s candidature. That’s
the purpose of the meeting administration that is the President’s
position,” the Presidency source said.
The APC has decided to retain the current zoning formula for its national offices.
Both Odigie-Oyegun and Oshiomhole are
from Edo State in the South-South where the position of the APC national
chairman is zoned to.
Meanwhile, Odigie-Oyegun has described the purported endorsement of Oshiomhole as the next chairman of the party as childish.
Odigie-Oyegun, who was also a former
governor of the state, however, said he had yet to decide on whether or
not he would seek re-election at the party’s national convention or not.
The chairman of the ruling party spoke with some journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said he had concluded his consultations on whether he would seek a re-election or not.
He, however, did not disclose the outcome of the consultations.
There have been speculation that both
Odigie-Oyegun and Oshiomhole among others, are in the race for the
office of the national chairman of the APC.
But reacting to the development in a
short interview with journalists, Odigie-Oyegun said that the action of
those who endorsed Oshiomhole was childish.
“It was childish. Absolutely childish!
The voting is done at the convention and not in state houses, not in
government houses,” he said
When asked to comment on his rejection
by the Edo State chapter of the APC, Odigie-Oyegun said, “They have
their reasons for what they did and you have to respect their own
reasons, however, wrong it is. Don’t bother about this teaser; I will
give a comprehensive interview, to speak with you when the time comes.”
When reporters insisted that he should
confirm whether he would re-contest his office or not, he simply said,
“The consultations, I think is concluded. Well, I’m going to know when
the convention committee announces their programmes, then when I’m going
to buy a form, if I will re-contest I will let you know.”
Also, some state Chairmen of the APC in
the South-South geopolitical zone said they had rejected attempts by the
Zonal Vice-Chairman, Prince Hilliard Eta, to force some members of the
party to adopt Oshiomhole as a chairmanship candidate from the zone.
The party chairmen explained that though
any member from the zone was free to aspire for the position, it was
necessary to give Odigie-Oyegun right of first to contest the national
chairmanship position at the forthcoming national convention of the
party.
The state APC chairmen; Chief Davies
Ikanya (Rivers), Mr. Etim John (Cross River), Dr. Amadu Attai (Akwa
Ibom) and Deacon Joseph Fafi (Bayelsa), made this remarks in an
electronic mail made available to one of our correspondents on Monday
night.
The party chairmen issued the statement
at the end of the APC state chairmen and South-South Zonal Executive
Committee meeting at Government House, Benin, Edo State.
They said, “The aforementioned four
state chairmen out of the six chairmen of the zone and the executive
committee members from their states reject attempts by the South-South
APC Zonal Vice-Chairman, Prince Hilliard Eta, to railroad members
present in the meeting into adopting the former governor of Edo State,
Adams Oshiomhole, as the candidate of the South-South zone for the
national chairmanship position at the forthcoming national convention.
“It is our conviction that whereas
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and indeed all qualified members of the party
in the zone are free to offer themselves for service to our great party,
the zonal committee believes that for the sake of justice and fairness,
as always expressed by our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, on all
matters, the incumbent Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, should be
given the first choice of refusal to contest the national chairmanship
position at the forthcoming national convention of our party.”
Also, the Delta State chapter of the
APC has disowned the alleged endorsement of Oshiomhole, by the
leadership of the South-South.
In a statement signed by the state
Deputy Chairman of the party on Tuesday, Chief Cyril Ogodo, the Delta
APC condemned the development, describing the adoption as a desperate
and despicable move capable of disuniting members of the APC ahead of
the 2019 elections.
The South-South zonal leadership of the
party led by Eta in a meeting in Benin, on Monday, threw its weight
behind Oshiomhole, who is seeking to replace Odigie-Oyegun.
They insisted that Odigie-Oyegun should
be given a right of first refusal to seek re-election for the position
before endorsing other candidate for the position.
It noted that they were part of those
who walked out on the South-South zonal caucus meeting on Monday in
protest against what they said were plans by the Edo State Governor,
Godwin Obaseki, and Eta to adopt Oshiomhole as the zonal candidate of
the party for national chairman.
Similarly, the leader of the party and
the 2015 governorship candidate of the APC in Delta State, Olorogun
O’tega Emerhor, also distanced himself from Oshiomhole’s adoption.
Emerhor, who expressed shock at the
action, said leaders and stakeholders of the APC at no time deliberated
on adopting Oshiomhole as their candidate.
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