A national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has accused the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, of undermining his peace efforts.
Tinubu’s allegations were contained in an eight-page letter, dated February 21, 2018 titled, “Actions and Conduct weakening the party from within,’’
He said, “You (Odigie-Oyegun) promised unalloyed support for my mission. Consonant with that vow, you said you would provide all information at your disposal and you vowed to act as a liaison between me and the state party chapters.
“Unfortunately, the spirit of understanding and of cooperative undertaking to revive the party seems not to have lived beyond the temporal confines of that meeting.
“I assure anyone who cares to know that this positive spirit of cooperation did not meet its demise at my hands.”
Tinubu expressed disappointment that instead of support, the party’s national chairman acted in contravention of the spirit of earlier discussions.
He said, “Instead of being a bulwark of support as promised, you positioned yourself in active opposition to the goal of resuscitating the progressive and democratic nature of the APC.
“In our discussion, you personally mentioned Kogi, Kaduna, Kano and Adamawa states as places afflicted by serious party issues. Given your assessment, these are states where I believe cooperation between you and I should have been intense and detailed. Instead, you have taken it as your personal mission to thwart my presidential assignment in these key states.
“In Kogi, you rushed to the state to unilaterally inaugurate a new state chapter official parallel to the officials already heading the state chapter of the party.
“While this may place you insignificant affinity with those parallel officials you handpicked, this machination suggests no improvement in the welfare of the party in Kogi or at the national level. This usurpation of authority exacerbates conflict and confusion; it does not resolve them.
“It is my understanding that your dissolution of the duly constituted state executives and the hurried naming of the above-mentioned caretaker group were not approved by the NWC. This arrogation of power sets you at variance with the members of the NWC as evidenced by the National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi’s, statement condemning your improper and unusual action.”