…As he Reaffirms Loyalty to President Buhari.
Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has dismissed insinuations in some quarters that his recent comments on the ongoing membership revalidation of the APC was an affront to President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the party. Oshiomhole therefore reaffirmed his ‘unquestionable loyalty’ to the President.
Recall that the immediate past Edo State governor had on Tuesday, February 9, while participating in the exercise at his Iyamho home town, criticised the party’s membership revalidation which he described as unconstitutional and amounting to double registration by existing members of the party who had not rescinded their membership.
Oshiomhole’s clarification was in reaction to the comments of a newspaper columnist who posited that his statement was a manifestation of the ‘awakening’ of ‘his crowd’ in a purported challenge to President Buhari and the present leadership of the APC.
But denouncing the misinterpretation of his comment as “made-up claims” unreflective of his intentions when he made it, Oshiomhole clarified in a statement on Saturday that his advice on the use of the word ‘update’ as a better tag for the membership registration exercise, as opposed to the ‘revalidation’ used, was informed by the dictates of section 9.4 of the APC constitution which prescribes the process of regular update of the register.
According to him, “Even in expressing my reservation about the use of the word ‘revalidation’, I also at the same time acknowledged the necessity to carry out the exercise of updating the register; deleting those who have died or resigned, and register new members. In addition, the fact that I left Abuja and traveled all the way to my village in Edo State to again register at my unit, and went further to encourage other APC members to do likewise, demonstrates my faith and commitment to the party.”
Oshiomhole stated that his National Working Committee, NWC had resolved to make the same decision before its dissolution and he therefore could not have attacked the leadership of the party for same as being falsely speculated in some quarters.
Reiterating his total loyalty to President Buhari, he acknowledged the leadership role he played in his emergence as the National Chairman of the APC, and the support he gave to him in that role despite stiff opposition from certain quarters.
“The President worked tirelessly to persuade, and campaigned to influential leaders and members of the party in support of my Chairmanship candidature. Indeed, as I have said before, and it bears repeating that I may not have lasted as long as I did in office, but for the support of Mr. President who on several occasions resisted pressure on him.
“Unlike some others, I’m not an ingrate. I remain appreciative of Mr. President’s commendation of my stewardship as Governor of Edo State a week to the end of my tenure where he publicly at two various events in Benin City, including the palace of the Oba of Benin, said that “the APC would need my services in Abuja. This commendation understandably triggered mixed feelings – a few saw me as a threat, while many others applauded Mr. President’s statement.”
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