A former governor of Ogun state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has fired back at his colleague, the former Edo state governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole for holding him responsible for his ouster as the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Daily Crucible had earlier reported that Oshiomhole fingered Amosun and former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, as the instigators and sustenance of the crisis that led to his removal from the chairmanship position.
He also described Amosun as a political opportunist, who was not loyal to ex – President Muhammadu Buhari.
The former national chairman made the remarks at a book launch in Abuja on Tuesday, December 19.
Oshiomhole, who broke his silence on the exit from office for the first time, also accused former President Muhamnadu Buhari of looking the other way and did nothing to save him when the APC governors waged unrelenting war against him until they succeeded in easing him out of the chairmanship position.
He lamented that the governors ganged up against him, resulting in his unceremonious removal at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party in June, 2020
But replying to the ex – governor of Edo State on Wednesday, December 20, Amosun said the former labour leader was responsible for his own woes at the time and the subsequent exit from office.
In a statement titled, “Amuse Yourself, Not the Public,” Amosun insisted that Oshiomhole was the architect of his political travails and subsequent fall from power as the party’s national chairman.
He accused the former national chairman of conducting “one of the worst primaries in the history of Nigeria’s contemporary politics and ended up shopping his enemies, leading to his eventual removal as chairman of our party.”
Amosun, in the statement, reminded the former labour leader of his arrest by the Department of State Services” to clarify certain grave allegations.”
The ex – governor called on Oshiohmole to carefully and soberly sit down to take stock of his past so that it will continue to serve as a guide for him in his future public utterances rather than dragging the names of innocent people into a needless controversy.
Amosun said: “It’s been a struggle since yesterday on what to make of the ‘tales by moonlight’ that Senator Adams Oshiomhole treated the audience of Dr Salihu Lukman to at his book launch, “APC and Transition Politics”, in Abuja.
“This apparent struggle was not for lack of a proportional response to his deliberate drivel, but because not only was his story fraught with lies but also because he did not boast the requisite integrity to say the truth.
“Besides, it is not in my character to join issues with people I consider qualified enough to be referred to as both leaders of our party, the APC, and of this great country, Nigeria, to which I believe Senator Oshiomhole belongs.
“However, given his antecedents and penchant for careless and, most times, baseless and unverified public statements, and also considering my duty to the country and the public in particular, it will be uncharitable if I fail to put the records straight.
“What Senator Oshiomhole was alleged to have said, apart from being far from the truth, is a calculated attempt to present water while drinking wine.
Continuing, he referenced the Yoruba adage which says, “If you let a madman bury his mom the way it pleases him, he could roast her for a meal.” At that point, the community is to blame for his choice.
“Indeed, listening to him yesterday, his utterances represent some inherent inadequacy, which he vented not just at inauspicious times but without basis and predicated only on lies to hoodwink the unsuspecting.
“It is not in doubt that I have participated fully in the formation and sustenance of our party, the APC, and I can boldly say that the party under Adams Oshiomhole conducted one of the worst primaries in the history of Nigeria’s contemporary politics and ended up shopping his enemies, leading to his eventual removal as Chairman of our party.
“Nigerians should not be in a hurry to forget the allegations that preceded the conduct of those primaries and his eventual invitation by the Department of State Service, DSS, to clarify certain grave allegations.
“If anyone was in doubt that Senator Oshiomhole posed the biggest and most destructive threat to the existence of the APC at that time, and the party’s best bet was to dispose of the canon folder that he was and unfortunately still is, his utterances and grandstanding yesterday at an occasion to find solutions to our democratic and party challenges would have cleared such a mindset.
“If he wanted to insult our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, he could have come out boldly to do so. But his subtle attempt to pass snide remarks at him failed the simple test of loyalty because the former president also his party to merge with other like-minded people to form the APC.
“Also, if he is seeking favour from the presidency, why not come out and do so? But to tell barefaced lies like, “You are working for your paymaster in Lagos, your paymaster in Bourdillon,” is cheap but typical of an individual who suddenly found himself where he never dreamt of, despite his obvious limitations—education and exposure.
“If the public will remember, soon after Senator Oshiomhole was sworn in as a Senator, he allegedly said members of the 9th Senate had vandalised their offices before leaving, only for him to eat the humble pie and made to apologise later when it was obvious that the allegations were baseless.
“My honest advice to him is to carefully and soberly sit down to take stock of his past so that it will continue to serve as a guide for him in his future public utterances rather than dragging the names of innocent people into a needless controversy because in Africa, age and leadership are associated with wisdom.
“This is also why I have consistently brushed aside and intentionally scoffed at his tongue-in-cheek apology, which he had extended to me several times. I am now convinced it was not genuine.
“In the final analysis, background matters!”
