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APC Blast Oyegun for Attacking Oshiomhole, Says He Created Party’s Problems
The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday hit back at the immediate past National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, saying his penchant for condoning indiscipline and the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots who could not operate by the party rules created the problems which the Oshiomhole led leadership is currently grappling with.
Reacting to a statement credited to the former Chairman accusing Oshiomhole of lacking the capacity to lead a political party, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Lanre Issa Onilu said that the resultant effect was widespread indiscipline across party ranks, lack of respect for party supremacy as witnessed in the 8th National Assembly leadership and its overall inability to align the varying interests of the legacy parties that came together to form the APC in 2014.
Onilu said that under the Oyegun leadership of the party, members merely saw the APC as a vehicle for acquiring political offices, stressing that the members who are not comfortable with the reforms going on in the party are free to join the PDP and other opposition parties.
“Let me agree that the NWC that led the party into the 2015 elections and continued till June 2018 did nothing different from what you would find in PDP. It was a period the party was seen as a mere vehicle to attain political office. The system accommodated impunity as certain members appeared to be superior to the party. Their interests were far more important than the collective interests of the APC, even when most times such interests are at variance with the ideals the party stand for.
“You would recall that it was under that leadership that some impudent members of APC called the bluff of the party by imposing themselves on the National Assembly as leaders contrary to the position of the party. Where was the party? Where was the discipline when this happened?
“It would be difficult to calculate what lack of courage to assert the party supremacy cost APC over that period. The consequences of the inaction of the party were unimaginable. We all saw the consequences on governance as the National assembly practically held our government to ransom.
“The impunity, which President Muhammadu Buhari has rightly described as lack of patriotism, constituted an unfortunate hindrance to the smooth running of government.
“The leadership under Chief Oyegun, with due respect to him, condoned all sorts of acts of indiscipline from certain members. It is not surprising that the current National Working Committee inherited such a huge mess, where the party was struggling to differentiate itself from the delinquent PDP.
“We all know that PDP was practically dead following the devastating defeat of 2015. The PDP bounced back not because the party has changed its insidious way or did anything different, but because APC did not live up to expectations.
“It goes without saying that when an organisation is unable to enforce its own rules, it would suffer the consequences sooner than later. We should not be ashamed to say that our party’s leadership under Chief Oyegun lacked the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots who could not operate by the party’s rules” Issa-Onilu said.
Speaking on the defeat suffered by the party in some states, Onilu, said there were peculiar issues in the respective states lost by the party that accounted for how the APC lost them rather than the voters preferring the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said “if Oyo, Imo, Bauchi, Adamawa and Zamfara States were taken one by one, it will be discovered that there were peculiar issues in the respective states that accounted for how the APC lost them rather than the voters preferring the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The APC spokesman said the next three years are very important as the APC under the leadership of the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole will continue to strengthen compliance with the rules, build support structures for democracy, ensures discipline across board, and deliver good governance for the benefits of all Nigerians.
“We expect members who have different agenda to join their kind in PDP. We will welcome with open arms, those who share our progressive ideals, so that by 2022, we will have a party whose members are truly progressives.”
On the letter written by Senator Lawal Shuaibu to the National Chairman, Onilu said what the Deputy National Chairman succeeded in doing was to portray members of the NWC as a bunch of cowards, adding that he was only looking for a scapegoat to pass on the blame following undesired results in his home Zamfara State.
He said “when he Senator Lawal Shuaibu alleged that the National Chairman is running the party like a sole administrator, does that mean the rest of us are incompetent? I doubt if he would have many members of the NWC supporting him in this.
“The ability to face up to the challenges and to take responsibility for mistakes are important qualities of a leader. If the NWC had taken any action that did not produce the desired result, it would be plain cowardice to look for a scapegoat or pass on the blame to another person.
The Nation
Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, has been named the CAF Footballer of the Year for the past year.
Lookman was announced as the winner at an elaborate event in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday night.
The Atalanta star won the prize ahead of Ivory Coast’s Simon Adingra and PSG’s Achraf Hakimi, Guinea striker Serhou Guirassy and South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
It has been an incredible year for Lookman, who became the first player to score a hat-trick in the Europa League/UEFA Cup final since 1975, netting the three goals within 26 minutes against Bayer Leverkusen.
Lookman was included in the Team of the Year for the Europa League, and ended the season having had a direct hand in 18 top flight goals for La Dea.
The 27-year-old was ranked the 14th best player during the Ballon d’Or gala on October 28.
President Bola Tinubu has once again pleaded with Nigerians to to endure the hardship and pains his reforms and policies have inflicted on them, promising that his administration has its hands on the plough to quickly alleviate their sufferings.
Tinubu gave the assurance on Saturday, during the 48th convocation ceremony of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, emphasising that his government would ensure that every citizen benefits, by correcting the mistakes of past administrations, promising not to engage in blame games but commit to improving the country through his economic reforms.
The president, who was represented at the event by the Special Adviser on Economy, Office of the Vice President, Tope Fasua, acknowledged that he is aware of the harsh economic situation of the country, and begged Nigerians to endure what he described as unintentional hardship, adding that he does not take pleasure in inflicting pains on Nigerians but assured there was light at the end of the tunnel as his reform policies were aimed at making Nigeria works for everyone.
“Fellow Nigerians, I am not unaware of the harsh economic situation of our country neither do I take pleasure in inflicting pains and anguish on my compatriots,” the President said in his keynote address at the convocation.
“However, we were faced with the stark reality of the results of some policies hitherto executed by past administrations but which had no direct positive impact on the generality of our people.
“Our reform policies are aimed at making Nigeria work for everyone, but the pains that come with the reform must be endured in the meantime.
“We have gladly accepted the assets and liability of our heroes’ past without any intention of apportioning blame or pointing an accusing finger at any individual or group of people.
“As we are trying to fix, reconfigure, and correct past mistakes and errors, we implore all Nigerians to cooperate with us, to endure this unintentional hardship so that; like the graduates of today, we all can celebrate and be celebrated at the end of the day. I am certainly seeing the light at the end of our tunnel.”
The Swedish Prosecution Authority announced today that the inquiry into rape allegations against French footballer Kylian Mbappé has been closed due to a lack of sufficient evidence to proceed.
This is according to multiple reports on Thursday morning.
The allegations had drawn international attention, casting a shadow over the football star’s career.
Mbappé, who had consistently denied the allegations, has yet to make an official statement regarding the decision
His legal team had previously emphasised his commitment to due process.
Mbappe was “linked to rape investigation in Sweden” and that he intended to reserve any explanations for the Swedish justice system “if necessary,” according to his lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard.
“He prioritises providing his explanations, if required, to the Swedish judiciary,” Canu-Bernard told AFP, while strongly condemning “media allegations suggesting that Kylian Mbappé had commented on the events of his trip to Stockholm.”
The case, which began earlier this year, involved accusations stemming from an alleged incident in Stockholm. The prosecutor’s decision not to press charges marks the end of months of scrutiny and speculation.
