Politics

APC Under You Conducted Nigeria’s Worst Primaries, Amosun Blasts Oshiomhole

Published

2 years ago

December 20, 2023

Former Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, on Wednesday derided ex-National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole who he claimed lied about the circumstances leading to his removal from office as the party chairman.

He said the party under Oshiomhole conducted one of the worst primaries in the history of Nigeria’s contemporary politics, hence his eventual removal from office.

While admonishing the erstwhile governor of Edo State to desist from denigrating former President Muhammadu Buhari to please the current administration of President Bola Tinubu, Amosun described him as the ‘biggest destructive threat’ to the existence of the APC during his tenure hence the need to remove him.

The former Ogun State governor made the statement in a press release issued to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday.

His statement was a response to Oshiomhole’s claim that Buhari never intervened in the political crisis that led to his removal as the APC national chairman.

Oshiomhole spoke at the launch of a book “APC and Transition Politics” authored by and APC chieftain, Malam Salihu Lukman, in Abuja on Tuesday.

The senator representing Edo North accused Lukman as well as former Governor of Ekiti, Kayode Fayemi and his counterpart in Ogun as being the architects behind his controversial removal from office.

He lamented, “Lukman wrote several letters, dismissing my leadership without calling me. When you ride on the back of a tiger, there is only one destination. I wrote to the governors for a meeting. The governors said no, I should come to Imo House, not the APC office. He (pointing to Lukman) was there. He did not see anything wrong with that.

“It felt as though I was in a military barrack. But I told them none of you can lecture me about the power of a governor because I have been governor twice. Eight years uninterrupted. At a point, I told Fayemi, ‘You did a resit. You were elected and by the second term, you lost. That means you failed’. I did not do a resit, and you are lecturing me about power. I can mention some of them.

“The man in Ogun State (Amosun), he told me if not for the President, he would have left the party. Some of them told me ‘You are working for your paymaster in Lagos. Your paymaster in Bourdillon.”

Midway into his speech, Oshiomhole turned to warn the current National Chairman of the party, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje to be prepared if he doesn’t want the APC governors to pull the same political intrigue against his leadership.

“Mr Chairman, sir, if you have not faced it already, you will face it. The only difference is if the President decides to intervene and moderate. In my own case, we have a President who was not ready to intervene,” he said.

Reacting, Amosun said it was obvious Oshiomhole was merely trying to warm himself into the good book of Tinubu by dragging the name of Buhari into his drama.

This was even as he described the narrative of the Edo senator as a pack of falsehood peddled to amuse the Nigerian public in vain.

He said, “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 for his own 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 to clarify certain grave allegations.

“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 moved from his own party to merge with other like-minds 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 that, ‘You are working for your paymaster in Lagos, 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. This is 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.”

Politics

PDP Reacts To Fubara’s Defection To APC

Published

2 days ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

The Kabiru Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the defection of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi FubaraGovernor, Siminalayi Fubara, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the move as a “self-inflicted injury” and a culmination of choices the governor “willingly embraced.”

Fubara on Tuesday defected from the PDP to the ruling APC.

He announced his decision during a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. Fubara joins several of his colleagues who have also switched to the APC this year.

Recently, 17 members of the House of Assembly, loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike and led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, announced their defection from the PDP to the APC, thereby altering the balance of power in the legislature.

In a statement issued Tuesday night by National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the PDP said Fubara’s exit merely affirmed the legal maxim volenti non fit injuria—”to one who is willing, no harm is done.”

According to the PDP, the governor’s political troubles and eventual departure were products of his own decisions.

“Everyone who has followed developments that culminated in this uneventful defection will recall that the Governor willingly travelled the path that took him to this destination,” the statement read.

“Having done so voluntarily, he cannot turn around and accuse our party or any person or group of failing to protect him.”

The party insisted that at every stage of the crisis that engulfed Rivers politics over the past year, civil society groups, democratic actors and Nigerians across political divides stood in Fubara’s defence until he “capitulated.”

Politics

JUST IN: Fubara Dumps PDP For APC

Published

2 days ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, dumping the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Fubara announced this at a stakeholders meeting at the government house in Port Harcourt.

“We can’t support President (Tinubu) if we don’t fully identify with him, not just backyard support.

“Our decision this evening is that we are moving to the APC,” Fubara said as he announced his defection from the PDP to the APC.

The development comes amid political tension in the oil rich Niger Delta state.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu on Monday
held confidential discussions the with the Governor.

The engagement, held at the State House in Abuja, came against the backdrop of escalating political friction in Rivers State and ongoing uncertainties regarding Fubara’s standing within the PDP.

Politics

Tinubu, Six APC Governors Hold Closed-door Meeting At Aso Villa

Published

3 days ago

December 8, 2025

Editor

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday met with six governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in a closed-door session at the State House, Abuja.

The purpose of the meeting was not immediately disclosed, and details of its agenda remained unclear at press time.

In attendance were governors Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Monday Okpebholo (Edo), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Usman Ododo (Kogi,) Aliyu Sokoto (Sokoto) and Dr. Nasir Idris (Kebbi), who arrived at the Presidential Villa separately.

The meeting, held in the President’s office, lasted almost two hours.

Although no Presidency official offered insight into the agenda, the consultations come amid rising security concerns across the country and ongoing political engagements within the ruling party.

The governors declined to speak to journalists after the meeting.

President Tinubu has recently intensified his focus on national security by convening a series of high-level meetings involving key security stakeholders, including the service chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as intelligence coordinators and senior officials from various security agencies.

This increased engagement comes in response to a worrying upsurge in banditry, kidnappings, and violent crimes that have spread across multiple regions, causing widespread public concern and escalating pressure on the federal government for urgent and effective intervention.

These strategic meetings, frequently conducted in secrecy to ensure confidentiality and candid discussion, have aimed to undertake a comprehensive review of ongoing security operations nationwide.

Discussions have prioritised enhancing coordination and communication among military, police, and intelligence units to foster a more unified and cohesive response to security challenges.

In addition, the sessions have explored innovative and tactical measures that leverage intelligence gathering, rapid deployment, and community engagement to dismantle criminal networks and restore order.

Throughout these consultations, President Tinubu has underscored that safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians is paramount.

He has called on the security apparatus to move beyond reactive measures and adopt more preventive, intelligence-driven strategies that anticipate threats before they escalate.

The administration’s renewed approach signals a commitment to reinforcing national security architecture and improving the operational effectiveness of all agencies involved in the fight against crime and insurgency across Nigeria.

In other news, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, has expressed optimism that the security challenges – terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crime – Nigeria has been facing for almost three decades now will be overcome.

The NSA described those behind the “painful and unnecessary” challenges as “evil” and vowed they would be defeated.
Ribadu made remarks during the opening of a one-day dialogue organised by the National Peace Committee, in partnership with the delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and the U.S., on “a whole-of-Society Approach to the Prevention of Violence and Conflict in Northern Nigeria,” on Thursday in Abuja.

“This (security challenges) also shall pass. We are going through tough times. This will also go.

“But it’s very, very painful, what we are going through. It’s unnecessary.
They are very unfair to us, those who are responsible for this. They are evil.

“But they will be defeated. It’s a matter of time, and peace will be restored. That one we can assure you. Because there are people who are working, not necessarily making noise.

“There are people who are making sacrifices. Every single day, we go to bury our own deaths. Painful as it is. But most people don’t talk. Sacrifice is ongoing,” the NSA said.