Former Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has fired back at Senator Adams Oshiomhole, describing him as the “biggest and most destructive threat” there is to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the role he played in the party’s election primaries in 2019.
Amosun stated this
on Wednesday as a response to Oshiomhole who named him on Tuesday among those who made the party spend N2.4 billion to win the governorship elections in Kwara, Imo, and Ogun.
Oshiomhole, speaking at the book launch of the former APC National Vice Chairman North West, Salihu Lukman, said the need to spend N800 million each in Imo, Ogun, Kwara, and Taraba was because they had strong opposition leaders in those states.
For Imo State, he said that there was Senator Rochas Okorocha, who was against the candidate of the party; Kwara had former Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, and in Ogun State, APC had Amosun who worked against the candidate of the party, Dapo Abiodun, who is now incumbent governor.
Amosun wanted Adekunle Akinlade to succeed him as governor of Ogun, not Abiodun. He supported Akinlade who left the APC to join the Allied Peoples Movement (APM)
Oshiomhole also berated Buhari, saying he didn’t intervene in his removal.
However, in his statement, Amosun blasted the former Edo governor, saying his narrative was fraught with lies, and he (Oshiomhole) did not boast the requisite integrity to say the truth.
Amosun said APC conducted the worst primaries in Nigeria’s history under Oshiomhole’s watch.
“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 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, 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 a 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 mindset.”
Amosun, however, asked Oshiomole to come straight.
“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.”
