Former governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has described former national chairman of the All-Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, as the biggest and most destructive threat to the existence of the ruling party.
At a book launch in Abuja on Tuesday, Oshiomhole had attacked the former Ogun State governor. But Amosun, in his reply, described the former Edo State governor as a man who suddenly found himself where he never dreamt of, despite his obvious limitations in education and exposure. He called him a canon folder and the national chairman of a party that conducted one of the worst primaries in the history of Nigeria’s contemporary politics.
According to the statement he personally signed in Abuja, Amosun said: “It has been a struggle since Tuesday on what to make of the ‘tales by moonlight’ that Oshiomhole treated the audience of Salihu Lukman, to at his book launch, “APC and Transition Politics,” in Abuja.
“This apparent struggle was not for want 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, APC and of this great country, Nigeria, to which I believe Oshiomhole belongs.
“However, giving 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 Oshiomhole was alleged to have said, apart from being far from the truth, is a calculated attempt to present water while drinking wine. The Yoruba adage says, ‘if you let a mad man bury his mum the way it pleases him, he could roast her for a meal’. At that point, the community is to blame for his choice.”
Reacting further, Amosun said: “Indeed, listening to him, 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 the party, under 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 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.
“If he wanted to insult our leader, former 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.
“If the public will remember, soon after Oshiomhole was sworn in as a senator, he allegedly said members of the 9th Senate had vandalized their offices before leaving, only for him to eat the humble pie and later apologies when it was obvious the allegations were baseless.”
Amosun equally gave words of caution to the senator representing Edo North senatorial district, saying: “My honest advice to him is to carefully and soberly seat 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.”