Members of the National Working Committee, previously led by former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, spoke out on Friday, suggesting that their premature dismissal was an attempt to derail the presidential ambitions of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The revelation came during a countdown rally for the upcoming inauguration of Tinubu and his Vice President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, at Unity Fountain in Abuja.
Among those present were the former Acting National Chairman of the party, Ntufam Hilliard Eta, and other past officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This is the first time these members have publicly addressed their sudden removal from the party’s secretariat three years ago.
Despite their dismissal, Eta claimed they hold no grudge against anyone, but felt that President Muhammadu Buhari owed them an apology for the “unwarranted action”.
According to Eta, the committee’s dissolution was wrongly perceived as being a part of Tinubu’s campaign and a potential pathway to his presidential ambition after Buhari’s second term.
Eta expressed confusion over the committee’s sudden dissolution just two years into their four-year tenure. He further noted that Tinubu had made his presidential ambitions clear, but that did not justify the party’s action.
He said, “The result of this was that alliances and counter-alliances began to set in, quite early in the life of the newly elected NWC. From the day Comrade Adams Oshiomhole assumed office as the National Chairman of APC in June 2018, those who didn’t want him in the first place to become the National Chairman for fear that he might work for the Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu presidential bid, started unholy unions within and outside the NWC.
“From privileged information, we gathered that the attempt to remove that NWC started immediately from the 2018 Convention. Therefore, it would seem like Asiwaju was going to be favoured more than other aspirants contesting for the presidency. None of us was individually interviewed to find out whether Asiwaju was our preference or not.
“It was just a perception. Whether that perception was right or wrong, it has now become history that the reason they removed us from office has become a reality. The constitution of APC is unambiguous on how to elect and or remove any NWC member from office, but did these coup plotters bother to read the constitution of the Party? I doubt!
“They thought we were working for the ascension of Tinubu as president of Nigeria. Has he not become the president of the country now? In that regard, we were sacrificed to stop Asiwaju. That is why I earlier described our role in the then NWC as ‘pivotal and sacrificial.
“What followed shocked Nigerians! The anti-Tinubu forces had infiltrated and succeeded in misleading the Presidency. And so, with full presidential backing, the NWC was illegally dissolved and a Caretaker Committee was set up. We went to court to challenge the illegality. The post-legal struggle only rekindled another cycle of bravery, cowardice, betrayal, and sycophancy. The rest as they say is history.”
Eta, alongside former NWC National Organising Secretary, Emma Ibediro, argued that they were dismissed unjustly based on the mere perception that they were working towards Tinubu’s presidential ambition.
The pair further suggested that this perception led to them being painted with the same brush and unfairly removed from office.
They indicated that despite their removal, they held the party’s interests at heart and chose not to take legal action.
As a closing note, Eta called on the outgoing president to acknowledge that he was poorly advised and to apologize to the 21-member committee for the difficulties they have faced over the past three years.
