Recent activities of former president Olusegun Obasanjo are nothing short of a plot by him to use other means to get the third term that Nigerians have already denied him, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, said yesterday.
Although Oshiomhole mentioned no name, he spoke of โthat old man who is going round as an organising secretary recruiting people, looking for tired players to continue with a third-term agenda which Nigerians have rejected.โ
He was apparently referring to the comments made by Obasanjo at the Wednesday conference of the Northern Elders Forum, Afenifere, Ohanaeze and Pan Niger Delta Forum where he launched a fresh scathing attack on President Muhammadu Buhari.
Oshiomhole did not spare the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which he dismissed as more factionalized now than it was four years ago.
He said the party would not be a threat to the APC in next yearโs elections.
He spoke to State House correspondents after a meeting with Buhari.
Asked about threats of mass defection from the APC, Oshiomole said: โI think it is something you should ask the PDP. They are the ones who have suffered huge, huge mass defections, even of the so-called founding fathers.
โI mean, in those good old days, people like Professor Jerry Gana will tell us, we are the founding fathers. People like President Obasanjo will tell us, you know I was the first President.
โAll of these people are gone. I think the media need to get more engaged and scrutinize us, those of us who are political players when we speak from both sides of the mouth or we are turning the story upside down.
โJust a few months back, you know that a good section, after their convention, people like (Professor Tunde) Adeniran, Professor Jerry Gana and a host of others who can be said to be founding fathers of that party, they left to form what they call the SDP or the ADC or both. So, they broke out and then it dawned on them that even together we defeated them just four years ago, and now further factionalized, what can they do.
โAnd they just want to capture power for the sake of power. So they say, even though we have already broken the house, can we for the sake of power come together? Does it make sense? In the morning, you broke away from the PDP to the SDP and then to the ADC.
โBy whatever form they come in, Nigerians have spoken. They are not going to return to the era where Central Bank , NNPC, security money is shared to people based on the PDP philosophy, โshare the moneyโ.
โWe wonโt do that. If they have forgotten,it is quite easy for robbers to forget the robbery they just did, but it is not easy for the victim of the rubbery to forget.โ
Speaking on the victory of his party in Ekiti last weekend, Oshiomhole said: โI think the people of Ekiti State, having recalled the good days of Dr. Fayemi, comparing them to the level they were reduced to by the present government, voted wisely for change and for Fayemi to complete his unfinished business.
โFor us, we are very happy and we trust that Ekiti people would be happy for the decision they have taken. On my part, of course, it is a personal sense of victory because this was the first outing of the party under my leadership.
โThe last time, after our convention in 2014, we had an election in Ekiti and we lost. This time, we won, so I think, as they say, morning shows the day. I believe it was a good outing.โ
He said that the challenge is now for the Ekiti governor-elect to do what he has to do to ensure that the people of Ekiti recover and rise from the lost ground they witnessed due to the poor governance they got from the current PDP government in the state.
