ABUJA: ‘Suspended’ Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC Comrade Timi Frank, has expressed disappointment at the decision taken by the National Executive Committee NEC which extended the tenure of the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun led National Working Committee NWC and others for another 12 months.
Frank said
the party has proved to the world that it does not respect even its own laid
down rules and guidelines which he said does not give room for such decision.
However,
Chief Odigie-Oyegun has said the party was not expecting everyone to tag along
with the NEC, saying people were entitled to support any cause they believe in.
The APC NEC
meeting had on Tuesday voted in favour of the tenure elongation by 12 months
for all the executives of the party at all levels.
Oyegun said:
“Well, I don’t want to talk on this sensitive political issue. Suffice it to
say that whatever is happening, naturally, there will be contrary views. So, it
will be so difficult if you come out with total, one hundred per cent unanimity
but I think the reasons not wanting to hold some of these elective congresses
this year is very clear; we have such a mighty work to do this one year and
each one has potential of causing crisis.
“We are
going to have first set of party elections, second set of elections to
governmental aspirants, and other House of Assembly, House of Representatives,
Senate, Governorship and so on.
“So, we just
felt we could defer some of these issues or the party felt some of these
challenges can be deferred for one year for us to concentrate on the serious
task before us which is the national elections, and people gave the good
examples of Ekiti and Osun last time where because of this same issue of
election being due in those two states, the filling of party offices had to be
deferred”, he explained.
But reacting
to the development, Frank described the tenure elongation as laughable, saying
it has shown that the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP is far
better than APC when it comes to internal democracy.
“I am personally
disappointed with the tenure extension of Chief John Oyegun led leadership.
This has clearly shown that APC is an undemocratic party. A party which has
been in existence for three years but has never obeyed its own constitution. I
challenge anybody to tell me which part of the APC constitution has been
religiously obeyed in the past? This has shown again the difference between PDP
and APC, but I know that the former is better.
“I will not
relent in speaking the truth which I am known for. This decision is against the
wish of the majority but for the oppressors within the party.”
While making
reference to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s call for the resignation of Chief Oyegun’s
NWC, Frank said: “Even when the presidency had appointed the National Leader of
APC to reconcile all the aggrieved members, the tenure elongation clearly show
that the party is going nowhere beyond 2019 because if they didn’t believe in
Tinubu’s reconciliatory panel why did they set it up at all?
“How can you
keep a man that lacks capacity to lead a governing political party for another
twelve months? This has shown that those who took such decision are selfish and
does not mean well for APC.”
Frank also
observed that injustice against most members of former New PDP that eventually
joined APC were clear indications that the governing party does not believe in
democratic tendencies.
“Some of us
that came from PDP have not been treated well, even the positions being held
today by the Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara were
forcefully taken.
“Time will tell very soon when some of us will have to
take decision against some of these anti-democratic tendencies of some people
in APC,” Frank stated.
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