A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Charles Idahosa, has reaffirmed that the former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has no legal authority to function as National Chairman of the APC.
Speaking with journalists in Benin City, the Edo state capital, Idahosa said Oshiomhole having been suspended by his ward, can no longer flaunt himself as the legitimate chairman of the party at the national level.
Idahosa, who is a former political adviser to Oshiomhole, noted that any action taken by the embattled national chairman is null and void because it is an illegality.
According to him, “First and foremost, irrespective of your position, you are a member of the party and as President Muhammadu Buhari said in his speech when the Caucus met; It is bottom-up. You have to be relevant in your unit, ward, local government and state level before you can go to Abuja to claim big titles.
“As far as we are concerned in Edo APC, Oshiomhole is no longer the national chairman. The constitution is very clear in Article 21 on how members of the party can be dealt with but because of the ignorance of many of his followers, they think that once you become the national chairman of the party, you are above the law. Oshiomhole has no legitimacy”
Warning the APC of the legal implication of retaining Oshiomhole as the national chairman, Idahosa said, “He has been suspended by his ward and the party leaders there. These leaders are not spirits; they came out openly to endorse his suspension. They are not hiding and have not denied saying so. However, he decided to ignore these leaders because he has never respected the party’s constitution.
“They are just postponing the evil day because at the end of the day, any action by him or any action he takes now as national chairman is null and void because it is an illegality. He knows this but he is pretending not to know. I only feel sorry for the APC because of the legal implication in the future.”
The party chieftain also blamed the suspended national chairman for the crisis in various states’ chapter of the party, adding “Oshiomhole’s supporters say things like we should respect him because he has been winning elections, but they are wrong because he has nothing to do with the party’s successes; in fact, he created the problems.
“Even as governor and national chairman he did not win the presidential election in Edo. Won’t you win your state before going to win other peoples’ states? We taught Oshiomhole politics in Edo State. Was it not in court that he won the governorship?
