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Oshiomhole’s Many Enemies Move In For The Kill

By Our Political Correspondent

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There are increasing moves by prominent stakeholders in the All Progressives Congress, APC to edge Adams Oshiomhole out of his office as national chairman of the party.

The plots against Oshiomhole gwg.ng learnt may have accounted for his recent silence on the national stage.

“Mark my words, Oshiomhole would soon be out of office after the inauguration,” a high-level political actor familiar with ongoing plots disclosed without as much as giving details.

Though the national chairman helped the party to achieve the party’s debatable victory in the presidential election, the blunders in some of the state chapters of the party are being blamed on him. Oshiomhole sufficiently annoyed many chieftains of the party and notably governors, with his affirmation of direct primaries in the selection of party candidates, a development that helped to reduce the influence of governors in the selection of candidates.

While the direct primary option was praised by many party enthusiasts as a way of enthroning genuine party democracy, many powerful stakeholders were, however, like governors opposed to it.

The party was unable to present candidates in Rivers State and the election victory in Zamfara is now under threat following court judgments against the party. The party also lost in Imo State, though for reasons not immediately traceable to Oshiomhole, but are now being put on him as the national chairman of the party.

Oshiomhole’s enemies are many and include mainly those who lost out in the 2019 General Election. In that category include the likes of Governors Ibikunle Amosun, Rochas Okorocha and Abdulaziz Yari.

Oshiomhole bowing before confirmed enemies from left, Yari, Saraki, Amosun

All three have axes to grind with the national chairman and not least because of the incendiary words exchanged with the governors in the course of the primary elections.

Even more than the 2019 losers, those with 2023 political calculations are also weighing in on the prospects of having Oshiomhole on their side or against them. Oshiomhole’s close alliance with party leader, Bola Tinubu is a cause of unease in the later category given the insinuations of Tinubu’s presidential aspiration.

Oshiomhole sustenance in office as national chairman is a cause of serious unease among the 2023 gladiators who fear that he could be unbendable or twist party policies and programmes to favour Tinubu or any other interest he may be nurturing.

Even more, the suspicion that the former Edo State governor could have his own presidential aspiration is not lost on some of his traducers who are now prospecting the plans of bringing him down before he upsets their political permutations.

As part of their strategies gwg.ng learnt that the enemies of the national chairman of the APC within his party are giving fillip to the court action initiated against him by an Edo State born civil society activist, Bishop Osadalor Ochei. The activist had taken the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to court requesting it to arrest and prosecute Oshiomhole over sundry allegations of corruption allegedly committed during the national chairman’s stewardship as governor of Edo State.

Gwg.ng gathered that some APC stakeholders opposed to Oshiomhole who had in the past been indifferent on the case may have weighed on the matter with the prospect of influencing the case against the national chairman.

The case it was learnt is expected to come up in the first week of May.

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