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APC GOVS ACCUSE ODIGIE-OYEGUN OF TAKING ‘BRIBE’



The chairman has been accused of playing double standards in the National Assembly leadership crisis. For example, he is accused of collecting “gifts” from Senator Bukola Saraki before the election, while pretending to be doing the bidding of party leaders who wanted the seat ceded to Ahmed Lawan.
Eight of the 23 Governors, including that of his home state (Adams Oshiomhole of Edo), were at the party’s secretariat yesterday to deliver the message to the embattled Chairman.
Other members of the Governors entourage, who met the Chairman behind closed door were: Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), and Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa).
To further prove Odigie-Oyegun’s complicity in the NASS leadership debacle, those who want him sacked recall that all the candidates sponsored for positions in both chambers of the National Assembly lost to their opponents who contested, against the directive of the party.
Also, while other party leaders were still engaging the camps of the Senate President, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, the party Chairman openly endorsed their elections.
Meanwhile, Oyegun, in an attempt at settling the rift on Monday, met with the Saraki and Ahmed Lawan, as well as Dogara, his deputy, Lasun Yusuf, separately in his residence at Asokoro in Abuja.
Odigie-Oyegun, who was presiding over the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) meeting at the time, excused himself and met with the Governors in his office.
El-Rufai gave a hint of what was happening inside when he stormed out of the National Secretariat angrily, refusing to answer questions posed by newsmen on standby.
When the meeting was over, the Governors who could not hide their anger, left without answering questions from newsmen.
Although Odigie-Oyegun did not reply the text message sent to him on the mission of the eight Governors to his office, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the governors only came to confer with the party National Chairman.
“I’m not privy to what the Governors discussed with National Chairman in his office. But I can assure you that they did not come to ask him to resign” Muhammed said in reply to a text message.
-Daily Independent
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