APC crises: Axe dangles on Oyegun

National chairman, All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun

AN axe appears to be dangling over the embattled national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Chief  Odigie  Oyegun, as preparations for the National Executive Committee (NEC)  meeting of the party fixed for April 25 continue.

Sunday Tribune gathered that the governors and other power brokers, who are members of another statutory organ  of the party, the National Caucus anxious to  remove the former Edo State governor, may ultimately  have the last laugh in a few days time, having secured  the blessing of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is said, according to a top source,  has since withdrawn support  for Oyegun.

A party source revealed that the Presidency was miffed by Oyegun’s loud complaint to those who have the ears of President Buhari about the indifference of the latter to the funding of the party’s national secretariat, a position President Buhari  viewed as an indictment.

The source told Sunday Tribune that  the president was also disturbed  over  the intractable crises in most chapters of the party, particularly his North-West geopolitical zone and the seeming complacency of the Chief Oyegun led  National Working Committee in restoring sanity to  troubled state chapters.

The source further argued that the fact-finding team, hurriedly inaugurated last  Wednesday  to look into the crises in Bauchi and Kogi state chapters of the party, must have been informed by feelers Oyegun got from the Presidency.

A group operating under the aegis of the Forum of the All Progressives Congress (APC) members  also penultimate week petitioned the Presidency to complain over the alienation of the NEC in the running of the party affairs.

In the petition  dated April 6 2017, entitled, Save our party-APC, which was  signed  by a National Ex-officio, South-West coordinator, Honourable  Omolayo O. Akintola, the forum expressed regrets over the leadership style  of the party’s national chairman, which it claimed could  lead to “preventable, avoidable and unnecessary intra-party cracks that the present situation might generate.”

In league with the National Caucus to ease Chief  Oyegun out of office  is the APC  Governors Forum, led by Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha.

At a recent meeting with the national working committee, the governors  had equally squealed against the formal announcement of midterm convention by the Oyegun led NWC  without a recourse to NEC.

It was gathered that a meeting between Oyegun and  18 non-NEC members to seek their support ahead of the party national executive committee meeting ended in a stalemate on Thursday night, as he could not secure their support, ahead of the April 25 NEC meeting.

A meeting of the national caucus is expected to hold on April 24 on the eve of the NEC meeting where  a position would have been taken by governors and certain leaders of the party plotting to unseat the former Edo State governor as chairman of the ruling party.

“The NEC meeting will only be a ratification of decision reached at caucus,” Sunday Tribune source said.