By Abdullahi Mohammed
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) , John Oyegun has come out hard on his critics who have accused him of taking bribe to support the agenda of some APC federal lawmakers to become principal officers at the 8th Legislative Assembly. He opened up Thursday at the APC secretariat after the solidarity visit from the South East – South South professionals led by the Mr Emeka Ugwu – Oju.
It has been reported that governors and federal lawmakers elected under the platform of APC have been calling for Oyegun’s resignation on the grounds that he obtained financial inducements to support Bukola Saraki’s bid to emerge as Senate President.
Responding, Oyegun expressed shock over the allegation of his alleged roles in pitting members of the party from the North against those from the South.
He also expressed delight for the visit of the group at the time when he’s undergoing a serious challenge over the national assembly crisis
“There is nothing they have not said about me but when you ask what has the man done, one of their reports said the present executive cannot win us elections in 2019. Good lord! You’ve not even finished of 2015, you’re talking about 2019. They also talked about the elites of the North against the people of the south west, am I from the North, am I the one organising them?” he queried.
He denied ever taking any form of gratification from any of the members aspiring for principal offices at both chambers of the National Assembly, adding that no amount of smear campaigns against him would rubbish his character which he had built over time
“The one that annoys me is the attempt to rubbish 75 solid years of a character that I’ve put together. They said I take gratification, gratification for what purpose? The only people who can say that are the people who don’t know my background or history, I was just over 30 when I started joining teams that were buying aircraft from Holland and Seattle in United States. That could not corrupt me. I was on the board of the Railways, NPA and the rest of them. If all these did not make me corrupt, how can I at 76 take money, money from who, to do what? ” he queried .
He added that “I was chairman of FHA. Let them go and check the record , I did not award a single piece of land to myself or to any member of my family. What they call satellite village today, myself and Fola Alade went out physically inspecting land for building low cost housing and we finally settled for low cost houses at Badagry, I would have to settle for a piece of land, I could have acquired acres and the compensation government was paying would have covered that”.
“Out of love for my country and (pro )democracy resistance to the continuation of military rule, I was on exile for four years during which my economic base was totally obliterated. By the time I came back, I was barely carrying a deadly bone, Obasanjo is a close friend, throughout his eight years tenure, I didn’t enter Aso Rock to curry favour . That is the kind of person I am. When they say I’m taking money from a senator, to do what? I am not a senator, I cannot vote, I cannot by being chairman pronounce him as Senate President or Senate Leader so what is he giving me money for? How many people know me personally, It is annoying, it is dirty, it is crude, it is unbecoming and ..only people who are totally devoid of conscience at any level of humanity that can do things of that nature” he argued.
While he thanked the leadership of the South East South South Professionals for showing solidarity with him at the time of crisis, the APC Chairman also said that ” the on going crisis and negative remarks against me don’t make me lose sleep , I have God who is so protective of me that the people who have done this thing will eventually eat their own words, I have no doubt about that”.
On his part, Emeka Ugwu-Oju, President of the South East South South Professionals pledged the forum’s unalloyed support to the embattled chairman of the APC.
He said ,”We have come to pay our respect and show solidarity to the chairman of the party whose integrity and hard work has steered the party to victory in the space of one year he assumed the chairmanship position of the party” he said.
Ugwu-Oju admonished the APC led government not to disregard some of the recommendations made at the 2014 national conference.
