Tenure extension for Odigie-Oyegun is postponing APC’s evil day, says Sani

• Party chieftain in Imo takes case to court, resigns membership
• He’s not our member, says Governor Rochas Okorocha

The Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has cautioned that the tenure extension for the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, was postponing the evil day.He said the recent decision by the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) to extend the tenure was not in the party’s best interest.

Sani added he might dump the party if he is sidelined in the Kaduna politics.He, however, added that he would not opt for such option, if the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led reconciliation committee is able to settle the rift between his group and that of Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s in Kaduna State. 

“For example, for those of us in Kaduna, there were two attempts at peace. One was the one led by the National Vice chairman of the party, Inuwa Abdul-Kadir that failed.The second was the one led by the Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari, which also failed.”

According to him: “I must tell you the fact that, with the appointment of Tinubu to chair the reconciliation committee, the issues could be addressed.“So, before the Asiwaju’s opportunity, there was virtually no hope that this crisis would come to an end. The fact that this committee is to reconcile, while that of Oni is to gather facts are also very clear. We have provided the facts and then we are waiting for Tinubu to act on it.”

“There is no doubt about it if there is no healing process and reconciliation, there was going to be fireworks, if we had all moved to the convention centre.He added that if the crisis in the party is not solved, “we are simply postponing the evil day.”

The senator also met with the fact-finding panel led by Segun Oni on the Kaduna APC crises.In a related development, a chieftain of the APC in Imo State, Okere Uzochukwu has gone to court to challenge Odigie-Oyegun’s extension.

He also at the weekend, resigned his membership of the party, declaring interest to aspire the governorship position in state.Briefing journalists at his ancestral home in Awaka, Owerri North Local Council, he said he was fed up with the way the APC-led administration was running the state without financial transparency.

Uzochukwu, who is the Chairman of Germaine Group, said: “For these reasons, I have resigned from the APC. In the next few days, I will announce the party that I will belong, but I will run for governor of Imo State in 2019,”Meanwhile, Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has declared that the Uzochukwu is not a member of the party.

In a statement at the weekend in Owerri by Okorocha’s Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, he said the case instituted by Uzochukwu in court would further expose him.

The statement said: “Okere Uzochukwu also claimed that he was an “aspirant to the state chairmanship position of the party in the state. We have done our checks and could not locate such name in our official membership registers. It is now left for him to mention his ward, his registration number and show his membership card. “His case would also help the party to expose some untrustworthy politicians who crawled into Imo APC and had been playing their usual hide and seek game.”