By Ahmed Idris
A frontline stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Ahmed Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday dismissed calls by some members of the party for the national chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, to resign over the conduct of primary elections held nationwide recently.
Addressing State House correspondents after a close-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu said Oshiomhole has not violated APC constitution or engaged in any anti-party activity that would warrant his resignation or removal from office.
“We all have to respect the party supremacy. You were all here when we had the Congress, we elected the new executives, we had the convention, the NEC was formed and we surrendered to avoid conflict, to avoid domination, to avoid abuses of power, we surrendered our rights, all rights to the National Working Committee headed by Adams Oshiomohole.
“That the National Working Committee should set up electoral bodies to supervise various state congresses and elections. ‘We signed off for it’. So, if it is not in our individual favour, so be it. We gave three options, consensus, where there is no consensus because if you are more than two or three and you cannot agree to one candidate, you go to the next level.
“The next level is the stakeholders’ delegates (system) and you have to be supervised by the National Working Committee of the party, national election committee of the party.
“That shows party supremacy or the freest option, the less cumbersome is to open direct primary, line up and count the number, 1,2,3. If you win, you win and if you fail, go home,” he said.
He said an appeal committee was set up by the party to look into grievances arising from the conduct of the party’s primaries, stressing that the committee, which served as internal mechanism for conflict resolution, had performed its duties diligently
“It was there (appeal committee), you cannot turn round against that, and you cannot turn against all of that. No, Party is supreme, party must be respected, abuses will not do it and anger will not do it. It is party politics, somebody will win and somebody will lose, too bad,’’ he said.
