APC Chairman Oshiomhole Flies To US After DSS Interrogation

The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Adams Oshiomhole has left Nigeria amid reports he was interrogated by the Department of State Services (DSS) on Sunday and Monday.

News gathered that Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi secured bail for Oshiomhole from DSS after he reportedly underwent nine hours of interrogation on Sunday and for several hours again on Monday.

The interrogation was prompted by numerous petitions sent to the intelligence outfit, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Presidency.

The petitions were all about the APC primary elections, which led to bitter acrimony in several states with allegations of bribery and manipulation.

It was learned that most of the petitions were from Imo, Ogun, Niger and Zamfara states. There were also petitions from Kaduna, Bauchi, Adamawa, Delta and Cross River states.

It was gathered that Oshiomhole’s troubles may have started when he allegedly marginalised the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

The former Edo governor has been accused of usurping the NWC’s functions, and running the primaries with the cooperation of only four NWC members.

The NWC members that reportedly worked closely with the chairman were Deputy National Chairman (South) Niyi Adebayo, National Auditor George Moghalu and National Organizing Secretary Emma Ibediro.

It was also learned that Oshiomhole delayed the appointment of screening and primary election committees for the states and insisted on centralising it at national headquarters contrary to the previous practice of screening legislative aspirants in their states and governorship aspirants in the zonal offices.

Afterward, the chairman selected persons to serve in the committees without the input of other party executives, which gave rise to allegations that there was a predetermined agenda for many states.

Citing the example of Imo State, the national daily reported that sources said Oshiomhole singlehandedly picked Alhaji Ahmed Gulak to head the Imo election committee despite protests that Gulak joined the party only this year and that he did so together with Hope Uzodinma, a governorship aspirant in Imo State.

Gulak later disappeared from Owerri before the primaries were conducted and declared Uzodinma as the winner. Eight other committee members stayed behind and conducted the primaries, which were observed by INEC officials but the chairman insisted on upholding Gulak’s result, the sources said. Petitions soon flooded DSS and EFCC alleging that millions of dollars were spent by aspirants.

In Ogun State, petitioners accused the chairman of doing the bidding of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to push aside Governor Ibikunle Amosun and his anointed candidate. Another petition from Zamfara State alleged that the messy APC primaries in that state were orchestrated by the national chairman who was bent on handing the party’s ticket to Malam Dauda Lawal. Several attempts to hold the primaries ended in chaos but Oshiomhole said in a letter to INEC that a consensus candidate was adopted in Zamfara State, a claim that Senator Kabiru Marafa publicly refuted.