I Won’t Mortgage My Conscience To Keep APC Job –Oshiomhole
The National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress , Adams Oshiomhole , on Wednesday, said he would not mortgage his conscience in a bid to keep his job as the party ’ s chairman .
Oshiomhole said this in an interview with State House correspondents shortly after a meeting he had with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa , Abuja.
He was reacting to the growing calls for his removal as the party chairman following the crisis that trailed the APC primaries across the country .
The former Edo State Governor said he was committed to justice and fairness .
He added that he was too old to begin to learn new tricks .
He said, “Let me say that if there is a choice between my conscience, what I believe is right and mortgaging that conscience, in order to keep the job , I will have no difficulty resolving it in favour of my conscience.
“Those who know , know that at my age , I cannot learn new tricks .
“I am absolutely committed to justice and fairness . I am a stickler to enforcement of rules because the source of relevance is derived from rules . I have lived my life fighting for justice and fairness . ”
Oshiomhole again said only three state governors elected on the APC platform had issues with him .
He , however , described the disagreement as a family affair that would be resolved in due time .
He said while all party members wanted change, the process of such change could be traumatising .
He added , “Three governors are not particularly pleased with the outcome of the primaries in their states .
“Change is easy. We all want change but the process of change can be traumatising .
“These are internal family issues ; they are my friends , and that is important . Even in the moment of distress, that friendship , I want to believe , is enough to help us to build reconciliation .
“There is no running away from the fact that we are the governing party who has a higher stake . We are the one in the news . If we were in the stock market, our shares would have increased considerably .
“So , it is not surprising that there is some disquiet but I remain a friend to these governors. I respect them ; I appreciate them for the fact that but for their support , I will not be chairman and you don ’ t go stepping on the toes of those who helped you to get into position .
“However , I thought I was clear and I remain clear that helping me to get to the position , it was to help the APC to return to its core values of progressive politics , of fairness , of justice , of adherence to rule of law and total submission to the extant provisions of our party constitution .
“In doing that , you don ’ t look at power ; you look at what is just .
“I think that with time , we will reconcile all these. Amosun is my good friend ; we have known each other for a very long time ; we exchange personal visits in addition to official visits . Zamfara Governor has been the Chairman of NGF and I was an active member of that forum; we had a wonderful time together and I believe in the future, we are still going to have a wonderful time together . Rochas Okorocha was one of those who had issues with my predecessor and I did my best to try and resolve those issues in a way that has been giving him a new platform . And I am happy that God used us to do that not by cheating in his favour but by doing what is right .
“So , here I am as national chairman conducting primaries , the outcome of which was that some very powerful people did not see their preferred candidates emerging. ”
Copyright PUNCH .
