APC to reward 57 steadfast senators – Oshiomhole

Adams Oshiomhole

Ahead the forthcoming party primaries, the national Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has revealed that the party has determined to reward 57 Senators who refused to be mislead or manipulated but chose to remain steadfast with the party.


Oshiomhole, who was referring to the defection of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of the house of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, to the Peoples Democratic party (PDP), said the party had learnt from the mistake of the past in which people he described as bread and butter politicians have been given tickets of the party, including that the party will not field candidates he defined as opportunists, who are seeking to use the platform of the party to achieve their selfish interest. Speaking whilst addressing members of the screening committee of the party on the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Oshiomhole cited that “as we speak i am proud that we have 57 senators who've refused to be induced or misled or otherwise manipulated into moving to different parties or reward for juicy positions. They have determined to remain in our party inspite of all of the intimidation they have suffered.

“It'll be ungodly for us as a party not to praise those who believe in the party and the government of the day led via President Muhammadu Buhari. we are able to attempt as much as we can to have stability inside the national assembly”.

Lamenting that since assumption of office, the national working Committee (NWC) were tackling issues arising to the last congresses of the party which he defined as fraudulent, Oshiomhole asserted that the party will correct the errors of the past and confront the opposition come 2019.

“In many of the states we had challenges springing up from the way congresses have been carried out, many of them were quite fraudulent that has been the task we had been seeking to clear up since we came. Screening of aspirants is not a formality, which is why we tried to look for men and women of integrity who cannot be compromised.

We do not need to field opportunists who're honestly searching for a political vehicle for some egocentric functions. What had happened in recent past is sufficient for us to begin to examine the character of those who are searching for office under the APC platform.

“If before now we have taken for granted the powers of the national assembly, how those powers can be used for national goals and how it may also be misused to undermine national progress, the current situation we are dealing with right here, wherein  principal officers have chosen to place their personal interest over and above the national interest.

Refusing to consider budget meant for physical infrastructure. Budget meant to re-order the way our budget is executed, to move money away from consumption which recurrent expenditure represents to capital projects which will benefit our people.

“Refusing to approve money meant for the body charged with the responsibility of conducting elections in 2019. For us as a party, we have chosen to learn from the positive lessons from this development in order that we do not repeat those errors by means of selecting people who as far as human capacity is, we will assess and predict that if elected they will continue to be trustworthy not only to our party but more importantly to the Nigerian nation”.

The party chairman emphasised that “If we've got war of words, it will not be about juicy appointments. It will likely be about appropriate policies, it'll be about how governance is impacting positively on the lives of Nigerians. It will not be about who is getting what, politics of sharing”.