Oyegun has the capacity to drive APC to victory – Argungu
Why did the APC unanimously throw its weight behind John Oyegun to ensure he emerged as its national chairman?You know the APC as a new party that was formed from merger of major political parties in the country, we want to give Nigerians the desired political change they are aspiring for. As such, we need […]
Why did the APC unanimously throw its weight behind John Oyegun to ensure he emerged as its national chairman?
You know the APC as a new party that was formed from merger of major political parties in the country, we want to give Nigerians the desired political change they are aspiring for. As such, we need to get somebody who is well respected, known, tested and trusted by all. There were three aspirants; we had Sylva, Sam Jaja and Tom Ikimi all of them are democrats and prominent Nigerians but to my understanding the advantage Oyegun has over them is that he is a man who will fulfill a mission. He is politically experienced and apart from being elected governor of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Edo State, he is a very experienced person in party administration.
He served as South-South chairman of the defunct APP, he was also the vice presidential candidate for former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau in 2011. During the campaign period, he travelled to all nooks and crannies of this country, which makes him popular and known to all people. If we must give Nigerians a very positive change, people who are respected and trusted by all must be given the chance to direct the affairs of the party.
Like I said earlier, he was with people in the defunct SDP, in the APP, ANPP and now in APC. The amalgamation of all these parties with people from different parties that now became APC makes him to be loved and admired by many. They know him as a competent person and a very humble man who listens to people. He is seen as capable of leading APC to victory at this material time.
Do you see him as one who has the fire and capacity to contend with the ruling PDP?
It is not the issue of someone who has the fire but who has the leadership inspiration. Leadership that promotes integrity, peace and unity. He is somebody who can offer his service by closely working with other party leaders and stakeholders so that they can bring passion and commitment to build a party that will be a pride to members and all Nigerians. Once you have a leader like this the issue of fire or no fire does not arise.
Like I said, people need a change and they were waiting for APC convention to see the type of people that will be elected to lead the party. With the emergence of Oyegun and other leaders, I believe Nigerians will now have confidence that APC has credible and honest leaders who will lead it to victory in 2015.
How will you react to the allegation that he was forced on the party by Tinubu?
You see people always try to bring this kind of things. We have said it several times and I will keep saying it that APC is not a one man party. It’s a party for Nigerians. APC is a composition of three major political parties that have governors, senators, members of House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly. You will understand that it is not a one man party, where anyone will come and dictate.
But because Bola Tinubu is a dogged fighter and he seems to be well pronounced, people tend to look at it as such. If you ask some people now they will tell you General Buhari is this and that, they will say the same of Ogbonnaya Onu as well as (Ali Modu) Sheriff, but these are party leaders.
They are prominent party leaders that have served this country in different capacities. People trust them and listen to them. Anyone of them that comes out to speak at a particular time, people may say it is because he is the associate of this or that. In every responsible organization there must be a leader.
So, Bola Tinubu is one of the leaders. I want to correct the erroneous impression about APC; it is a national party, a party for all Nigerians. Rochas Okorocha said so when he spoke at the convention yesterday.
But the people that do not want this party to move will want to give it a bad name. Some people will say it is a southern party, some will say it’s a Muslim party. All these things are being said about APC, but the bottom-line is that it is a national party for all Nigerians. Certainly, we have leaders that we respect and Tinubu is one of them.
Would you say Oyegun has the capacity to carry members of the party along, irrespective of where they come from whether North, South, West and East?
Yes, certainly, he has the quality. Those of us who know him and worked closely with him can attest to this. He was the deputy chairman (South) of the defunct ANPP and I have worked with him even in APP before it became ANPP, up till the time it was merged with other political parties to become APC. We had a very close working relationship. We know the type of person he is. He is humble, a good leader that have the listening ear and will treat everybody well.
Nigerians were just waiting for us to hold our convention, they wanted to see who and who would emerge leaders of the party. Now that people want to see how better the APC can be than the other parties, his emergence will make more people to come into the fold of APC.
As someone you have worked closely with, what would you say is his strength and how will this help APC?
Based on what I know about him, he is a very courageous man, a very sterling person who will make sure that he pursues what he believes in to a logical conclusion. He listens to people, know their problems and attend to everyone. These are what leadership entails. I believe his quality of leadership will help the APC.