Written by Wale Ewedemi

According to party insiders, APC Chairman John Oyegun is actively betraying the wishes of the majority of the party by refusing to take a principled stand against the anti-party actions of Senate President Saraki and House Speaker Dogara.

Most party insiders are perplexed by the ambivalent attitude of Oyegun to the obvious and public insult that Saraki and Dogara committed against the party and Oyegun as Chairman of the party.  As one member stated, ‘It is as if the man has no backbone or self respect. When he should move, he sits down. When he should  talk, he  is mute. When he should make a decision, he sleeps and after finally making a decision he takes days to implement something that could be done in minutes.’ Party sources state that Oyegun’s footdragging has been a primary cause of the crisis rocking the party in the National Assembly.

From the beginning of the nomination process for the Senate Presidency and House Speakership, Oyegun failed to assert strong leadership. ‘He seemed more the led than the leader,’ according to a group of frustrated APC legislators.  He temporized for days when time was of the essence in determining the procedure to select the NASS leadership.  He was always ambivalent to bringing the matter to a vote among APC lawmakers and reaching a final conclusion.  ‘It was as if he was hedging for more time, but for what purpose?’

Inside observers state that the delays proved decisive. The slow pace  gave Saraki and Dogara  precious time to perfect their plans with the PDP lawmakers to capture the leadership slots.  Without the wasted days, the men would not have been able to reach their intricate deals with the PDP. They would have had to submit themselves to the internal party democracy and discipline of the APC, according to an  NEC member.  ‘If Saraki owes the PDP the most for his rise to Senate Presidency against the will and decision of the party, the person Saraki is most beholden to for this odd gift is our very own chairman,’ argued an APC senator who claimed to be thoroughly disgusted with the wiles of the Chairman.  This man is with us but not for us, added the lawmaker.

One lawmaker stated that Oyegun had to be forced to hold the mock elections that elected Lawan and Gbajabiamila as the party’s choices for the two top NASS offices. If you recall, Oyegun held his head in his hands during the entire process as if he objected to the outcome of the vote. Oyegun was not happy with the result and thus never tried to actively assert the decisions made.

After Saraki and Dogara rebelled by aligning with PDP NASS members, Oyegun remains strangely mum and unmoved to the harm being done to his and the party’s  authority. ‘He took the rebuff too lightly and quickly as if he almost welcomed it,’ recounted a member of the party secretariat.  Oyegun seemed to be following a script that we did not know and seemed to working toward an objective that none of us understood,  lamented a party official.

When Oyegun had a chance to reassert himself in the appointment of party positions of Majority leader and Party Whips in both chambers, he returned to his signature delay mode.  He called for endless meetings and consultations that did nothing but waste time yet reached no conclusion. It was only after APC governors intervened and applied heavy pressure did he write a letter to the Senate President and House Speaker naming the party’s choices for Majority leader and the other posts. Even then, the letter was half-hearted, oddly brief and strangely passive in tone. It was as if he wrote it under compulsion because he had been backed into a corner by the governors and not by conviction.  Once again Saraki and Dogara rebuffed him and once again Oyegun took the insult as if he asked for it.

‘We no longer understand our chairman. It is as if he was there for our electoral victory so that he can preside over the dismantling of the party post election,’ alleged one party member intimate with recent events.

The majority of party members are angry at the ways things are going. They want to instill party discipline, They especially want Saraki removed from the Senate Presidency or suspended from the party. However, Oyegun is acting otherwise.  One member said that ‘Oyegun has become good at turning the other cheek when insulted by Saraki and Dogara because he has become two-faced.’

Oyegun has sounded out many party members. He has received petitions and recommendations from a wide spectrum of the party. The opinion is the same. Saraki and Dogara  need to be disciplined for this unprecedented misconduct. However, Oyegun refuses to say a harsh word or even lift his voice.

One incensed party member stated the opinion of the rank and file: ‘ events in the NASS go beyond Saraki and Dogara. These men would not have dared such rebellion unless backed by strong forces wanting to continue business as usual.  The forces of reaction and unjust privilege now conspire to thwart the progressive change and reform the electorate endorsed in the last election. These people never wanted President Buhari to emerge and have been fighting him from the beginning. They pretended to ally with him only when his victory seemed likely. They came close not to help but to hinder his program. People like Saraki and Dogara are in this camp. Having rode the APC to victory, they now seek to destroy the party because of its progressive intent to fight corruption and bring broadly shared prosperity through fundamental economic reform. That is what this fight is about. It is a fight for the soul of the party and for the fate of the nation. ‘

Other APC members suggest something more mercenary is also at play.  ‘We have credible evidence that high-ranking members of party have sold their souls to Saraki and Dogara. Oyegun has been implicated in taking money in order to slow and distort the party machinery so that Saraki and his team have time to outflank us, declared one APC senior official.
‘We are not surprised by Saraki and Dogara. A snake will do what a snake will do. However, we are extremely saddened by Oyegun’s conduct. We thought we had a man of integrity. We have found out now that we have a man who will act in accordance to the whims and will of the highest bidders. If he continues, he will go down in history as one of the group of confederates who conspired to impair change and sink the nation further into a hole,’ said the official.  In helping to break the Buhari government and this party, Oyegun and others are breaking sacred vows made to the Nigerian people. There is no amount of money worth that. However, Oyegun does not apparently think so, concluded one APC lawmaker