The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Adams Oshiomole recently threatened to sack the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige from the party for failing to inaugurate boards under his ministry. He has also been vociferous in his comments about those defeating from the party.
Assistant Editor CHINWE MADUAGWU, sort some reactions on the performance Mr. Oshiomole so far.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole recently threatened to suspend the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, from the party for failing to inaugurate boards under his ministry.
While speaking to State House Correspondents after a meeting with the President’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, Oshiomole said that if President Muhammadu Buhari condoned disrespect, he won’t.
He said the Minister would be suspended from the party and that he would recommend for his sack from the federal cabinet.
“If the minister refuses we will suspend him from the party. You know we must return to internal discipline. For me it is the height of mischief for any minister, you cannot purport to be honourable minister and you act dishonourably and nobody is greater than the party.
“And if the President condones disrespect for his office, I will not condone disrespect for the party. And when we expel the minister we will prevail on the president that he can’t keep in his cabinet people who have neither respect for his own decisions nor have respect for the party without which they would not have been ministers.”
He has also had a lot to say about those defecting from the APC to other political parties. And his words have at best been described as uncharitable.
As Party Chairman, is Mr. Oshiomole within his rights and powers to make such pronouncements as it concerns the Minister? Are government appointees answerable to the party chairman even if they are members of the same party? And what possible effects could his words about those leaving the APC and manner of handling issues have on the party?
Mr. Muyiwa Akintunde, a Public Relations Consultant said; “Adams Oshiomhole is overstepping his bounds. His action is yet another indication that President Muhammadu Buhari is not in firm grip of his administration. We’ve had some agencies of the Presidency and government working at cross-purposes (DSS vs EFCC, Sports Minister v NFF, etc) while the President remains aloof.
“In a presidential system, cabinet members owe allegiance to the President who appoints them. The party chairman can only bring them under control in matters that concern the party. The government and the party are separate entities.”
Mr. Dominik Umosen, a veteran journalist and blogger sees Mr. Oshiomhole’s utterance as “an embarrassment to democracy,” even as he pointed out that “there is nothing he can achieve by intimidating the Minister that he can not achieve by being civil. President Buhari, a soldier, is not even that brusque.”
According to him, Mr. Oshiomole, apart from acting beyond his brief as party Chairman, is also creating problems for the party. His words; “Being antagonistic is creating more problems for the party. What APC requires now is tact and more mature leadership. Not more bulls in the chinashop to further create more friction. He is certainly overheating the already charged system.”
For Mr. Adewunmi Fatunde, a legal practitioner, Mr. Adams Oshiomole may be living under the Party Supremacy thinking. Hear him, “In the second republic, we had political party supremacy. When the party speaks, members will obey. But what we have now is so much rascality. Maybe Oshiomole is living under the party supremacy thing, but I think Oshiomole should have looked inward first. In Osun State, the governor has been there without Commissioner for a while and what has happened uptil now?
“Ngige is not an illiterate or a new comer to politics and governance. He was once a governor. I think Oshiomole, who has just come in could have done well to make some inquiries and findings to know why Ngige has not constituted the boards. I think we fail to draw the line between party and government.
“Then again, they belong to the same party, APC – fingers of one leprous hand.”
Mr. Uzo Chikere, an Online Publisher, believes Mr. Oshiomole is acting and speaking beyond his brief to the detriment of the Party. Hear him, “Adams Oshiomhole, has become a rabble-rouser; remember his tirade against Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
“By his utterances on Dr. Chris Ngige, he has demonstrated that he is bereft of the knowledge of a political party chairman’s role-position, especially as it relates to their APC which is in disarray and disintegrating presently.
“Calling out a Federal Government minister, appointed by the President is not in the party chairman’s province. At best or worse, Oshiomhole is to APC an undertaker.”
Dr. Vitalis Etim, strongly believes Mr. Oshiomole is the best thing that has happened to the APC and that he has not acted or said anything outside his brief. “So far Oshiomole has done so good. Very exciting and good. If I want to score him for now, I will score him above 65%. Somebody needed to call everybody to other. It was totally, completely within the powers of Oshiomole as the National Chairman of a party to call the Minister to order for failing to inaugurate boards under his ministry.
“A lot of things have been going wrong. Parties are no more being recognised as parties. People now see parties as vehicles, that’s why every one is jumping. Oshiomole said the president has appointed members of the board and he has given all the ministers the go ahead to inaugurate the boards. Why has this board not been inaugurated? And we all know what boards are for parastatals. If the boards are not there, how will there be checks and balances in the parastatals? That’s the corruption they are trying to fight.
“If there were reasons why the minister could not inaugurate the boards, he ought to have written back to the president and given his reasons, but he has not done that. People have been complaining about the boards not being inaugurated even before Oshiomole became the Chairman of the party. He is the head of the party that is running the government. So either he or the President can call the members to order. But it doesn’t mean that the minister is answerable to the party chairman but when a minister tries to be disobedient the chairman of the party can call him to order because the minister is first and foremost a member of the party before the appointment. It was based on the strength of his membership that he was appointed minister. The party has a manifesto so if a member’s action is not in consonant with the party manifesto, the Chairman of the party can call him to order.”
He is also strongly in disagreement with some opinions that Mr. Oshiomole would be the death of the APC. His words, “I disagree with those who say that Oshiomole’s style of leadership will ruin the party. It is even the former chairman that buried the party. What Oshiomole is doing is trying to resurrect it. The issue of those living the party has nothing to do with Oshiomole or even the presidency,” he said.
Mr. Leo Merenini, a Marketing Executive, is of the view that Oshiomole is the man to set APC back on track. His words, “The APC at this time needs somebody who can call the bluff of some of these politicians, look them in the eyes and tell them honest truths with respect to realities of modern day party politics. Adams Oshiomole is the man for the job.
“However, I also believe he can do this internally without direct attacks on his party members in public as in the Dr. Ngige issue.”
The day is still young, whether Oshiomole will be the death of the APC or it’s redeemer, only time will tell.