Just few days inoffice as the National Chairman of the ruling All
Progressive People’s CongressAPC, Adamu Oshiomole is fast proving himself
as another tragic mistake inBuhari’s damage limitation and conflict
resolution power calculation. Why isthis man taking himself more seriously
than anybody in his party takes him?What is Oshiomole in a hurry to prove?
It is not clear to the Presidency thatat the rate he is going, he is only
worsening the president’s political woes orrather blurred feats?
The last thingthe President and the APC in their current tribulations need
now is adishonourable and caustic attack dog. The President and his
party’s rescuemission would have been better off with a cool-headed and,
non-mordantstrategist/
rather than thisarea boy power drunk muscle flexor.
The APC NationalChairman should actually bury his head in shame that
despite all his roundtripping to aggrieved top party members, he is yet to
dissuade one singleperson to change his mind from quitting the ruling
party. Everybody he visitedso far has now gone to the other side and this
should be worrying to him.
Where in apresidential system of government across the world does a party
leader lead thegovernment? It’s only in Nigeria under President Buhari
that you can find aparty leader give executive directive to a minister not
on issues bordering onparty affairs, but on purely administrative and
governance issue.
The problem withmost of the people in power in this country is their
ignorance of how ademocratic government works. Who is the Chairman of the
Republican Party in theUSA, or the Conservative Party in the United
Kingdom, or the ruling party inFrance? This is largely an administrative
position. It’s only in this our funnycountry that someone not elected
threatens people appointed by someone electedby the country.
Does it notoccur to the APC National Chairman that his crude directive or
rather threat ona national television to the Minister of Labour, Chris
Ngige, is seriouslydamaging to the Office of The President and to the
party as it effectivelyannounced that the man elected as President is
ineffective and an invalid whodoes not know what to do and how to do what
should be done? So because we havean invalid president, the action boy
that was handpicked by the Lagos warlordwill step in to help the president
control the Government? And he even said itwith his mouth! Walai at the
rate Oshiomole is going on this his new job, hewill crash very quickly.
Mark my word!
By the way, whyis Oshiomole spitting fire and brimstone against the Labour
Minister overparastatal’s Board appointments? Is the National Social
Insurance Trust Fundthe only parastatal that the supervising minister is
yet to constitute itsBoard? What makes NSITF so special to the APC
chairman? I will tell you!
Oshiomole was amember of one of the Boards of NSITF that is currently
being investigated bythe Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
From Ngige’sresponse to the National Chairman’s executive order,
discerning minds would seethat there is something in this matter beyond
the surface of it.
Extracts fromNgige’s reply to Oshiomole said: “Our National Chairman, I am
in receipt of aletter referenced APC/NHDQ/GEN-S/28/018/003 dated July 11,
2018, which was sentfrom your Office and received by me on July 12, 2018.
“Ordinarily Iwould not believe the letter was from you except for the
barrage of mediastatements that came before I saw the letter. I read the
contents of thisletter with both amazement and utter disbelief.
“Firstly, it isnot true that I did refuse/neglect to inaugurate members of
the re-constitutedboards of parastatals and agencies under the supervision
of my ministry asalleged in your letter. The Federal Ministry of Labour
and Employment has fourparastatals namely – the Nigeria Social Insurance
Trust Fund (NSITF), NationalDirectorate of Employment (NDE), National
Productivity Centre (NPC), andMichael Imoudu Institute for Labour Studies
(MINILS). Boards of the latterthree agencies have been re-constituted and
members were inaugurated on March8, 2018, in conformity with a
presidential directive.’’
“I am sorry thatI will be unable to accede to your ‘directives’ to
inaugurate all the boardswithin one week as the ministry had already
inaugurated the aforementionedthree boards but will in this case of the
NSITF adhere to the work plan on theNSITF as approved by the president who
is the head of the government of theFederation.’’
Remarkably assaid by the Minister, “I am not oblivious of the fact that
you are a veryinterested party in the matter because having served as
chairman of the NSITFboard, before the last board and as a former Nigeria
Labour Congress (NLC)president, you would be interested in the tripartite
colouration of the boardbeing maintained more so as labour still remains
your base constituency.”
“TheAdministrative and Financial Panel of Enquiry has just concluded its
work andpresented its report. The board will be in place very soon in
order to assistthe implementation committee that is being put in place by
the ministry toeffect the various policy recommendations that are aimed at
sanitizing theagency and strengthening the very weak Internal Audit System
that allowed N5billion to be taken out of this organisation in one single
day withoutvoucher(s)
Can Oshiomoleclaim ignorance of the fact as explained by the Labour
minister that all thethree other boards under the ministry are currently
operational, except that ofthe NSITF, which before the order from the APC
chairman, had been enmeshed inmajor issues of corruption, involving about
N48 billion, comprising federalgovernment and employers’ contributions to
the employees’ compensation fundplus some non-remitted PAYE taxes, which
were carted away through wellperfected sleaze operation?
If APC is stillserious with itself, the party should seriously re-educate
it’s new NationalChairman on non- caustic engagements. Tell him that being
cantankerous is onlyan insignificant part of his new assignment. The job
requires more of brainwork and tact in friendly engagement than dambe
wrestling. God bless Nigeria!
IFEANYI IZEZE writes from Abuja: iizeze@yahoo.com;234-