Oshiomhole Reveals Governors Confessed They Were Afraid I’d Push Tinubu On Them

Former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has revealed why some governors were opposed to his continuation as national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Speaking on News Central’s 60 Minutes with Mr Kay, Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North in the National Assembly, said governors directly told him they feared he would impose President Bola Tinubu as the party’s 2023 presidential candidate.

Oshiomhole stated that his tenure as APC chairman was characterized by defending party rules and ensuring free and fair primaries. He emphasized that he could not adopt the political style of others, saying, “I am a labour man and I come from the real democratic foundation where it’s not about your strength but numbers.”

He recalled conflicts with certain governors, including the then-governor of Ogun State, who he said refused to follow National Working Committee rules due to his closeness with the late former President Muhammadu Buhari. Oshiomhole explained that while his committee conducted primaries that produced Dapo Abiodun as governor, the governor in question attempted to conduct separate primaries, which the APC did not recognize.

Oshiomhole added that the governor later supported candidates in another party, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and faced suspension after failing to respond to a party query, in line with APC’s constitution.

He concluded by noting that governors had assured him personally that their concern was not with him, but with the possibility that he might impose Tinubu as the party’s presidential candidate. “What you become in life is not so much of what you pray for, it’s what God has willed for you,” Oshiomhole said.

According to Ireporter Online, the former APC chairman’s remarks provide insight into the internal tensions that shaped the party’s leadership dynamics ahead of the 2023 elections.