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With the difficulty in controlling Oshiomhole and the party machinery, governors and APC leaders eyeing the presidential ticket or scheming to be Vice President have decided to defy Buhari’s plea that it is too early for politicking. Without knowing that Oshiomhole does not take instructions from anyone, some of the governors had concluded that Oshiomhole will do the bidding of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and offer him the 2023 presidential ticket of the party on a platter of gold. This fear of the unknown has fueled the gang up by some governors.
The first hint emerged at their session with Buhari on December 5, 2019. It was gathered that Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum’s disclosures at the meeting at Aso Villa shocked the president.
A top source said: “The anti-Oshiomhole governors had sought audience with Buhari without telling their colleagues of their intention. They were out to rein him in at all cost on December 5.
“They made sure that the pro-Oshiomhole governors got the notice “very late” which will make it impossible for them to attend.
“In fact, some APC governors were not informed in line with their agenda.”
“But following a tip off by a highly-placed source, Governors Gboyega Oyetola (Osun); Dapo Abiodun (Ogun); Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); and Zulum (Borno) were able to attend the session with Buhari.”
“The first shock the governors got from Buhari was when he asked them why they wanted to see him. The anti-Oshiomhole governors had told their colleagues that Buhari wanted to meet with them.
“Surprisingly, Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and others informed the President that the session was about developments in the party and why they had decided to ask Oshiomhole to resign.
“Following this disclosure, Zulum blurted out: ‘Mr. President, we were told you wanted to compare notes with us, we were not aware that some of us requested for this audience. We have never met anywhere where we agreed to ask Oshiomhole to resign.”
The source also quoted the Borno governor as saying: “Mr. President, you see all these governors seeking the removal of Oshiomhole are doing so because they are aspiring to be President in 2023. This is why they are calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it. Must we destroy the party because of presidential ambition? I think we should be careful.
“I believe our National Chairman is a fair and equitable leader. I have never met him, yet he allowed due process in the party which made me to emerge as the governorship candidate of the APC in Borno State. He knew me during the presidential campaign in our state. He has never asked me for a favour.”
It was gathered that a pin drop silence greeted Zulum’s submissions which were backed up by Oyetola, Abiodun and Sanwo-Olu leading to the President stepping out.
“The anti-Oshiomhole governors were glued to their seats as Buhari left,” the source added. Our investigations reveal that a surprised Zulum received “follow up” telephone calls from some of the governors against Oshiomhole.
He reportedly told one of them: “I know what I am doing, I am not running anybody’s errand. I am not only a PhD holder, I am a professor. Having attained professorial level, I am knowledgeable enough to know the right thing.”