The method of getting rid of a national chairman isn't done on newspapers - Oyegun tells Tinubu

The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, John Oyegun, has reacted to the call by a former Lagos governor and a leader of the party, Ahmed Tinubu, that he should resign.

Mr. Oyegun said the national chairman of a party cannot be removed on the pages of newspapers.

He said Mr. Tinubu’s letter accusing him of highhandedness and being a mole in the party, was a “bit too harsh”, but said the two politicians merely had a “difference of opinion”.

Mr. Tinubu came down hard on Mr. Oyegun in a lengthy statement last week, accusing the party chairman of betrayal and fraud.

“Evidently, some errant members believe promises and vows are mere words to be easily spoken and more easily broken.

READ: Crisis in APC: Oyegun MUST resign - Tinubu

“Chairman John Oyegun has breached these good pledges in a most overt and brazen display,” Mr. Tinubu said. “In doing so, Oyegun has dealt a heavy blow to the very party he professes to lead. It is an awful parent who suffocates his own child for the sake of a few naira.”

Mr. Oyegun responded on Tuesday at the presidential villa after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The method of getting rid of a national chairman if that is what I will call it, are spelt out in the constitution. They don’t take place on the pages of newspapers,” Mr. Oyegun told journalists.

He however insisted that there was no rift with Mr. Tinubu.

“We have differences of opinion, differences of perception and I think that is normal. Yes, I agree that the nature of the statement was a bit harsh,” he said.

Asked whether the party would reverse its decision on the Ondo election primaries, since it was causing crisis in the party, Mr. Oyegun said, “It is only INEC that can make U-turn on Ondo”.