Tinubu Appointed His Cronies To APC Exco –Ikimi

Ahmed Tinubu 

The estranged pioneer member of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Tom Ikimi, has attributed his problems with the party to the tyrannical approach to leadership of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, whom he said threatened “fire and brimstone” if the former Edo State governor, John Odigie-Oyegun, did not emerge as the APC national chairman.

Describing the power the former governor of Lagos State wields in the APC, Ikimi said, “Former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu operated as the core of one of these caucuses whose membership varied from time to time within the realms of his whims and caprice.



“We on our part have not yet gained national power so we cannot say for certain what we will do should we win the Presidency but in my projection, from current experiences, indicates a rather frightening prospect.

May the good Lord spare us the regime of any tyrant.”

Ikimi, a former Foreign Affairs minister, said in statement on his personal letterhead paper on Wednesday, said Tinubu had turned the opposition party into a private property and that some stalwarts of the APC were willing to accede to his whims, which eventually turned the party’s convention last week to a “charade”.

The APC chief, who holds the title of Akinrogun of Ife, added that the party’s governors colluded with the former Lagos State governor to truncate democratic process in the last convention.

Ikimi said, “The Governors and the Tinubu groups decided on a zoning process that was limited only to party offices as well as the choice of individuals to fill them. They proceeded in a manner that was neither open nor transparent. Most undemocratic and bizarre procedures then prevailed.

“The governors initiated a zoning plan that allocated the national chairman to the South-South. This proposal was reluctantly accepted by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, whose well-known preferred option had been to retain Chief Bisi Akande as Chairman forever. Nevertheless, he in the circumstance proceeded to draw up a list of his cronies for the entire National Executive all by himself. Very strange as this may sound, it was the reality.

Nothing was ever referred to the National Interim Executive Council for approval or even information.

“This rather illegal and most undemocratic process ended up ceding the position of National Chairman as well as a number of other key offices to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to nominate the beneficiaries.


“I am now aware of the background horse trading that occurred within the ranks of the governors that resulted in the national chairmanship being zoned to the South-South.”


In a related development, Protesting youths  Wednesday took over the venue of the inauguration of the newly elected national executives officers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja for more than 30 minutes protesting against the choice of the youth leader.

This was  as   one of the contestants for the office of the chairmanship of the party, Chief Tom Ikimi and a former governor of Borno state, Senator Modu Sheriff   were   absent  during the ceremony.

Just before the ceremony was to kick-off, protesting youths stormed the Sheraton Hotel, venue of the event in their numbers  wearing a T-shirt carrying his photograph of the controversial youth leader, . Mr. Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo.

For more than 30 minutes the national leaders of the party, including General Mohammadu Buhari were held hostage while the inauguration programme  was partially disrupted as two different group of youths suspected to be supporters of the national youth leader clashed with supporters of another youth group who  were  opposed to  his election.