The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has announced his decision not to seek re-election in the June 23rd National Convention of the party.
Odigie-Oyegun said this while speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Friday.
He explained that his decision was informed by his genuine love for the party and the need for it to reposition and be better prepared to face the 2019 elections.
The chairman said, “Even though, I had the desire to recontest as National Chairman of the party, I have decided that it is ultimately in the best interest of the party for me to withdraw from the race.”
Odigie-Oyegun explained that he, like most party members, felt it was better to allow the current party executives at all levels to continue in office.
This, he said, could have possibly staved off the current level of discord which followed the recently concluded party primaries.
He, however, admitted that if the decision of the party’s National Executive Committee on tenure elongation was allowed to stand, it would have amounted to postponing the evil day.
Odigie-Oyegun said, “If this decision (tenure elongation) was sustained, we probably have achieved our objective. But we would only have succeeded also in postponing the evil days as it were.
“In retrospect, I am inclined to agree with the viewpoint that even a young political party as ours need to be subjected to the crucible of these contestations, which in any case, is the hallmark of progressive politics.
“In the end, even as difficult as the situation may appear at the beginning, the experience we would draw from managing the contesting interests, can only help to make our party stronger and more resilient.”
He said although he was bowing out of the race, he would remain in office till his tenure officially ends on Monday 25th June, when a new set of party executives will be inaugurated.
