Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Adams Oshiomhole has revealed that the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay, was one of those who approached him to contest for the President, wondering his (Sagay) recent attack on him.
Although the Benin born politician did not state the year Sagay approached him to contest for the exalted sea.
Oshiomhole, however said he will not reply Prof. Sagay through the media over series of allegations levelled against him regarding the crisis in the party.
Speaking during an interview with newsmen Tuesday evening in Abuja, the former Edo state governor said he would rather call Sagay on phone or schedule a meeting with him to hear issues he claimed he had with him, saying he decided not to reply him through media because of respect he has for him (Sagay).
Prof. Sagay had accused Oshiomhole of creating more problems for the party with his aggressive attitude, adding that he would personally demand his removal as Party Chairman if Edo State, the only state controlled by the APC in the South-South, was lost to the opposition.
But when asked for his reaction, Oshiomhole insisted that though he had not read what the PACAC chairman said, noting that even if he had read it, he won’t reply through newspapers.
“All I can tell you is that, I have a lot of respect for Professor Itse Sagay. I do remember very well that he was one of those who said I should contest for President. I respect him, he’s a very consistent fellow. He believes in what he believed in and he pays the price for it.
“So, I have a lot of respect for him. If he has said those things, I’m not going to reply him through the newspapers. I will find out what he said and I will find out, call him and know what the issues are, that he’s not comfortable with. He is my brother and my elder Statesman,” Oshiomhole said.
Reacting to criticism of frequent trips abroad by President Muhammadu Buhari, the ruling party National Chairman said the President is yet to match one of his predecessors in visiting foreign lands.
Oshiomhole, who faulted claims of critics cited a book Late Gani Fawehinmi wrote where he calculated the number of days Obasanjo spent in foreign lands during his eight-year tenure.
According to him, “Saying President involves in frequent trips is not correct. I remember very well, there is no President in recent Nigeria’s history, since 1999 till now, that travelled out of Nigeria as much as former President Olusegun Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo did.
“If you check through your newspapers and play back some of your electronic coverages, you will find where Gani Fawehinmi (Of the blessed memory) took time to calculate the number of days President Obasanjo was out of Nigeria, visiting foreign countries.
“He even tried to calculate the number of hours he was spending in air comparing to the number of hours he was spending on Nigeria’s soil. So, how can you, that was already an adult when Obasanjo was President suggest that Buhari travel more often than other person. That is not correct.”
