The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday said there was no man of honour, who left the Peoples Democratic Party because of its alleged crimes against the nation, that would want to return to the opposition party.
He insisted that he was not losing sleep over the emergence of a faction of the party called Reformed-APC.
Oshiomhole, who spoke in an interview with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, commented on the alleged plan by the R-APC members to leave the APC on Thursday.
He said no matter their irritations in the ruling party, no aggrieved member should be thinking of returning to the PDP.
He said, “No, I am not losing sleep. I am sleeping very well. I still maintain that I don’t see any man of honour who with his eyes open left the PDP on the account of their gross mismanagement, abuse of the treasury and all of the crimes that the PDP committed; I don’t see them, whatever their irritations, that can be justifications, to return to that house.
“All we need to do is to play back their own tape about what the PDP represents and why they left. I still hold the view that you cannot vomit in the morning and convert it to lunch in the afternoon, if you have honour. That position still remains the same.”
Despite his position, Oshiomhole explained that the party could distinguish between those who had genuine complaints and those he described as mercenaries.
He said the party would try and listen to those with genuine grievances but would not change its core values to accommodate the mercenaries who he said were after personal issues.
He said he would not lose his sleep because of people who he claimed could not deliver their unit during elections.
He however did not disclose those who fall under the two categories of mercenaries and those with genuine complaints.
Oshiomhole said, “I have made this point clear that we can distinguish the mercenaries from those who genuinely have complaints. Our business as party leaders is to try and manage, listen and find solutions to those who have verifiable complaints.
“But those who are permanent mercenaries and are in this business for personal issues, there is not much we can do about that and we are not going to change the core values of the party in order to retain them.
“So, let me reinstate, we remain committed and I have said so in my acceptance speech when I was elected, that we acknowledge the fact that there are people with genuine complaints. For such people, we are ready to listen and act on the basis of justice, fairness, no arrogance and exclusion. I remain committed to those.
“However, on principle, I do not deal with political mercenaries, that remains my position. I will not miss my sleep because a lot of these guys cannot on a good day deliver their units.
“We have the records that tell us who won elections where. I am a tested fighter. I fought them from Edo from zero- zero and I overcame their most powerful godfathers.
“So, I know what I am talking about. I speak from experience and I will talk, negotiate and persuade but there are core principles that are not negotiable.”
Punch
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