The All Progressives Congress (APC) has mocked its former National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, saying he and the National Working Committee (NWC) he led lacked the courage to confront ‘the pockets of political despots’ who refused to operate by the party’s rules.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu stated this in an interview with journalists while reacting to Oyegun’s comments that the party’s incumbent chairman, Adams Oshiomhole was leading the party with the style of a tout.

Citing the 2015 National Assembly saga which saw the emergence of Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Yakubu Dogara as Speaker against the wishes of the APC, the party said Oyegun could not do anything about it until he left office.

Isaa-Onilu said the resultant effect of Oyegun’s lack of courage was widespread indiscipline across party ranks, lack of respect for party supremacy as witnessed in the 8th National Assembly leadership and its overall inability to align the conflicting interests of the parties which merged to form the APC in 2014.

His words: “Let me agree that the NWC that led the party into the 2015 elections and continued till June 2018 did nothing different from what you would find in PDP.

“It was a period the party was seen as a mere vehicle to attain political office. The system accommodated impunity as certain members appeared to be superior to the party.

“Their interests were far more important than the collective interests of the APC, even when most times such interests are at variance with the ideals the party stand for.

“You would recall that it was under that leadership that some impudent members of APC called the bluff of the party by imposing themselves on the National Assembly as leaders contrary to the position of the party. Where was the party?

“Where was the discipline when this happened? It would be difficult to calculate what lack of courage to assert the party supremacy cost APC over that period.

“The consequences of the inaction of the party were unimaginable. We all saw the consequences on governance as the National assembly practically held our government to ransom.

“The impunity, which President Muhammadu Buhari has rightly described as lack of patriotism, constituted an unfortunate hindrance to the smooth running of government.

“The leadership under Chief Oyegun, with due respect to him, condoned all sorts of acts of indiscipline from certain members. It is not surprising that the current National Working Committee inherited such a huge mess, where the party was struggling to differentiate itself from the delinquent PDP.”