The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole has said that the party will not share committee chairmanship positions with the opposition in the ninth National Assembly. 

Oshiomhole stated this on Tuesday while speaking at the dinner hosted by President Muhammadu Buhari for House of Representatives members-elect at the Old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said: “From the lessons we have learnt from what happened in 2015, we are determined that in 2019 we will not repeat those mistakes. We draw the appropriate lessons from those mistakes and we move on.

“If you are elected, it means you are tested and trusted. Out of the 223 APC members elected, about 67 were re-elected, the rest are new members. In other climes, you don’t go into coalition when you are in the majority.

“You do so when you don’t have the numbers. We have the numbers. Out of 306, Nigerians elected 223 APC members because they don’t want Mr. president to face the trauma of 2015.

“Most of those who decamped were rejected and even those who led it were uprooted. We cannot as a party which has a comfortable majority entrust critical committees in the hands of the PDP or opposition.

“If Nigerians wanted them, they could have voted them. In the days of PDP, every committee were chaired by PDP members. We do not need to do business with the devil for us to survive in the ninth Assembly. 

“In African families, we sit down in a closed door to address issues. The good news is that there is a role for everyone. Neither Mr. President nor the party expects the National Assembly to be rubber stamps. 

“Both the re-elected and new members are entitled to heading committees. We have asked our people not to share what belongs to us with other party members. I don’t have apologies against forces of retrogression.”