The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a deeper crisis dimension as national vice chairman of the party (North West), Mallam Salihu Lukman, yesterday dismissed threats of legal action against him by the party’s national secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, over alleged libel.
Lukman stated categorically that he owed Omisore no apology because his remarks during an interview on television were statements that are based on facts.
He had during an AIT programme accused Omisore of mismanaging funds allocated for last year’s Osun governorship campaign and allegedly causing APC defeat in the election.
He further accused the party’s national secretary of further dividing the Osun State chapter of the party and called for his resignation.
Angered by the allegation coming from his fellow member of the APC national working committee, Omisore in a letter written by his lawyers had on Wednesday accused Lukman of defaming during the AIT programme when he alleged that he mismanaged the campaign funds given to him for last year’s governorship election in Osun State.
But in a letter by his lawyers, Lex-Hill City Attorneys, signed by Martins Joseph Esq, the national vice chairman maintained that the national secretary was at liberty to go to court.
Lukman’s lawyers stated: “We write as solicitors to Mr. Salihu Mohammed Lukman (‘our Client’) and on whose instructions we write to acknowledge receipt and to reply to your letter dated 15th March 2023 on behalf of Senator Iyiola Omisore.
“In the said letter, you referred to a statement made by our Client in the course of an interview with African Independent Television (‘AIT’) when he featured as a guest in one of their programmes, Jigsaw, hosted by Mr Gbenga Aruleba, which you alleged to have maligned the character of Senator Iyiola Omisore in his personal and political stature in Osun state and in Nigeria.
“It is the opinion of our client that the statement he issued as a member and national officer of the All Progressives Congress (‘the APC’) is not false, not malicious or made to assassinate the character of your client as you suggested in your letter. The statement was purely a demand by a member of the APC for accountability from its National Secretary.
“Therefore, our client believes that your client does not deserve any apology for the statement as it is within his constitutional rights as a member to demand accountability from a national officer of the APC, which was built on the premise of accountability.”
Responding to Omisore’s letter earlier yesterday, Lukman had said though wrongly dated his lawyer will respond to the threat against him.
In a statement he issued before the letter by his lawyers, Lukman said, “Since Sen. Omisore’s response to the request for accountability is to threaten legal action, I have also instructed my lawyers to respond appropriately to his legal threat.
“I am in receipt of the letter from Lords & Temple, signed by Mr. Oyewole, dated 15th March, 2023 (the letter was actually wrongly dated 15th March 2022).”
The former director general of the Progressive Governors Forum said he was only appealing to both the national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu and Omisore, the national secretary, to demonstrate willingness to make sacrifices to earn the respect and followership of Senators-elect and House of Representatives members-elect.
Lukman said Omisore had sent him abusive messages and asked his lawyer to write a threat letter.
He stated: “I make this appeal respectfully and without any ill-feeling to anyone, including Sen. Omisore. I stand by my position that Sen. Omisore is unable to unite party leaders and members in Osun State, which is responsible for why we lost the election.
“He is opposed to any demand for accountability and is resorting to acts of intimidation to perhaps manipulate processes of appointment into the Asiwaju-led federal government.
“Finally, after 24 years of uninterrupted democracy, we must not shy away from initiatives that will strengthen internal contests within our party, APC. Part of the big challenge of Nigeria’s democracy is that internal contests are being destroyed. As a result, we produced situations where some leaders act as tyrants.
“Anyone who expresses views that are not in harmony with thinking of some leaders is condemned. This attitude is responsible for the destruction of PDP as a party and is gradually being entrenched in our party. There should be conscious effort to call these leaders to order!
“Both as party leaders and Nigerians, we must wake up to the reality that negotiation to form the next APC government under the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu must depart from the conventional approach of allowing leaders to emerge based on individual aspirations. We cannot risk any further complication of entrenchment of the existing religiously lopsided Muslim-Muslim identity of Asiwaju Tinubu and Sen. Shettima. No legal threat should distract us from addressing this challenge.”
