The All Progressives Congress (APC) has advanced reasons why it has yet to issue former President Olusegun Obasanjo the APC membership card.
The APC said it actually refrained from issuing Obasanjo the party’s fresh membership card after a thorough discussion and examination of the events and circumstances surrounding his exit from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The major opposition party said though its leadership was “ecstatic” when Obasanjo left the PDP, its leadership had to allow “wise counsel” to prevail regarding making the former president a member of the APC.
Obasanjo recently dumped the ruling party, tearing his membership card publicly to pre-empt his planned suspension by the Ogun State executive of the PDP.
Last January when the APC presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari; the party’s National Leader, Senator Bola Tinubu and other party leaders met Obasanjo in his Hilltop Presidential Mansion, the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun had assured the former president that the party would continue to retain the membership card it had reserved for him.
But speaking at the 78th birthday celebrations organised for Obasanjo by the Centre for Human Security, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Oyegun said the party would be “demeaning” the former president if it offered him its membership card.
Oyegun explained that immediately after Obasanjo tore his membership card, the APC leadership, which became excited with the development, convened a meeting and wanted to take a decision to issue the former president the party’s membership card but eventually thought otherwise.
The APC national chairman said the matter was exhaustively discussed at the meeting where a conclusion was reached by the party leadership not to go ahead with issuing Obasanjo the APC membership card.
He stated that the decision was taken to shelf the idea of issuing the former president an APC membership card because Obasanjo had become the father of the Nigerian nation whose image had grown beyond that of an individual who should be partisan.
Oyegun added that with his exit from the ruling PDP and his decision to remain a non-partisan statesman, the APC now viewed Obasanjo as attaining the status no other Nigerian had ever got to in the history of the country.
He stressed that the former president had now become icon whose counsel and advice could be sought by all Nigerians regardless of their political party.
