Edo State All Progressives Congress and former national chairman of the party, John Odigie-Oyegun, clashed on Thursday over what the APC claims are outstanding debts allegedly owed by Oyegun.
According Guardian, in a statement, the Edo APC Chairman, Jarrett Tenebe, asserted that Oyegun owes the party N150 million, citing loans and accumulated membership dues spanning several years.
Tenebe, who said the debt was accrued while Oyegun was a member of the party, added that the former national chairman had ignored repeated official demands for repayment.
“The APC in Edo State wishes to inform the general public that, as a law-abiding, people-centred political organisation, we have formally demanded the settlement of debts owed by the National Leader of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), John Odigie-Oyegun,” the statement read.
“Our records also revealed accumulated membership dues which the ADC National Leader refused to pay into the party’s coffers all through the period of his membership of the APC,” Tenebe added. He explained that the public demand became necessary due to Oyegun’s “outright refusal to honour his financial obligations to the party.”
Reacting to the allegations, Odigie-Oyegun dismissed them as unfounded, calling them a sign of panic within the ruling APC.
“People will have a good laugh at that. All I can say is that, as negative as what they are doing is, it finally shows that they now know they have problems with the advent of the ADC,” he said, adding that the allegations reflect growing unease in the APC following the ADC’s emergence as a formidable political force.
“They now know they are in trouble. We are ready for them. Whatever they do, we are ready. They are finally acknowledging that there is a threat to them in Nigeria,” Oyegun stated, accusing the APC of responding to the ADC’s rise with hostility rather than constructive political engagement.
He also criticized the ruling party for bringing Edo State into political disrepute through what he described as “violence, intimidation, and abusive rhetoric.”
Meanwhile, suspected thugs attacked the Edo State secretariat of the ADC in Benin City on Wednesday night, around 8:00 p.m.
Witnesses said the assailants arrived in a white bus and poured what was believed to be fuel around the building.
Thanks to the quick intervention of sympathisers, the building was prevented from being completely razed, although part of the building was gutted by fire and some billboards were pulled down.
Reacting, Edo ADC State Chairman Kennedy Odion, whose party moved into the secretariat only last month, said the attack was not coincidental, noting it came weeks after APC Chairman Jarrett Tenebe threatened to bar opposition in the state.
He called on security agencies to apprehend the attackers and prosecute them to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Confirming the attack, Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, Eno Ikoedem, said suspected hoodlums had invaded the premises and destroyed properties.
