Mismanaged campaign funds: You deserve no apology, APC Vice Chair replies Omisore

National Vice Chairman, Northwest, of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Salihu Moh. Lukman has dismissed threats of a lawsuit made against him by the National Secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore over alleged claims by the former accusing the party scribe of not accounting for funds deployed for the last governorship election in Osun State.

In a letter by his lawyers, Lex-Hill City Attorneys, signed by Martins Joseph Esq and addressed to Omisore’s lawyers, Lords Temple, Lukman said the party secretary deserves no apology.

The letter reads; “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”.

Needless distraction

Lukman on his part, has described as a needless distraction from the main issues of accountability and inclusive governance, threats by Senator Omisore to slam a defamation suit against him.

Lukman had on Friday said with a Muslim-Muslim presidency of Asíwájú Bola Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima, there was need to ensure religious balancing, adding that the party’s national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu should be replaced with a Christian from the same North Central while Omisore should be replaced with another person from his state, because his emergence had divided the Osun State chapter of the party.

However, in an interview on the Africa Independent Television AlT on Tuesday, 14th March, Lukman allegedly went further to accuse Omisore of mismanaging funds deployed for the last Osun State Governorship election.

“And that is where we are and that is partly what is producing some of the unhealthy development in the party. For instance, Osun State, which is part of the reason why I said the National Secretary has failed, in terms of stabilizing Osun and uniting people. Part of the issue with that is that I am aware the party has given some campaign funds to Osun which was handled by the National Secretary and to some extent, he has either mismanaged it but more importantly, he is not accounting to anybody and you have to activate the process of accountability”, Lukman had allegedly said on the television programme.

Omisore, through his lawyers, ‘Lords Temple’ on Wednesday however wrote Lukman, threatening to institute libel proceedings against him.

To stave off any court action, the party scribe specifically demanded within 48 hours, a retraction of the said libelous statement and an apology to be published in two major newspapers and several online news outlets as well as “the payment of the sum of N500 million as damages for malicious statement against our client”. Vanguard