By Jude Opara, Abuja

Former governor of Ogun state, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun on Wednesday descended very hard on the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Adams Oshiomhole describing him as “a pathological liar who also conducted the worst party primaries in the history of the country.

Amosun was reacting to statements credited to Oshiomhole that he and some other governors in the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) including Dr.

In a statement which was made available to newsmen on Wednesday, Amosun said the claims of Oshiomhole at the public presentation of the book; APC and Transition Politics written by a former National Vice Chairman (North West), Salihu Lukman were nothing but tissues of lies.

“It’s been a struggle since yesterday on what to make of the ‘tales by moonlight’ that Senator Adams Oshiomhole treated the audience of Dr. Salihu Lukman, to at his book launch, “APC and Transition Politics”, in Abuja.

“This apparent struggle was not for want of a proportional response to his deliberate drivel, but because not only was his story fraught with lies, but also because he did not boast the requisite integrity to say the truth.

“Besides, it is not in my character to join issues with people I consider qualified enough to be referred to as both Leaders of our party, APC and of this great country, Nigeria, to which I believe Senator Oshiomhole belongs.”

Amosun further said that he decided to put the records straight because Oshiomhole has the penchant for careless, baseless and unverified claims which is capable of giving wrong signals to members of the public.

“However, given his antecedents and penchant for careless and most times, baseless and unverified public statements, and also considering my duty to the country and the public in particular, it will be uncharitable if I fail to put the records straight.

“What Senator Oshiomhole was alleged to have said, apart from being far from the truth, is a calculated attempt to present water while drinking wine. The Yoruba adage says “if you let a mad man bury his mum the way it pleases him, he could roast her for a meal.” At that point, the community is to blame for his choice.

“Indeed, listening to him yesterday, his utterances represent some inherent inadequacy, which he vented, not just at inauspicious times, but without basis and predicated only on lies to hoodwink the unsuspecting.

“It is not in doubt that I have participated fully in the formation and sustenance of our party, the APC, and I can boldly say that the party under Adams Oshiomhole conducted one of the worst primaries in the history of Nigeria’s contemporary politics and ended up shopping for his own enemies, leading to his eventual removal as Chairman of our party. Nigerians should not be in a hurry to forget the allegations that preceded the conduct of those primaries and his eventual invitation by the Department of State Service, DSS, to clarify certain grave allegations.

“If anyone was in doubt that Senator Oshiomhole posed the biggest and most destructive threat to the existence of the APC at that time, and the party’s best bet was to dispose of a canon folder that he was and unfortunately still is, his utterances and grandstanding yesterday at an occasion to find solutions to our democratic and party challenges, would have cleared such mindset”.

The former Senator equally accused the former Edo state governor of indirectly insulting former President Muhammadu Buhari as well as playing cheap politics or warming himself towards President Bola Tinubu.

“If he wanted to insult our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, he could have come out boldly to do so. But his subtle attempt to pass snide remarks at him failed the simple test of loyalty because the former president also moved from his own party to merge with other like-minds to form the APC.

“Also, if he is seeking favour from the presidency, why not come out and do so? But to tell barefaced lies that, “You are working for your paymaster in Lagos, paymaster in Bourdillon,” is cheap but typical of an individual, who suddenly found himself where he never dreamt of, despite his obvious limitations – education and exposure.”

According to him, Oshiomhole has a tradition of making wild and unsubstantiated comments only for him to offer apologies when confronted with the truth.

He also advised the Edo North senator to rather take stock of his life and know how best to continue to engage constructively in national discussion.

“If the public will remember, soon after Senator Oshiomhole was sworn in as a Senator, he allegedly said members of the 9th Senate had vandalized their offices before leaving, only for him to eat the humble pie and made to apologise later when it was obvious that the allegations were baseless.

“My honest advice to him is to carefully and soberly seat down to take stock of his past so that it will continue to serve as a guide for him in his future public utterances rather than dragging the names of innocent people into a needless controversy because in Africa, age and leadership are associated with wisdom.

“This is also why I have consistently brushed aside and intentionally scoffed at his tongue-in-cheek apology, which he had extended to me several times. I am now convinced it was not genuine” Amosun concluded.