He dispelled a media report suggesting an "internal strife" in the party and a move to "ease" him out of office. Below is the excerpts from the media chat:
I have been APC National Chairman for how long now? Going to two years, and it has been a very intense period building the party and a very intense period putting government together up to this point. All that has happened is that I think I deserve a bit of a break and that will start effective Monday.
In my absence, the party's Deputy National Chairman (South), Engr. Segun Oni will cover my beat. It is that simple, it is that straightforward. Any speculation about not being in the office is of no consequence.
On Tuesday I was down with malaria, I managed on Wednesday to attend that crucial meeting at the presidency, yesterday (Thursday) I had to go to the hospital just to be sure and today I am at work, full stop. So please, please, please I know the press is supposed to be imaginative and steer the news but not when there is really nothing to steer. It is that simple.
How long is the break?
Ten working days (two weeks). So if you start counting from Monday, you should know when I'll be back. The meeting on Wednesday bothered on such important national issues, chairman or no chairman position has nothing to do with such serious national issues of national importance, which a very serious and select group like that was put together to address so nothing as mundane as whether the future of the chairman is in doubt or not.
On reported apologies by a party leader at Wednesday's meeting at the presidency
As a matter of fact it was most funny that whilst the meeting was on, the social media was already agog with exactly what you just mentioned and somebody read it to us right at the meeting and everyone had a good laugh and that was the end of the matter. Like I said there are serious issues of national importance and that group is one of the most select in the party. It is a group that brings all aspects of government and party at the highest level together so you can infact guess the kind of things that they will be addressing not things as mundane as who is apologizing to who. When eventually some of the issues reach the stage that we have answers, we do not want to call the press and say look, we have these questions and we are trying to work out answers. We'll work on the answers and at the proper time the appropriate person will brief the press.
When will the APC Board of Trustees be constituted?
The Board of Trustees will be meeting on the 22nd of March the day before the National Caucus will be meeting and the NEC of the party will be meeting on the 24th.
Will there be replacement of officers at NEC?
The constitution provides the methodology for that and we have to have congresses all over in the interim to fill these vacancies. And the issue that was raised about filling the vacancy left by the exit of Lai Mohammed. You can understand the problem of replacing a man of the performance level of Lai Mohammed so we are still looking. If any of you are very interested you let us know so long as you can match the performance of Lai Mohammed.
It's been almost 9 months since the APC took over government at the federal level, when are Nigerians seeing results?
I do not see how anybody can give you a date but very very soon. I have no doubts at all. The president knows what our national issues are, he knows that a lot of it has international connotations. A group of the World is fighting to be the most highly industrialized. China wants cheap oil because it's a manufacturing hub, India wants cheap oil and a lot of other countries want cheap oil which of course is contrary to our own interest because we want good prices for oil so that we can carry on with our own national development plans. So that is only the tip of the iceberg of what Mr president is doing, trying to talk to those who have an impact in rearranging the international economic realities to change some of the current dynamics that is making oil collapse in such a precipitate manner.
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