National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, says APC will take action against parties using President Muhammadu Buhari’s photographs for their campaigns.

Oshiomhole said this on ‘The Platform’, a programme on TVC on Saturday while reacting to the crisis in the party’s chapters in Ogun and Imo states.

He said APC would write a letter of complaint to Independent National Electoral Commission on the matter.

Governor of Ogun State, Mr Ibikunle Amosun and his Imo State counterpart, Mr Rochas Okorocha, had said they would continue to support Buhari but would work against governorship candidates of APC in their states.

Both governors were prevented from fielding their preferred candidates in 2019 governorship elections in their states.

Although Amosun has remained in APC, his candidate, Mr Adekunle Akinlade, is contesting on the platform of Allied People’s Movement while Okorocha’s candidate and son-in-law, Mr Uche Nwosu, is contesting on the platform of Action Alliance.

Oshiomhole said, “If there is a person, including a governor, who wants to sell a distorted message, the party will stop him. That is the truth. We have also seen some situations which we are trying to draw the attention of INEC to as regulator of political parties. You cannot have anyone putting the portrait of Mr Buhari as President and his own portrait as the governorship candidate on the platform of a political party that is not known to the people.”

APC chairman also expressed his disgust over the refusal of Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, to step down despite defecting to Peoples Democratic Party.

He maintained that APC remained the dominant party in parliament, but not in control.

Oshiomhole, however, said removing Saraki and Dogara was no longer the priority of the ruling party.

Meanwhile, the newly constituted APC caretaker committee in Ogun State has said it would not join issue with Amosun.

APC National Working Committee had set up the caretaker committee headed by Mr Yemi Sanusi with Mr Ayobami Olubori secretary, and Mr Tunde Oladunjoye named its publicity secretary.

The committee will report directly to NWC led by Oshiomhole.

NWC had sacked the party executives in both Imo and Ogun states for alleged anti-party activities.

Later on Friday, Amosun rejected the caretaker committee and insisted that executive members of the party in the state would complete their four-year tenure.

Oladunjoye in a statement, said both the electoral law and the party constitution recognised only one APC.

According to him, the committee will breathe a new life into the party, promote peace and give its members.

The statement said, “We are all members of the same house under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, we will renew, realign, and rebuild our party for total victory at 2019 polls, by God’s grace”.

Meanwhile, Okorocha has said he does not take the national chairman of APC seriously again.

Okorocha, reacting to statements made against him by Oshiomhole during a rally in Owerri on Friday, said he would not be distracted by Oshiomhole from ensuring victory for Buhari in 2019.

The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Sam Onwuemeodo, insisted that the governorship candidate of APC in the state, Mr Hope Uzodinma, did not have the capacity to garner the kind of support that would make him win the governorship election next year.

There are also indications that the national leadership of APC has been under “intense pressure” to expel Okorocha and Amosun over alleged anti-party activities.

The two governors are believed to be close to Buhari.

A member of NWC of the party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was no way the party would encourage the two governors to work against governorship candidates of APC in their states.

He said, “They are holding the party’s senatorial tickets. They want to hold on to the tickets and use the name of the President to win because they know that the Presidential and the National Assembly elections are to hold the same day.

“After using the goodwill of the President and the party to win, they will now go and mobilise against the party’s governorship candidates in their respective states. We won’t allow that. The best way is to show them the way out.”

Punch