SaharaReporters had last week reported that Lukman said Omisore should resign because his election to the position had caused problems in the Osun chapter of the APC.
The National Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Iyiola Omisore, has accused the North-West Vice Chairman of the party, Salihu Lukman, of libel and demanded payment of the sum of N500million damages, in what appears to be a developing internal crisis.
SaharaReporters had last week reported that Lukman said Omisore should resign because his election to the position had caused problems in the Osun chapter of the APC.
Lukman had also called for the replacement of the national chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, with a Christian to assuage the Bola Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim presidency.
“Unfortunately, rather than serving as a unifying factor for the party leadership in Osun state, Sen. Omisore is more a divisive factor, which may have been responsible for why APC lost the 2022 governorship election to a political mediocre whose only qualification in politics may appear to be comic dancing skill,” Lukman had said.
Meanwhile, Omisore in a letter dated March 15, 2023 and written by his lawyer, Gboyega Oyewole (SAN), said that Lukman’s comment was false and was aimed at maligning his character.
The letter quoted by TheCable stated that “It is clear beyond doubt that your statement and publication was a political ploy with the intent of impugning the reputation and integrity of our client and unjustifiably and unwarrantedly assassinating his character in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public,” Oyewole said in the letter addressed to Lukman.
“Our client has consequently directed us to request for a retraction of your libelous statement and publication and an apology to be published in two major newspapers and several online news outlets not later than 48 hours of the delivery of this letter and also the payment of the sum of N500,000,000 as damages for malicious statement against our client.
“TAKE NOTICE that if you fail to heed the request of our client within 48 hours of the receipt of this letter, we shall be constrained to proceed to the court of law against you for exemplary damages for injurious falsehood and malicious statement made of and concerning our client.”
However, Lukman has not reacted to Omisore’s letter as he reportedly said he would respond appropriately.