I got into politics by accident — Oyegun.

The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has described his foray into politics as “accidental.”

Odigie-Oyegun, who clocked 77 last Friday, said this while speaking in Abuja, weekend.
He said he was tactically co-opted into politics by his late friend who was a general in the military.
He said: “I visited a friend in Ikoyi Hotel, the late General Liene. He said he had a meeting in his house in Benin, but he was in Lagos then and he asked me if I could attend (meeting). I said no. But he told me that, ‘we just want to borrow from your wisdom and benefit from any advice you want to give us.’ So, as his friend, I said okay. So, I went to this meeting. It was held behind his house, not knowing that he had set the big trap for me.

“They were setting up committees. I spoke once or twice on the setting up of committees. They ended up saying that Chief Oyegun would be a member of that committee. In spite of all protests, I finally settled down.
“But I said I would be a back bencher by interacting with them and giving advice.  I would assist with the best of my ability. I was in politics, but not in elective politics at that stage. I was contented to be a back bencher. I didn’t want anything at all. We started during the early IBB days when all associations were established.”
The APC national chairman recalled that he became an aspirant during the period after his rejection of another aspirant who was being sponsored by the opposition.
Odigie-Oyegun, who served from January 1992 to November 1993 as civilian governor of Edo State on the SDP platform before he was removed from office after General Sani Abacha seized power, said the high-point of his political career was reached when his election was annulled.
He said that he knew the election would be annulled because he recalled that a member of the tribunal from Borno State visited him twice.

“Of course, those days, we didn’t think of giving bribe. I didn’t know if that was what went wrong. He came a second time and he started saying: ‘Well, look, whatever way this thing goes, we are sure even if the election would be held again, you will beat Lucky Igbinedion hands down, no fear about that. Whatever may happen, just take it and face it.’ I said: ‘haha! What is going to happen? I put two and two together. I said it was clear that the election would be annulled. It was annulled. But that was why I think that episode as one of my finest moments because the entire country converged and described it very revolting and unacceptable. The chairman of that tribunal had to be smuggled out of Benin. He was virtually rejected by members of his family. So, it was pleasant. The whole state rose up like one man.”
“IBB was in East Africa then. The situation was so charged that he had to cut short his tour. I got my election back. I was reinstated. The rest, as they say, is history.”


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