Oyegun had recently criticised Oshiomhole for lacking the temperament that is required to run a political party. This was in response to a claim by six South-South APC State Chairmen that Oyegun's past failed leadership was responsible for the party's current crisis. Their claim was a reaction to the call made by the APC's deputy national chairman (north), Lawal Shuaibu, for Oshiomhole to resign because the APC project is failing under him.

In defence of himself, Oyegun had said Oshiomhole lacks the capacity to manage the different interests and tendencies that constitute a political party and accused him of sending people away from the ruling party.

"Rather than seek to bring more people on board, he is chasing people out of the party with his agbero style of engagement," he said in a statement.

However, in a fresh response signed by the APC's national publicity secretary, Lanre Issa-Onilu, the party said Oyegun condoned indiscipline and accommodated impunity by certain party members.

The party said Oyegun's tolerance for political despots in the party gave room for the crisis that resulted in the party failing to live up to the expectations of Nigerians when elected in 2015.

Oshiomhole was elected the APC's national chairman in June 2018 and has clashed with many high-profile members since then, leading to a massive exodus to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2019 general elections.

However, in the statement, the APC said Oyegun's failure to rein in the excesses of some influential members led to the power clash that eventually happened when Oshiomhole assumed leadership.

The statement read, "Let me agree that the NWC that led the party into the 2015 elections and continued till June 2018 did nothing different from what you would find in PDP. It was a period the party was seen as a mere vehicle to attain political office. 

"The system accommodated impunity as certain members appeared to be superior to the party. Their interests were far more important than the collective interests of the APC, even when most times such interests are at variance with the ideals the party stand for.

"You would recall that it was under that leadership that some impudent members of APC called the bluff of the party by imposing themselves on the National Assembly as leaders contrary to the position of the party. Where was the party? Where was the discipline when this happened?

"It would be difficult to calculate what lack of courage to assert the party supremacy cost APC over that period. The consequences of the inaction of the party were unimaginable. We all saw the consequences on governance as the National Assembly practically held our government to ransom.

"The impunity, which President Muhammadu Buhari has rightly described as lack of patriotism, constituted an unfortunate hindrance to the smooth running of government.

"The leadership under Chief Oyegun, with due respect to him, condoned all sorts of acts of indiscipline from certain members. It is not surprising that the current National Working Committee inherited such a huge mess, where the party was struggling to differentiate itself from the delinquent PDP.

"We all know that PDP was practically dead following the devastating defeat of 2015. The PDP bounced back not because the party has changed its insidious way or did anything different, but because APC did not live up to expectations.

"It goes without saying that when an organisation is unable to enforce its own rules, it would suffer the consequences sooner than later.

"We should not be ashamed to say that our party's leadership under Chief Oyegun lacked the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots who could not operate by the party's rules."

Issa-Onilu also described Shuaibu's call for Oshiomhole's resignation as merely an exercise to beat a scape goat.

He said the APC's National Working Committee, under Oshiomhole's leadership, will continue to do its best to institutionalise the best ideals of progressive politics.