The former president said: “As the Chairman and Leader of the party, the buck stops at my desk. Therefore, I should be man enough to accept all the blame and apologize for all that the APC members are going through as a result of the election loss.”

“I am a human being and liable to mistakes. I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart,” the former president said, amidst applause and standing ovation.

The former president went on to say: “Yes, I have to accept the blame because I am the Leader. But you also have to remember where I took this party from.

He recalled that in 2002 when he contested the election, APC parliamentary seats increased from five in 1996 to twenty-seven and that he was praised then as the best Leader and Chairman the party had ever had. He added that in 2007, the APC did not only increase parliamentary seats from 27 to 59, but that the APC also won State House and he was again hailed as the best Leader and Chairman ever.

He lamented however that now that the APC lost the presidential elections, people are calling him all sorts of names like ‘dictator surrounded by sycophants’ among other names, adding that if the APC had won, there would have been no need for a nine-man committee.

“I am appealing to all APC members for bygones to be bygones and for us to think of the bigger picture come 2023. I want to assure all of you that even if I am no longer the Chairman and Leader of this great party, I will always remain APC and will do everything in my reach to return this party to power at the earliest possible time,” the former president told his audience, adding that he is even ready to move from district to district and even in the Diaspora to tender his apologies and say sorry to all APC members and appeal to them to come together and forgive each other.