The state image makers of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) under the aegis of the Conference of APC State Publicity Secretaries (CAPS) yesterday moved against the party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Timi Frank. They berated him for “the serial unguarded utterances,” saying that he “for similar conducts and utterances in the past has found it difficult to automatically step into the big shoes of Alhaji Mohammed.”

CAPS pointedly told Mr Frank that he is not the APC Spokesman and warned him to desist from parading himself as such. The group spoke via a statement signed by Hon. Auwal Jalla Aliyu, North East; Engr. Yahaya Bashir, North West; Mr. Sola Lawal, South West; Hon. Fortune Panebi, South South; Engr. Usaman Adaji, North Central; Arc. Okelo Madukaife, South East, Secretary; and Engr. Joe Igbokwe, Chairman.

CAPS said in the statement: “We note that our deliberate long room and diplomatic overtures, since this matter came to the fore was methodical and deliberate, with clear intent to allow a self-correction. Yet, Mr. Frank, buoyed by whatever false sense of security he enjoys from those intent on causing disaffection with our great party has acted out of tact.

“We state without equivocation that only the National Chairman of our party and the National Publicity Secretary can speak for our party at the national level, and such applies mutatis mutandis for all other levels of the party.

“We note also that Mr. Frank is not the National Publicity Secretary of our party which position is vacant now.

“In the circumstance, our National Chairman Chief Odigie Oyegun is the only person authorised by our constitution to speak for the party, until a new National Publicity Secretary is elected.

“Therefore the counter statement issued today is not only unauthorised and one irresponsibility too many, but completely unacceptable to us.

“As an organisation of image makers whose product and stock-in-trade is the good name of our great party, we will not fold our arms and watch Mr. Frank destroy what has been erected by us in the years gone by, for lack of recourse to the due process, for which our party is reputed.

“We warn Mr. Frank and all his sponsors to desist from the issuance of his unauthorised statements as the era after this statement will definitely not be the same as that before it.

“We endorse the statement on the position of the party given on the trial of Senator Bukola Saraki, to the exclusion of any other statement and urge all to discountenance the condemnable comments from Timi Frank on the foregoing.

“Notwithstanding this official position, should Mr. Timi Frank feel aggrieved in any way regarding this, our party structure and constitution provides enough room for redress which to our knowledge has not been explored.

“Conversely we advise our National Leadership to take steps to elect a new National Publicity Secretary to speak for our party, giving all who are qualified a chance to compete.”

•Photo shows embattled APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Timi Frank.