Members of the Adams Oshiomhole camp of the dissolved National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have accepted to work with the caretaker committee constituted by the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The camp had after the dissolution of the NWC and constitution of the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led committee threatened to take legal action over the matter.
Daily Trust on Saturday reports that the battle for the soul of the APC has been between the camps of Oshiomhole and that of Victor Giadom.
The Oshiomhole camp is populated by loyalists of the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The Giadom camp has the backing of Governor Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti State), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), and Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, among others.
The anti-Tinubu camp (Giadom) had immediately after the NEC meeting on Thursday backed the resolution. It was the camp that summoned the NEC meeting.
Many members of the pro-Tinubu camp told Daily Trust that they were no longer seeking legal action. A leader of the camp who does not want to be named said they had accepted the decision of the NEC and would work with the caretaker committee for it to reposition the party.
“As stated in our statement yesterday (Thursday), we have consulted with all key stakeholders in our party. A collective statement will be issued soon to bring this matter to closure.
“We have all agreed to rally behind the president, all of us have also accepted the decision of NEC and we will all work with the caretaker committee in organising, repositioning and preparing our party for the convention within this six months mandate that was given.
“We will work together as a family for the unity of the party so that all negative noises that led to this decision can be put to an end so that Mr. President will have peace of mind to focus on good governance for the benefit of all,” he said.
The party chieftain added…”The issue of litigation is out of it as we have agreed to cooperate with the caretaker committee as members of the party and not as NWC members. All of us are on the same page that we should accept the authority and decision of President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Why I decided to support NEC’s decision – Issa-Onilu
A member of the camp, the immediate past National Publicity Secretary, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, has openly declared support for the Buni committee.
Issa-Onilu, however, said his decision to back President Buhari was taken in his personal capacity and not for anyone or group.
He said: “President Buhari along with the NEC of our great party, the APC on Thursday dissolved the Party’s NWC.
“I was not just a proud member of that organ, I was also the spokesman of the party. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to serve under the governing party of a government led by President Buhari.
“However, by this statement, I am speaking in my personal capacity and not for anyone or group. I have reflected on the events of the past few days and the outcome of Thursday’s NEC meeting and as a party man, I declare my support for the actions taken by Mr President.
“Like the president said, the party was ominously hanging on a cliff and as expected, something had to give way because the APC could not have continued along that obvious path of destruction,” he said.
A former National Disable Leader of the party, Mushibau Lawan Didi, has also backed the decision. Didi, who spoke yesterday, declared support for Governor Buni-led committee.
He congratulated Buni and all members of the APC caretaker committee and pledged his loyalty to the government and the party.
He said: “As former member of NWC, we have no option rather than to respect the will of our president, the will our leaders. As s law abiding party man, I accepted wholeheartedly the decision of the Mr President and our leaders of the party.”
Govs pay thank-you visit to Buhari
The chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) and Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, has said that the purported plan by some members of the sacked NWC to go to court was a creation of media reports.
Governor Bagudu said this yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, after a thank-you visit to President Buhari on the decision taken at the NEC meeting.
He was accompanied by Governors; Buni (Yobe) State; Fayemi (Ekiti); Yahaya Bello (Kogi) and Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger) who is a member of the caretaker committee.
Bagudu said: “Media says a lot of things, but Mr President is very clear that he received due legal advice and remember, before the 2019 primaries, Mr President demonstrated to everyone in this country that he will never sacrifice due process for expediency.
“Even when it was convenient to extend the tenure of the then executive so that we don’t have a convention and primary at the same time, Mr President said no, no matter how tough it is, we are going to do the correct legal thing. So, Mr President will never do anything which the constitutional provision of party, talk less of the country, does not allow him to do.”
Bagudu said the visit was also used to introduce Buni to Mr President, lauded the feedback received after the NEC meeting and the gains of the administration so far in the effort to fix the economy, stop the spread coronavirus pandemic, secure the nation, feed the citizens, and promote accountability.
Asked about the reaction of the president, he said: “He (President Buhari) is happy that at last we have one less distraction because Mr President is conscious of the mandate given to him by Nigerians and even though he bothers a lot about his party, but what dominates his daily action are economy, security, transparency and the progress of Nigeria. So, he is very happy.”
Expel any member who goes to court—Lukman
Meanwhile, the Director General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Salihu Moh. Lukman, has advised the Buni-led committee to activate the relevant constitutional provisions to expel any member of the sacked NWC who challenges the dissolution in court.
Lukman said the committee should not encourage the excesses of party leaders who might want to depart from Thursday’s resolutions of the NEC.
“With the NEC successfully held, has the crisis been resolved? No, but at least it can be said the ugly period is over. To the extent that we have a Convention Working Committee that will manage the party for a period of six months and organise a national convention to elect a new leadership, it can be said that the crisis will be resolved.
“Given that a section of the dissolved NWC is threatening legal action against the decision of the NEC, what does this mean? It simply means that a section of the dissolved NWC is working against the party. Perhaps the Convention Working Committee should consider invoking provisions of Article 21: Discipline of Party Members of the APC constitution by taking advantage of the now discovered micro-powers of ward leaders. Based on that, members of the dissolved NWC who attempt to institute legal actions against the decisions of NEC should be appropriately sanctioned.
“It is the responsibility of the Convention Working Committee to ensure that all the rascally conducts of party leaders that characterised the APC leadership conflict are brought under control. We should on no account tolerate conduct of any leader of the party, which makes them more associated with activities of bandits who don’t respect any rule or any leader,” Lukman said.
Uneasy calm in Tinubu camp
There is uneasy calm in the camp of the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over the decision to dissolve the NWC an appoint a caretaker committee to oversee the affairs of the party.
There has been apprehension in the camp of the APC leader over alleged plot to sideline him and weaken his hold on the party.
Asiwaju is believed to have strong preference for Oshiomhole. Tinubu had some time in March when plot thickened to oust Oshiomhole issued a statement saying the attempt to remove the national chairman was unwarranted.
He said at the time that removing Oshiomhole whom he said had toiled hard for the party would be an act of “ingratitude.”
Tinubu also lashed out at those fuelling the crisis because of the 2023 ambition, accusing them of being afflicted with malady worse than the raging coronavirus.
He said Oshiomhole had “been a tireless campaigner and mobilizer for the party.”
“He has steered the party through difficult elections. His contributions should not be undervalued now that the bulk of elections are behind us. To do so would be an act of ingratitude,” he said.
But with Oshiomhole out of the calculation, there are insinuations that Tinubu might have lost out in the bid to control the party at the national level ahead of the 2023 electioneering.
The constitution of the caretaker committee was however seen as a mixed bag of relief for Asiwaju.
But within his camp, there are some of his supporters who expressed discomfort over the development, warning Tinubu to begin to explore a plan B if he wants to have a shot in the 2023 presidency.
At the time of filing this report, Tinubu had not reacted to the developments in the party.
He was expected to make his position known on Thursday but for the death of the party’s deputy national chairman and former Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
When contacted yesterday, his media aide, Mr. Tunde Rahman, said he would make his position known soon.
A chieftain of the APC in the state said members of the party had kept their fingers crossed awaiting the direction the party leader would go.
