Embattled from within because of its diverse and contending power blocs, having a resurging Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contend with, the All Progressives Congress (APC) appears ready to pit its house in order.
And it is starting with Kogi State, where a bitter war of attrition between its bullish Senator, Dino Melaye, and young Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, is tearing the party apart at the seams.
The APC has been unable, according to political analysts, to hold its much postponed non-election convention because of its internal battles that have pitched leaders against themselves.
The party’s national leadership’s predicament, one APC watcher confided, was worsened by President Buhari’s indisposition and medical vacation, because his presence at the proposed convention was needed to neutralise rampaging power blocs.
Worse, the Supreme Court’s collateral comment, in its judgement in resolving the Peoples Democratic Party’s leadership tussle, that a convention had the power to do and undo, rattled the APC leadership which feared the convention could be used to unseat it.
Meantime, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun on Monday inaugurated a seven-member reconciliation committee for the Party’s Kogi State Chapter at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja.
The seven-member committee, according to a statement, is chaired by Gen. Idris Garba. Other members are: Chief Don Etiebet; Rt. Hon. Patricia Etteh; Grp. Capt. Rufai Garba; Alh. Umar Lawan Kareto; Grp. Capt. Joe Orji and the Party’s Deputy National Secretary, Hon. Victor Giadom (Secretary).
At the inauguration ceremony, the APC National Chairman thanked members of the reconciliation committee for agreeing to serve the Party. He said the Party’s leadership wanted peace and settlement in Kogi state chapter of the Party.
He said: “The situation in Kogi is unique. And we want to give every possible opportunity for a settlement. What triggered the events in Kogi was very tragic in their nature. So for us as a Party, we are bending over backwards to say, yes we understand your feelings; we understand what you have been through; we understand the work that you have put in to get the APC elected; we understand also that God who disposes of power, brought somebody at the last minute to be the beneficiary of all the work and labour that everybody obviously has put in.
“So we are bending over backward and we have assembled this very top-level team so that those on the ground there will see that we mean everything we say when we say we want peace in Kogi state. So your responsibility is a very great one.
“Fortunately, we had a fact-finding committee that has done a lot of the basic work and submitted a report which will be made available to the reconciliation committee. We know the principal parties in the various groups in Kogi; we know what their grievances are. So the issue now is really to call just the principal groups and say look, this has to stop, how do we go about it? The governor ofcourse will be there to say his piece and give you all the assistance necessary to make your task successful.
“We want peace in Kogi state. Events there have been very very unusual. But like I said, given the emotive nature of the event that led to it, we have decided to stretch the opportunities for reaching peace.”
The APC Kogi State reconciliation committee chairman, Gen. Idris Garba, thanked the Party for selecting the committee members for the assignment. He expressed the resolve of the committee to bring peace and settlement to the Party’s Kogi State Chapter.
He said: “There is no doubt that it is an onerous task. But we are committed people and believe bringing our experiences to bear on the issue, we will be able to resolve the issue as directed by our great party. I want to assure the National Chairman that we will put in everything possible to succeed in the task given to us.”
