- He’s dissuading Kwankwaso from defecting – Source
- Saraki, Dogara, Kaka, others advise new Chair
Recently inaugurated National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, apparently buffeted with various crises, especially at the state chapters of the party, may soon begin a tour of the troubled states, to personally restore peace and bring about compromises.
After being offered the party’s topmost job at the June 23 National Convention of the party, in Abuja, Oshiomhole, knowing that the tasks ahead of him were daunting, reportedly told an aide, “We just have to move round, to unite our people.”
Certainly, he (Oshiomhole) is going to resolve the dispute in Kano between Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and that of Governor Abiola Ajimobi and the Communications Minister, Adebayo Shittu. As I am talking to you, he and the other party leaders are talking to Kwankwaso and he will not leave APC
A close aide of Oshiomhole, who would not want his name mentioned, told our correspondent that, “My oga (boss) won’t just sit down in Abuja and be receiving delegations; he wants to go to the concerned states and unite the factions by making the different sides to reach consensus and strike compromises, for the sake of party cohesion and particularly, the 2019 elections.”
The source hinted that while he could not say the number of states that Oshiomhole would cover, he was sure that states like Lagos, Kano, Oyo, and Imo would be in the first set.
He particularly said the new chairman was determined to halt any further defection of party bigwigs, coming after the exit of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is now a presidential aspirant in opposition Peoples Democratic Party.
“Certainly, he is going to resolve the dispute in Kano between Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and that of Governor Abiola Ajimobi and the Communications Minister, Adebayo Shittu.
“As I am talking to you, he and the other party leaders are talking to Kwankwaso and he will not leave APC,” the source informed.
Assuredly, on Oshiomhole’s priority list is the issue of reconciliation, particularly in most state chapters of the party where there were disagreement during the congresses. Of course, he was a witness to the show of shame at the convention grounds in the pavilion of the Delta and Imo states, where the delegates engaged in free for all.
Former National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and his team seemed to have patched up the crisis but appeared not to have addressed most of the issues in states where parallel congresses were conducted before he handed over to the new National Working Committee.
President Muhammadu Buhari, also in his speech at the Convention, acknowledged the post-congresses crises and gave assurance to the APC delegates that all the issues would be amicably resolved.
Buhari, on the occasion, had said, “I want to assure everyone here that despite a few lingering issues with the congresses in some states, our great party will emerge stronger after this Convention. The unresolved cases we have are the price we have to pay for success, as everyone wants to be associated with a winning team. I am imploring all those with grievances to keep faith with the party until we put things right.”
WHAT OSHIOMHOLE SHOULD DO, BY PARTY CHIEFS
Setting the tone for the task ahead of the former comrade-governor, the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of APC, Joe Igbokwe, told The Point that Oshiomhole’s first assignment was to reconcile the aggrieved members of the party and bring about coherence and unity as had been the case before the 2015 general elections.
“I want him to enter a brand new car for APC and drive the car to a safe destination. He should also bring about leadership that will lead the party in the next four years. We have no doubt that he can achieve this with his pedigree as a former Labour leader and governor for eight years. I have no doubt that he is going to succeed. I can trust him beyond mathematics,” Igbokwe enthused.
Also speaking with The Point, former Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Senator Adegbenga Kaka, said Oshiomhole must manage the party in the best way. “First of all, I must congratulate him for emerging through consensus. So I hope he will live up to expectation of the generality of party members and not only that of the power brokers in the party. He should immediately go and settle whatever differences that might have existed in some state chapters; look at the issues critically and bring about unity.
“The ultimate thing he needs to do is to bring the National Assembly and the executive arm to be on the same page, so that they will be able to move the nation forward. He should bring about a strong party. It was because there was no strong party that there was a problem between the executive and legislature whose majority members are from the same party with the President.
“Oshiomhole should bring about party caucus in the National Assembly-where issues are discussed and agreed upon before presented to the National Assembly. In any event, the party should weave all the lapses being encountered together and end them. The party is a growing concern and as much as possible, he should entrench the party’s power.
The ultimate thing he needs to do is to bring the National Assembly and the executive arm to be on the same page, so that they will be able to move the nation forward. He should bring about a strong party
“If I may add, the purpose of all I have said is for the National Chairman along with other National Working Committee members to be a good defender of both the Constitution and the manifesto of the party. If this is not done, the NWC will be subservient to both the legislature and the executive and will not be able to give credence to the supremacy of the party over all members and their interests.”
Former Deputy National Chairman (South) of the party, Mr. Segun Oni, on his part, wants the new chairman to improve on the foundation already laid by the former NWC, saying, “He should learn from our mistakes and achievements by upholding our achievements and correcting our mistakes”
Political Analysts, however, believe that Oshiomhole should bear the responsibility of ensuring that things are put right. He is expected to as a first step go through the reports of the various committees that conducted the controversial primaries and the reports of the appeal panels, political analysts counselled him.
SARAKI, DOGARA OFFER ADVICE
The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, seemed to have set the tone of what is expected of Oshiomhole when they told him about the need to correct the disunity and injustice in the party. Saraki said that as the party looked to the future, the new NWC led by Oshiomhole should look back to 2015 and recall how it won against the then ruling PDP.
The Senate President noted that some important members of the party were absent at the convention and that there was the need to bring everybody back on board, as he noted that the party could replicate the successes of 2015, and that there was also the need for party members to work together as a team.
Saraki acknowledged that there were challenges in the party and that it was the responsibility of the leadership to address them. “There are people who are supposed to be here but are not here today; we need everybody for us to work together. But I have confidence in the new national chairman and I hope he will bring all members together,” he said.
Speaker Dogara urged the new leadership of the APC to ensure that there was justice for the weak and the strong in the party, just as he held onto the fact that there were no challenges that defied solutions, adding that with a deeper search, solutions to all the nation challenges confronting the party and the nation would be found.
He said for APC to make progress and deliver on its promises, there must be unity in the party, which could only be achieved with justice. “We know that President Muhammadu Buhari stands for justice and he stands for the common man and his strength has been the common man. It is, therefore, very important that the leadership of the newly elected executives create equal opportunities for the weak and the strong,” Dogara counselled.
SENATOR ABE TOO…
A governorship aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe, on his part, urged Oshiomhole to help save the party from the act of injustice and disobedience to court rulings. Abe, the senator representing Rivers South-East senatorial district in the National Assembly, expressed the hope that he (Oshiomhole) would use the experience garnered as a labour leader and a two-term governor of a diverse, multi-ethnic and multi-religious state to move the ruling party forward.
He urged him to see his “miraculous emergence” as answer to the prayers of desperate Nigerians who had watched in despair and shock as the ruling party drifted off its core values of justice for all, respect for the rule of law, adherence to internal democracy and due process, “thus becoming become a caricature of the change that we promised; only to pave the way for impunity, disobedience to court orders, violence and self-help.”
“We must thank Nigerians for their faith in our ability to get it right and their patience which has now been justified in the election of Oshiomhole as there is no alternative to the APC in Nigeria. Nigerians expect us to do the right thing and live up to our promises, no matter how inconvenient that may be. Where there is justice and respect for one another, there will be peace.
“Let us give everyone his due so that all members of our great party will be motivated to give their best. I join all party members to thank our out-gone executives for their services and wish them well in their future endeavours. The task ahead of our party is challenging but there is a man for every time and a time for every man. In Oshiomhole and members of the new working committee, this challenging era in the history of our party has found its team and our future is bright indeed,” Abe
admonished.
