Although it says it is on a reconciliation drive across the geopolitical zones to bring back to its fold party members who are still aggrieved over the rancorous congresses/primaries across the country; the decision Wednesday to sack the executive committees (excos) of Imo and Ogun States for fear of being used to work against the party may have worsened the crisis.
In what seems an escalation of the impasse in the ruling APC in Imo and Ogun States, the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) had last Wednesday dissolved the states’ executives, explaining that the NWC of the party was no longer comfortable with the quashed loyalty of the excos.
The National Office of the party had accused Governor Ibikunle Amosun and Rochas Okorocha of Ogun and Imo States, respectively of engaging in anti-party activities.
The Oshiomhole-led NWC had also appointed caretaker committees for both states.
Explaining the development, Lanre Issa-Onilu, national publicity secretary of the party, said: “The two governors and the state excos have publicly expressed the fact that they will support candidates in other parties, in their respective states. So those excos, right from the state to the ward levels are not people we can trust to work honestly for the success of our party in the next election.”
According to Issa-Onilu, “It is within our powers to ensure that we protect the interest of the party and also to activate relevant sections of our constitution which prohibit members from carrying out activities that are inimical to the interest of the party.”
It was also gathered last week that plans were afoot by the party leadership of the party to suspend both Amosun and Okorocha.
Recall that following the disagreement over the outcome of the primaries held in the two states and the decision of the NWC to approve other names than the ones endorsed by Amosun and Okorocha for their individual states, they entered into loggerheads with Oshiomhole.
In Ogun State, for instance, while Amosun favoured Adekunle Akinlade as his successor, Dapo Abiodun was given the ticket in Abuja. This has created a serious division in the Ogun APC causing many of those who were formally APC members to dump the party for the Allied People’s Government (APM).
To show his anger, Amosun had publicly announced that he would work for the success of Akinlade in the governorship polls, whereas he would ensure that President Buhari is returned in 2019.
The governor has since sensitised his supporters, including the traditional rulers in the state, on the voting pattern come 2019.
It is the same scenario in Imo State, where Rochas Okorocha, nursing the wound of a deflated ego, though physically remains in the APC, yet working for the success of his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, who was denied the gubernatorial ticket in Abuja.
Oshiomhole has been in a war of attrition with Okorocha since he refused Nwosu the ticket, favouring a serving Senator, Hope Uzodinma. In anger, the former Chief of Staff to Okorocha dumped the APC and has since picked the gubernatorial ticket of the Action Alliance (AA).
Like Amosun, Okorocha has also vowed to move his machinery in support of his anointed successor (Nwosu), pledging also to work for Buhari’s success.
The NWC believes that it is not convenient for the Imo governor or his Ogun counterpart, Amosun, to “serve two masters” at the same time, hence, its decision to take away the leadership of the party in their states from their control. It has inaugurated a caretaker committee in Imo, the chairman of which is Marcellinus Nlemigbo.
Nlemigbo expressed gratitude to the NWC over the constitution of the caretaker Committee, assuring that they would put in place efforts aimed at reconciling aggrieved members of the party. Other members of the committee are Hon. Ugochukwu Nzekwe, Deputy Chairman; Lady Love Ineh, Secretary; Barr. Enyinna Onuegbu, Hon. Canice Nwachukwu, Josephine Nnorom, Women leader, Paul Para, Linus Ineoha l, Organising Secretary and Nicholas Osuagwu as Zonal Chairman.
Recall that Oshiomhole had recently inaugurated reconciliation committees, saying that members were expected to help the party’s national leadership to “find an in-house solution to the acrimony that followed the party’s primary elections”.
He said that the essence of the committees was to bring about lasting peace in the party ahead of the 2019 general elections.
“Help reconcile those who are aggrieved for whatever reasons; do everything that will help in your wisdom to bring peace in your zone,” Oshiomhole had instructed the panels.
But on December 5, the national chairma had berated Okorocha and Amosun, saying, “Our popularity in Imo and Ogun States is higher. What you don’t know and Nigerians always make me surprise by thinking that once you are a governor, you have electoral value. Yes, we have overwhelming majority of the APC governors with electoral value but we also have others without electoral values, who are pectoral liabilities,” he said.
“I can concretely tell you today that in Imo State, APC will win more votes. As I said, it is about numbers and my focus is on the ordinary Imo electorate because the governor, his Commissioner for Happiness and the son-in-law have only one vote on that day. But those mechanics, market women, school teachers and workers whose salaries are unpaid for years that have the same weight of votes.
“Also, in Ogun State, don’t forget that the vice president is from Ogun State. We cannot focus on one person and not on the other. Ogun is one of the most enlightened states in the country and that is where Chief Awolowo came from. They have a huge history and it is not a political kingdom headed by one person.”
“I believe that if they (governors) were looking for reconciliation or truth, they would not have done what they did (allowing their aides to defect). They already have the mindset that once they don’t get their governor in, nothing is right, it is how democracy works,” he said.
According to him, “Overall, APC is a stronger party now but we should not focus only on APC. Talking of Ogun State, the PDP has two governorship candidates and two deputy governors running yet as we speak, the APC has only one in the person of Dapo Abiodun.”
