The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) John Odigie-Oyegun, has averred that the crisis rocking the ruling party over the issues of tenure elongation for the leadership at all levels of the party has been ” completely and totally” resolved.
The chairman said this while addressing reporters after a close- door meeting with the APC governors at the party’s secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday, stressing that the party’s leadership is back as “one strong united party, strongly behind President Muhammadu Buhari and strongly behind the executive members at the state level.”
The party has been embroiled in a protracted crisis following the decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) to extend the tenure of the National Working Committee (NWC) led by Oyegun and the executive members at the state level by one year during the February NEC meeting.
But in a surprise move during the NEC meeting on March 27, President Buhari declared the tenure elongation as illegal and unconstitutional, adding that the members whose tenures have elapsed, should go for election as the party’s constitution and the 1999 constitution stipulated.
Oyegun’s declaration of support for Buhari follows the decision of the APC governor to back President Buhari on Wednesday after a meeting with the president in Aso Villa.
“Today the governors, the NWC of our party decided to sit and look at the issues that are seemingly dividing us and I want to say to you with absolute satisfaction, absolute pride that all the issues that you have been commenting about in the last two days have been completely and totally resolved.
” We are back in business as one united and happy family”, he said adding that the party is now ” focused and strongly behind President Buhari and strongly behind our party executives in all the states.”
The chairman noted that the 10-man technical committee of the party set up on Tuesday to look into the issues, which is led by Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, will present its report to the NEC meeting on Monday and appropriate decision will then be taken based on their recommendations.
Also speaking to newsmen, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Bolaji Abdullahi, said “the NEC meeting on Monday is essentially to consider the report of the technical committee set up to look at the earlier position taken by NEC against the background of the position subsequently taken by Mr. President.”
He however, noted that the president’s stand is not inconsistent with the party, saying ” what the president has said is that he has been advised that the position taken by the NEC is not consistent with the party’s constitution and the 1999 constitution.”
He said further that the president only wants to be sure that whatever decision the party takes is consistent with the provisions of the law. He added that what informed the meeting with the governors is to reconcile their positions.
“We don’t want to appear as if we are underming the position of the NEC because of the position taken by the president and at the same time to ensure that we give confidence to the president, who is the leader of our party,” he said.
On whether party congresses will now be considered, he said that the position of the NEC is for the NWC members to continue in acting capacity after the expiration of their tenure in June this year, stressing the NEC will act on the report of the Lalong committee.
Some of the governors that attended the meeting include; Yahaya Bello of Kogi state; Rochas Okorocha of Imo state; Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state; Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi state, Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa state among others.
INNOCENT ODOH, Abuja
