APC reconciliation committee submits report, says ‘more members still aggrieved’
The National Reconciliation Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said it has received 47 petitions from members since its appointment about three months ago.
The committee stated this while submitting its interim report to the National leader of the party in Abuja on Monday.
After an attempt under the Adams Oshiomhole tenure, the APC reconstituted a nine-member committee chaired by Abdullahi Adamu, a senator, in September 2021, to appease aggrieved members across the country and reposition the party ahead of the 2023 General Elections.
Mr Adamu said apart from the 47 petitions before the committee, more are being expected from the aggrieved members of the party. He said more members are still aggrieved.
As a result of this, he said ”his team cannot be absolute that they have flawlessly delivered their mandate to the party and hinged their assessment on the final decision of the caretaker committee.”
“We have submitted our interim report. Like we said when presenting the report, that there is still work to be done. Reconciliation is a work in progress. And we cannot pretend that we have taken care of every little thing that has come before us. But by the time the final report is ready, then we will be able to give you the actual report.
“I said until we get the final report from the national secretariat we cannot say success until they declare our work successful. We cannot declare our own work successful. We will be more deceitful if we do so,” Mr Adamu said while answering questions from journalists.
Aside from addressing disputes in some state chapters of the APC, the panel was asked to reconcile members of the chapters where the party has been polarised, notably in Ogun, Osun, Gombe, Kwara, among others.
While the team can count the reconciliation of governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, and Danjuma Goje, a former governor of the state and a serving senator as a major win, there is still conflict among members loyal to one leader or another in Ogun, Osun and others.
Mr Buni, in his address read while the interim report was being received by a former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, promised that the party will look at the report and implement their recommendations where applicable.
“The great achievements the party has recorded in reconciling the differences among our stakeholders in Gombe, Ogun, Kwara, and many other states have justified the confidence the party has in your individual and collective capacities. You have truly done us proud.
“I wish to assure you that the Caretaker Committee will carefully study the report and implement the same to improve the unity and strength of the party,” Mr Buni said.
It will be recalled that true reconciliation was one of the key promises of the Yobe State governor when he was appointed to lead the party in June 2020, following the dissolution of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) under Mr Oshiomhole.
The inability of Mr Oshiomhole to ensure reconciliation of warring members was one of reasons he was removed.
The submission of the report of the reconciliation committee is one of the activities scheduled by the party in preparation of its February 26 national convention.
