‘Crisis within APC Anchored by Conflict Entrepreneurs’

Bunmi Ogundare

The Director of Organisation of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Professor Ussiju Medaner, yesterday blamed the crisis within the party across the country on conflict entrepreneurs who are trying to manipulate some party stalwarts to create discord.

Medaner, a guest on The Morning Show AriseTV, was speaking on the backdrop of reconciliation made so far within the party and its plans to hold the February 26 national convention.

He said that these conflict entrepreneurs issue statements on behalf of some party chieftains, adding that the party is reaching out to everybody, to reconcile aggrieved members.

Medaner said: “I don’t think those things exist, but they are been anchored by conflict entrepreneurs. You have seen the interim reports by the interim committee that was submitted on January 31 and when you have something like reconciliation, it is ongoing.”

He said that there are aggrieved members who are not happy with the outcome of the congress within the party, which the conflict entrepreneurs had been trying to exploit.

“There is no cause for alarm within the party. What we have is that there are aggrieved members actually who are not just happy with the outcome of the congress and a party, you need to bring them together and reconcile them.

“The issue of crisis is something that the party manages. Today, I have seen the press release of Kano chapter; the Shekarau faction where they made commitment to the party. 70 per cent of dialogue and discussion have been achieved in the party,” he said.

Medaner said the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) has achieved a lot by conducting world congress successfully in 8,809 wards in 774 local governments, including six area councils in Abuja, adding that the notice of convention has been issued in the media that all the item of preconvention has been achieved.

“So we will give kudos to the CECPC. So, I don’t think we have problems. CECPC have achieved a lot. There was serious crisis such that the party was at the verge of collapsing at that time, but they succeeded in bringing everyone together. It shows that it is the only party in the history of Nigerian politics that conducted registration of members across 120,000 polling units. I think it is an achievement where this kind of thing happened.”

The director of the organisation expressed optimism about the February 26th convention despite the suit filed by some members at the Supreme Court to put it on hold, saying, “you should know the Supreme Court judgment on the legitimacy and legality of the party so there is no way a minority judgment becomes a reference judgment.

“This party will always do things in the interest of the party so everything as I said, election is a process, not an event which has started. Sometimes issues come up; the party must think and do something that will benefit all in the interests in the party. There is no cause of alarm.”