The National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC, led by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, had, on Wednesday, November 21, inaugurated the National Peace and Reconciliation Committee for each of the six geo-political zones in the country, majorly due to cases arising from primary elections.
However, reliable sources told Daily Trust on Sunday that the committees might not be able to alter the decisions the party had already taken on the volatile states, particularly Ogun, Imo and Zamfara, despite the ongoing protests.
In Ogun State, the grieving loyalists of Governor Ibikunle Amosun have insisted on the declaration of the governor’s anointed candidate, Adekunle Akinlade, as the party’s governorship flag-bearer as condition for peace to reign in the party.
They are equally demanding the ceding of 26 House of Assembly tickets to Amosun’s loyalists, who had been “denied” candidates form (CF001) by the national leadership of the APC.
Speaking at the end of the meeting, a member of the panel, Adewale Adenaike, promised to forward their demands to the party for the reconciliation of the aggrieved parties concerned, asking party members to work together in the interest of peace.
In Zamfara State, Governor Abdulaziz Yari said the visit of the APC reconciliation committee would be of no value if its main focus is to look into the controversy surrounding the state’s party primaries.
Governor Yari, who spoke through his special adviser on communication, media and public enlightenment, Alhaji Ibrahim Dosara, said the effort of the committee would not make any difference since they had already filed a suit in a court before the constitution of the peace and reconciliation team.
He said that until the court delivered its verdict on the case, any reconciliation on the state’s party primaries would be an exercise in futility.
“However, if the committee is coming to talk to all aggrieved members to unite and forge ahead so that the forthcoming election would be won, it would be a welcome idea,” he added.
In Kogi State, the grievances of aspirants mainly stemmed from the alleged lack of level playing field and hijack of the primaries’ processes by powers-that-be, in order to allow some preferred candidates to emerge against all odds.
Speaking on the constitution of the reconciliation committee, Mr Adaji, described the move as “belated.”
According to him, “To me, the reconciliation committee is coming belatedly because so many of the aggrieved persons had already left the party while others have gone to court. How would they reconcile with such people now?
“The APC NWC ought to have set up this committee immediately after the kangaroo primaries that took place all over the country,” he said.
On his expectations from the committee, Adaji said, “What I expect from the committee is compensation because this lip service of offering political appointments if the party wins the election will no longer be tenable because of our past experiences.
“Any attempt not to refund the money for these forms, which were sold at exorbitant amounts, would amount to daylight robbery. You cannot rob Peter to pay Paul. We are supposed to benefit from the party and not the other way round,” he said.
The chairman of the APC in Imo State, Dan Nwafor, said the reconciliation would make sense after the restoration of the mandate given to those who won in the primaries conducted by Brig-Gen. Ibrahim Agbabiaka (retd) on October 6, 2018.
Nwafor said, “We are ready for peace, and that peace must come with justice. If the committee is coming to ensure justice, then we will welcome them.
“We are not averse to peaceful resolution of the problems, but it makes no sense if the committee will come, listen to us and at the end, there will be no justice.
“And the justice we are talking about is the restoration of the mandate given to those who won in the primaries conducted by Brig-Gen Ibrahim Agbabiaka on October 6, 2018,” he said.
But Dr Theo Ekechi, the convener of the Imo APC Restoration Coalition, said the major obstacle to the job of the peace and reconciliation committee was the “hard-line posture of Governor Rochas Okorocha.”
Ekechi said, “Much injustice has been done to the people of Imo State. So many wounds have been inflicted on innocent citizens of the state. So many expectations of the people have been dashed. Therefore, the APC has lost so much goodwill in the state by the infighting within the party in the state as a result of the impunity from the governor.
“Basically, if the objectives of the committee are real in trying to reconcile the people of Imo State, the major challenge would be in getting the governor to appreciate that there is the need for peace.
“The major challenge would be bringing him down from that Olympian height where he hung himself. The governor should show some flexibility and understanding.
“Apart from reconciliation, the party has to apologise to Imo people for the trauma they have gone through,” he said.
In Bauchi, two governorship contenders, including Dr. Ibrahim Lame and Captain Bala Jibrin, who spoke on behalf of “Concerned Citizens of Bauchi State” in Abuja recently, said no primaries took place in the state, except the direct presidential primary election, saying Governor Abubakar would not win in 2019.
However, Captain Jibrin expressed hope that the committee would not only do a thorough job but also ensure that justice is done to the aggrieved members. He, however, warned the committees to prepare for grievous consequences in 2019 if they fail to bring genuine reconciliation.
Since the APC in Enugu State conducted its congresses, there have been lingering leadership crisis, which eventually snowballed into the pre-primaries and post-primaries period, leading to two factions.
Speaking with our correspondent, the director-general of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, who contested for the party’s primary for the Enugu West senatorial district, claimed that the result of the primaries was grossly rigged.
“The Electoral Act has provision for substitution of candidates that were rigged in. The basic function of the committee is to review the petitions. And those found to be genuine, the candidates that were illegally brought in, should be substituted with the genuine ones.
“If they don’t do that and they tour the whole country, it will end up being a peace of the graveyard,” Okechukwu said.
In Yobe, Yakubu Mainasara, had, between 2011 and 2015, represented Nangere/Potiskum federal constituency of Yobe State in the House of Representatives.
He vied for the same position during the recent primaries, but was reportedly edged out because of the procedures put in place in selecting the candidate. According to him, “The formation of the reconciliation committee headed by the APC governors is a welcome development but they have to do it fast.
“We are not happy because we were made to cough out millions of naira to buy forms, but the real primaries were not held at the end of the day.
“We know it is not possible for everyone to get elective positions, but I feel the party has the capacity to reduce tension.
“There are hundreds of appointments into boards and parastatals that have not been filled. President Buhari had also long ago promised to expand his cabinet, but he didn’t do it.
“Assuming they had made all these appointments, the pressure would have been less. Thousands of people who work for the success of the party have not been rewarded with anything since 2015. And they now spent their money to vie for elective offices but were edged out; so how would you convince them to work for the party?
“They should make a serious commitment in respect of appointments, and I am sure that many of us would remain in the party because it is better to remain in APC than to go elsewhere,” he said.
Now that the committees are set to work, the outcomes are really uncertain. It could heal the wounds, but the scars will be there as the country gets ready for the 2019 general elections.