President Muhammadu Buhari has advised members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to withdraw all pending litigations against one another.
He urged them to settle for internal conciliation, warning that the mutating disagreements could lead to self-destruction of the party with dire consequences.
The President made the remarks on Thursday at the emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee of the APC held on a virtual platform in Abuja.
He stressed that the gains of the party could be reversed as conflicts overshadow the primary objective of service to the people, asking members to refocus on the larger picture and place more emphasis on uniting the party.
“Fellow party members, this is a very crucial moment in the life of our party and it is with a deep sense of concern that I stand before you today to speak as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who has been elected on the platform of our great party – the All Progressives Congress,” the President was quoted as saying in a statement by his media adviser, Femi Adesina.
He added, “The issues currently confronting our party at this time are such that should worry every party member.
“At the moment, our great party is faced with internal wrangling; there are ongoing litigations amongst some party members and we cannot clearly ascertain the status of certain National Working Committee (NWC) members.”
President Buhari was also worried about what he described as ‘shifting loyalty’ within the party and ‘inconsistency in leadership’, saying such have exposed the party to mockery.
According to him, there are also other associated disputes as to the legitimacy of holders of certain national offices of the party while the APC is contending with judicial claims and counter-claims, orders and counter-orders, as well as judgments and counter-judgments that are predominantly at cross-purposes.
“Confronted with these issues, it is obvious that the fortunes of the party are currently in jeopardy, administration of our party is becoming impossible and there is consequently an urgent need for intervention to immediately arrest further drifts and internal wrangling which may lead to total disintegration,” the President warned.
He stated, “What we see clearly emerging, is that we are beginning to self-destruct. This, my dear party members, is not just regrettable but utterly gut-wrenching.”
Returning To Winning Ways
The President, therefore proposed that the meeting should adopt the developed resolution as contained in the agenda and pass resolutions including the approval of the immediate discontinuation of all pending litigations involving the party and its members.
He also proposed the ratification of the APC Primary Election conducted in Edo State, the dissolution of the current National Working Committee, and the appointment of a caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning committee for the party.
President Buhari echoed the need to discontinue all litigations involving members of the party, which were connected to issues of the party.
He added, “The directive had been issued before; unfortunately, some members failed to heed the directive. Thus, at this time, it must be made a resolution of the party which must be effectively enforced with dire consequences for members who choose to ignore the directive.”
The President explained that in order to return to the “winning ways”, the APC must maintain cohesion by closing its ranks.
He said, “We must be alive to the time and the task that is before us. As we all know, we are immediately confronted with the upcoming gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo States. Therefore, this is the time to get our acts together.”
The emergency NEC meeting adopted all the recommendations by President Buhari and appointed Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, as the Caretaker National Chairman, while Senator John Akpanudoede was designated Caretaker National Secretary.
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