From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) has resumed the process of disengagement from running the party with the reception of the interim report from the National Reconciliation Committee.
The APC had last week announced that the process leading up to the party’s National Convention will commence with the submission of the Reconciliation Committee on Monday.
Receiving the report in Abuja from the committee at the party’s national secretariat, the ruling party declared that it is coming at a crucial period ahead of the National convention and the 2023 general elections.
The Chairman CECPC, Governor Mai Mala Buni, who spoke after receiving the report, said that the committee is ‘very important to the collective zeal of recovering, repositioning and rejuvenating the party to have a strong, stable and united APC.’
Represented by a CECPC member, Senator Ken Nnamani, Governor Mala Buni said: ‘The submission of this report is coming at a crucial period as we approach the National convention and the 2023 general elections. Therefore, the findings of the committee would contribute in no small measure to a successful convention and the general election.
‘Let me express our sincere appreciation to the committee for handling the assignment given to them with a high sense of commitment and responsibility. You have painstakingly visited states where we have challenges and addressed them squarely.
‘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. As you are aware, the party conducted a successful membership registration and revalidation exercise and now proudly has over 41 million membership making APC Africa’s largest political party and Nigeria’s leading party.
‘With this numerical strength, APC remains the party that can confidently win elections with a landslide victory in all the national elections.
‘Let me once again solicit for your collective support to the caretaker committee for the party to organise a very successful National Convention that will be a stepping stone to the party’s success in the 2023 general election.
‘I want to thank you so much for adding value to our party through this all-important assignment and look forward to your support in other commitments of the party,’ he said.
Earlier before presenting the report, the committee chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, had admitted that the committee were yet to conclude its assignment because they were not given time limit until December last year when they started seeing a glimpse of the National Convention holding in February.
Speaking on the sideline after the event, Senator Adamu disclosed that his committee received over 47 petitions, pleading that they should be given a grace period of one week.
On the number of petitions received and treated, he said: “It is our pleasure to talk to you after submitting our interim report to the National Caretaker Committee of our great party. In all, as at yesterday, we have received 47 petitions. And you may wish to know that even Monday morning, there were people waiting for us to submit their petitions.
‘We had promise Nigerians that we will do justice as humanly possible to everybody who is aggrieved through fair hearing. And this is what we are doing. We had to come today to submit this interim because we are acting as a boy scout. A good boy scout obeys before complaints. So, we have been asked as of this morning to submit. In fact we were given 11 am. We have submitted our interim report.
‘Like we said when presenting the report, 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.
‘On the number we processed, I said until we get the final report from the national secretariat. We can not say success until they declare our work successful. We cannot declare our own work successful. We will be more deceitful if we do so,’ he said.
Asked if he is convinced that he carried out the assignment that can get the party ready for the convention, he said: “All we can do is to make recommendations as a Committee. The duty of organising the convention is dependent on the CECPC and not us. But whatever we will do to ensure that the party is stable enough with peace and have a conducive national convention, we will do that as a matter of duty.
‘As of today, we still have petitions coming in. People are still trooping in to come and see us. And we cannot in all fairness stop them. But as long as we are there when we get the final report, the first thing about reconciliation is a work in progress.
‘Nobody will tell you that political conflicts that are based on ego in some cases, sometimes perception none of us have control over that. Nobody has. So, we cannot stop them from bringing their petitions but the first we get, we will do what we can to recommend to the party,’ he said.
On what should be done to members who refused to be reconciled, he said: “That is outside our mandate. It is not our duty to start saying what should happen to anybody if he or she doesn’t avail himself to our efforts for reconciliation. But by the time, our report is available to the party, the duty is that of the party, CECPC to cite any disciplinary measure or whatever. It is not for us.”
Members of the APC National Reconciliation Committee, include; Sen Abdullahi Adamu, Chairman, Otunba Moses Alake Adeyemo, Secretary, Sen George Akume, Sullivan Chime, Ali Saad Birnin Kudu, Hon Yakubu Dogara, Suleiman Argungu, Dr Mrs Oluranti I Adebule, Dr Mrs Beta Edu.