By Chukwumah Umeorah
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Edozie Njoku, has applauded media practitioners for their steadfastness in upholding the sanctity of the rule of law through objective reporting.
Speaking during an interactive session with select senior journalists in Lagos, he said the rigours of waging a five-year legal battle over the APGA leadership rekindled his hope that Nigeria was not entirely a write-off.
He said he was encouraged by the insistence of some Nigeria journalists on getting the true picture of the struggle to the public, stressing that contrary to insinuations in certain quarters, many media practitioners are upright professionals.
The national chairman noted that although a lot of things happened during the battle for the soul of the APGA, he has resolved to pursue reconciliation, inclusion, and forgiveness to achieve harmony in the party.
He recalled that APGA has always survived structural challenges, noting that the major challenge for him and members of the APGA National Working Committee (NWC) is how to rekindle the undying loyalty and confidence of party faithful and supporters.
“There were a lot of things involved, and in a short period of time, we are going to turn out to be one party, indeed and in truth.
“There is no party that doesn’t really have a problem. Labour has, APC has, PDP has.
‘’But, we are the first party, and we are really taking the bull by the horns to make sure that we clear all the stumbling blocks as quickly as possible.
“Peace is crucial. Yes, we are reconciling with each other, and it’s not going to be easy. Nigeria is a place whereby, because of the hardship in Nigeria, we find out that there are so many dissenting views. And when you have dissenting views, you acknowledge that everybody has the right to have his or her own views.
“But, for a movement, be it a party or any group, to go forward, there must be an agreement somehow or another. We must agree to move forward. If we truly believe that we want APGA to do well, if we truly believe that APGA is a party that can be used for engagement, or whatever political engagement you want to use it for, then we must be at peace.”
Also, speaking to reporters in Lagos, Njoku disclosed that the NWC met to review a series of reconciliation strategies, adding that some estranged former members of the party have sent messages of goodwill and declared their willingness to return to APGA.
On the rumoured move by the APGA NWC to suspend Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, the national chairman said although such a suggestion was made, the peaceful mode in the party defeated the call.
“Well, in politics, as you know, people must play politics. Yes, the NWC received a suggestion to suspend Governor Soludo from the party. But, that was not resolved. It was discussed and it came to a point that no agreement could be reached on that.
“The current peaceful disposition in APGA made it unnecessary for the party. That would have sounded good for the APC, and probably for the PDP. But, if we suspend Soludo today, who is going to be the beneficiary of that misadventure? It will be other parties.
“Until we have explored all areas of reconciliation, extreme disciplinary measures are uncalled for. But, at the moment, it hasn’t got to the extent of suspending Governor Soludo from the party.”
The APGA chairman frowned at attempts by some people to throw up a scenario that pits him against the Anambra State Governor, stressing that “It is not really a Soludo versus Njoku or Njoku against Soludo affair. It is all about a political party. I mean, I don’t know why you keep calling his name or calling my name. The party leaders are the ones that will decide and make a decision to move forward.”
On the issue of party supremacy, Njoku said: “Politics in Nigeria is normally winner-takes-all. So, by virtue of it being winner-takes-all, that should be the reason for differences.
“But, when you are in a political party, you have to know that peace is paramount. We don’t have to burn our bridges. Eventually, we’re all going to work together to try and make sure that APC does not take the governorship of Anambra State. We have to work together to ensure we guard Anambra jealously. There are different scenarios, so we need to be cool-headed to make sure we retain the state.
“As I keep saying to the people of the South East, although APGA is a national party; they are so much in love with APGA and we cannot play with that. If you remember the Alliance for Democracy (AD) was such a popular party in the South West. Today, how many votes can AD get in the South West?
“So, we cannot afford to toy with APGA. We’ve got to be very conscientious and understand that since it is the people that decide, we have to make them understand that we want peace. The people want peace, because they are going through too much suffering,” he stated.