From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The North West All Progressive Congress (APC) has expressed concerns over intra-party squabbles which arose shortly after the primary elections for the 2023 general elections.
The zone noted that if all intra-party disputes are not resolved before the 2023 elections, it could affect the fortunes of the ruling party as it happened in the just concluded Osun State governorship election where the major opposition, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won the election.
Addressing reporters at the weekend in Kaduna on steps being taken to reconcile aggrieved members of the ruling party, the zonal spokesman, Musa Mailafiya Mada, said several strategies were being adopted to bring unity and peace into the party.
Although the spokesman was not specific about what actually led to disputes among the members that necessitated a call for reconciliation, he simply said, “each state has a peculiar problem to be resolved.”
Asked whether it was because the zone lost the vice presidential slot of the party to North East that brought about intra-party disputes, Mada said it was not the case, adding that if the VP slot to another zone was not accepted by North West governors, they would have kicked against it because they were in Daura, Katsina State where it was announced.
Read also: Atiku: I’ll speak soon – Wike
He said the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu was on top of the situation as far as a reconciliation of aggrieved members is concerned, adding that the zone is in full support of the Chairman in uniting the party ahead of the 2023 election.
“I called for this engagement with you to discuss efforts being made and steps taken to strengthen our dear party the All Progressive Congress (APC) in our zone, the North west geopolitical zone and of course, the country in general, against 2023 general elections and beyond.
“It is evidently clear that at the zonal level we set the ball rolling by initiating a number of programmes and policies that will help retain our party’s popularity in the zone.
“In a situation like this there are issues you make known to the public and there are strategies you will not allow to fly on the media for the fact that if it gets to the opposition it may end up being of no use for you. It is like allowing your enemies to know all of your strategies in a war.
“One of our strategies that are being publicly known is our reconciliation drive among our party members. That step is necessary because any political party as strong as APC anywhere in the world must watch its steps before and after its primary elections.
“This is of course necessary because there will be those that will be offended in one way or the other. Their grievances might be either legitimate or illegitimate, not withstanding, as a party you must console them, you must reconcile with them, you must carry them along and you must give them back their sense of belonging which they might have lost in the process.
“A typical example or outcome to Daily to reconcile within a political party is the just concluded Osun State’s gubernatorial elections.
“Of course, I will admit that the Adelekes are already politically established in that state. But their popularity and political strength as well as the party they represent is no match for APC in any capacity as far as Osun State is concerned. Yet they won the election anyway because the in-house disputes in our party there in Osun have eaten deep down the very foundation upon which our party’s dominance stands.
“So, here in the North West, we will not rest until we give every stakeholder and member alike the necessary sense of belonging they deserve. And I am confident that our National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu is taking steps towards doing the needful in uniting the membership of our great party across the country.
“The National Chairman should be rest assured that here in the North West we support him, especially with the example he sets to us in Zamfara State which made the party more formidable in the state,” the spokesman said.