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One month after the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) constituted its National Reconciliation Committee, the party is yet to inaugurate the committee.
The NRC, as constituted by the NWC is headed by the Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan, with nine other members but the composition had witnessed criticisms from party members.
Edo State chapter of the APC was the first to criticize the committee, alleging that the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, chose his loyalists in the party as committee members.
Also, they frowned at the choice of Lawan as the chairman of the Committee.
Rejecting the choice of Senate President as chairman of APC NRC, the APC faction loyal to the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, said: “We categorically reject the National Reconciliation Committee constituted by the APC NWC because we have seen the duplicity in the act.
“Comrade Oshiomhole, Nigerians will recall, enlisted the services of Senator Lawan and Hon. Wase to carry out his plan of taking over the powers of the Edo State House of Assembly until they were stopped in their tracks by the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt.
“The National Assembly was thereby restrained from continuing in their perfidious ambition, which was to muscle Governor Godwin Obaseki. The court thwarted this move and now Comrade Oshiomhole wants to make a mockery of the law by using the National Reconciliation Committee to actuate his plans through the backdoor.”
“We are not convinced that the committee will be fair to all parties in the matter, especially as it relates to Edo State, which we know is the main target of the National Chairman.
This is because we suspect that the committee would be presented with a script they would come and act out on the Edo crisis.
“To that extent, we wholesomely reject the committee and request that a committee that will do justice to the matter without prejudice be constituted.”
Similarly, a concerned APC group from Cross River State, sent a petition against the nomination of Senator John Owan Enoh, as the Secretary of the NRC to the National Chairman.
According to the group, Senator Enoh was part of the crisis, therefore was not qualified to be on the Committee.
At the beginning of this month, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, had said the Committee would be inaugurated before the end of January. Onilu had also said that the membership of the Committee would not be reviewed.
Other members of the Committee are: First (Interim) APC National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande (Vice Chairman); Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase; Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura; Senator Kashim Shettima; Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor; Alhaji Nasiru Aliko Koki; Senator Khairat Gwadabe-Abdulrazak; Senator Binta Garba and Senator John Enoh (Secretary).
Some other party members had criticized the composition of the Committee, stating that it was not all inclusive.
For instance, a state APC chairman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the State APC chairmen would have been asked to nominate a representative and also the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF).
The National Reconciliation Committee was set up on the instance of the APC Caucus.
According to the APC National Publicity Secretary, the Committee is empowered to address grieviances of party members and resolve existing conflicts, all with a view to fostering unity and oneness within the party.
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