Ahead of tomorrow’s national caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC), there are strong indications that some members of its National Working Committee (NWC) may move against the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun over the National Assembly leadership crisis.
This is as some state chairmen of the party at the weekend reportedly dissociated themselves from Oyegun’s letter to the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on the list of principal officers of the two chambers .
The national caucus meeting of the ruling party scheduled to start at 11a.m. will be attended by President Muhammadu Buhari, his Vice, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Dr. Saraki , House Speaker, Dogara and leaders of the party.
The crisis rocking the National Assembly and its spill over effect are key issues to be discussed at the high profile meeting. A party source disclosed that some NWC members were likely to move against the national chairman on some issues regarding the National Assembly crisis. He claimed that the NWC was split between anti and pro-Oyegun camp on the matter.
Recently, former Kano State governor, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso had claimed that the crisis had divided the ruling party.
The source said: “We are going to have our national caucus meeting on Tuesday. I am afraid that the meeting may be explosive. I know one or two NWC members, who may send a petition against the national chairman. They believe that he(chairman) is behind the crisis in the National Assembly . I pray that that does not come up during the meeting but I am certain that we are going to have a tensed meeting.”
He continued: “ Our leaders are going to open up at the meeting . We don’t have to pretend, things are not currently going well in our party. Some people feel that their egos have been bruised and they are not ready to let go. I pray that we come out of it stronger.”
He contended that Oyegun was aware that some people were angry with him and were plotting his downfall but insisted that the national chairman would not be ousted .
“Yes few days ago NWC members were with the chairman in his house. They have been meeting him and laughing with him but he is aware that not all of them are on his side on this issue, some are playing double standard.
“Some of our leaders are divided on the issue but at the end of the day the direction our President and leader of the party goes will be toed by every member of the party.”
A senior member of the party, Osita Okechukwu agreed that leaders of different tendencies in the party might take divergent issues to the meeting but insisted that every difference would be resolved.
He said: “ The meeting is for the good of the party. Everybody is working towards a stronger APC. All issues will be presented on the table and they will be thrashed out at the end of the day.”
However, some APC state chairmen have reportedly disassociated their chapters from the letter written by the national chairman, to the National Assembly on the nomination of principal officers.
The letter was addressed to the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Tuesday.
The chairmen claimed the letter was a product of poor consultation and failed to reflect geopolitical spread in the allocation of principal offices.
The position of the chairmen runs counter to the stance of 25 members of the Forum of State Chairmen of the party, who backed the chairman on the handling of the National Assembly crisis.
The state’s chairmen, in a communique after a two-day meeting in Abuja reaffirmed their loyalty to the chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led national executive of the party.
The communique was signed by the chairman of the Kano State chapter of the party, Alhaji Umar Haruna Mohammed.
The communique read in part : “As state party chairmen and direct grassroots leaders, we are all concerned about the development and therefore, re-affirmed our belief and loyalty to our party, the APC, its supremacy as contained in the party’s constitution and the decision of its leadership.
“We are also not happy with recent development in the national Assembly especially the lower chamber and call on the party’s leadership to put in place proper machinery to checkmate further occurrences. We also call on the party leaders to use the long break with the view to resolving the matter so that the much needed change will be seen and enjoyed by everybody.” The Sun
