Intervene in APC crisis, Nabena pleads with President

…Wants Buhari to settle Oshiomhole, Oyegun rift

…Begs aggrieved members not to leave party

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

As the rift between the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and his deputy, Lawal Shuaibu, continues to fester, a member of the APC National Working Committee, Yekini Nabena, has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to timely intervene in the face-off between the duo.

Nabena, the APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, is seeking the intervention and mediation of President Buhari as the misunderstanding between the two national officers has dovetailed into the current face-off between Oshiomhole and his predecessor, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

He said the war of words between Oshiomhole and Oyegun which has sparked the cold war between them since the incumbent chairman took over from Oyegun is uncalled for at this period of the party’s growth and development.

Nabena, who spoke in Abuja on Wednesday, said the crisis if not quickly resolved is capable of weakening the strength of the party and distracting the administration of the APC-led Federal Government, hence the need for the Presidency to take pre-emptive steps in dousing the crisis.

He expressed worry about unsettled rancour in some state chapters of the party as a result of crisis that rocked its primaries ahead of the 2019 general election in which the APC lost some ground to the opposition PDP.

His words: “The losses the APC suffered during the 2019 general election in some states which we previously controlled is indeed worrisome. However, we are still the governing party which produced the President; control majority states and have an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly.

“Compared to the failed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the APC remains the political party of choice for both Nigerians and politicians. I urge our aggrieved members to remain in the APC fold and settle their differences. In fact, in a few months, we expect a huge influx from members of the rudderless PDP and other political parties into the APC.

“Elections have been won and lost. High-level meetings such as national caucus and the national executive committee are there to address party matters.

I call on our respected leaders, particularly the current and immediate-past national chairmen to end their public hostilities, particularly in the media for the sake of the party and focus on the important task of forming government at the state and federal levels to deliver on our Next Level mandate.

“We need a united house to ensure the growth and strength of our party. In the immediate, I call on President Muhammadu Buhari as the leader of our party to lead fence-mending efforts and address obvious grievances in many states and among stakeholders in the party.”