The Battle for the soul of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has again begun following return of it erstwhile members who dumped the ruling party in the build-up to 2019 poll, Daily Trust Saturday reports.
A Dark cloud of trouble is hanging over the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State. This follows, return of former Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s loyalists to the ruling party, which they left over the disputed gubernatorial primary in the build – up to the 2019 polls. Former gubernatorial candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Adekunle Akinlade, who ditched APC the last year alongside loyalists and foot soldiers of Amosun over the disputed primary, has led the group back to the APC.
Their return, coming five days after Akinlade finally lost the legal battle to unseat Governor Dapo Abiodun at the Supreme Court and barely a week after Amosun’s suspension was lifted, has thrown up more intrigues, new twists and turns in the party.
While Akinlade and others were away, the national leadership of APC dissolved the state executive members led by Derin Adebiyi. The dissolved excos were replaced with a Caretaker Committee inaugurated by the National Working Committee (NEC) of the APC.
Yet, the Adebiyi-led executive loyal to Amosun occupied the state Secretariat of the APC for about three months after Abiodun assumed office. But in August, the Yemi Sanusi-led caretaker committee excos loyal to the governor mobilized and took over the secretariat from Amosun’s men.
Adebiyi described the alleged invasion and occupation of the secretariat as condemnable and contravention of the extant party laws and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to him, Abiodun’s loyalists occupied the secretariat despite the fact that the dissolution of the state executive committee by the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) has been challenged at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The dissolved APC chairman explained that his group failed to resort to self-help, but they would rather seek all legal means to reclaim the secretariat.
And when Akinlade told his teeming supporters on Monday that “it is time to return home to the pre-October 2, 2018 Ogun State APC political family”, political observers believed there is more to the statement than meets the eyes.
Earlier on Monday, the Publicity Secretary of the caretaker committee, Tunde Oladunjoye had alleged that some hoodlums were planning to attack and hijack the party Secretariat.
Oladunjoye recalled that the Adebiyi-led team had embarked on multiple litigations to challenge the dissolution, most of which “are still pending in various courts.”
He wondered why “these people want to now take the laws into their hands and resort to self-help by their plan to unleash terror in different parts of the state is what we do not comprehend.”
“We call on law enforcement agents to be at alert to their duties and prevent breakdown of law and order in any part of our dear state. Peace has returned to Ogun State since the emergence of the new Administration, and it is the resolve of well meaning indigenes and residents of the state that Ogun State will not go back to Egypt,” Oladunjoye said.
When Akinlade announced their return to APC same day, Oladunjoye said the party has not been informed. Barely 24 hours later, the caretaker committee rolled out some conditions to be met for the returnees’ acceptance and integration in to the APC.
The committee asked the returnees to follow due process of returning to the party “in accordance with the party’s constitution and established procedures.”
The caretaker committee equally urged the returnees who have cases against the party in courts to withdraw “same without further delay.”
“APC is a party of the progressives and provides room for all. The party, at any point in time, is therefore ready to receive repentant members back into the fold.
“However, while we see the announced return of the APM members into our party as a welcome development, we are quick to add there is a process of joining or returning to our party in accordance with the party’s constitution and established procedures.
“Also, apart from going back to their various wards to re – enroll and reconcile with their people and leaders, it is also important for them to abide by the prevailing peace and decorum in Ogun APC and work under the Caretaker Executive formed by the National Working Committee of our party under the leadership of Chief Yemi Sanusi,” Oladunjoye said in the statement.
A statement issued by Abebiyi described the Akinlade and others’ return as homecoming, saying they are not strangers to the APC.
“We welcome them wholeheartedly. Their return will increase our strength and this is another opportunity for us to work on our unity because unity is strength.
“They are no strangers to the party. As a matter of fact, we see their return as homecoming. It is a victory to lovers of democracy and shame to the agents of imposition. You could recall all the things that happened during our party’s primaries in October last year which did not go down well with our members and which led to many exercising their electoral franchise elsewhere”, Adebiyi said.
For keen watchers of Ogun State politics, the return of Akinlade and others, was not unexpected. Yet, it has thrown the ruling party in a make or mar battle for the control of the party. As it is, there are two factions in the Ogun APC, one led by Abiodun and former governor, Aremo Osoba, and the other led by Amosun.
The questions are: Will the return of old foes unite or further divide the party? Will the aggrieved members who filed the suit challenging the dissolution withdraw it? While responses to these posers blow in the wind, the battle for the structure of the party would be clearer in a matter of months as scheming for 2023 is taking centre stage.
Akinlade while announcing their return, specifically said the Supreme Court judgement that validated Abiodun’s victory “fell short of our expectation.
“As loyal party members, we accept and wish to use this opportunity to thank them for allowing us to explore our aspirations even when it came at great political and personal cost to them.
“As democrats and believers in the rule of law, we must now set our grievances aside, display the same courage and high sense of responsibility that kept us on the cause for justice through the last 15 months. We must at this junction show that our efforts so far were truly driven by unwavering desire to sustain the unprecedented developmental strides recorded between 2011 and 2019 across our dear state,” he said.
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