Crises: Buhari Designates Tinubu To Reconcile APC

BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – Following internal crises that have bedeviled the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday designated Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead the consultation, reconciliation and confidence-building efforts.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the move is part of on-going efforts to improve cohesion within the APC.

Garba said the assignment will involve resolving disagreements among party members, party leadership and political office holders in some states of the Federation.

The APC is factionalised in many states that include Kaduna where Governor Nasir el-Rufai is at daggers drawn with the AKIDA faction led by Mr Tom Maiyashi and Senator Shehu Sani, while in Kano, former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and his former deputy now Governor of the state, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, have polarized the party down to its foundation.

Similarly, in Kogi state, the executive committee of the party and some elected national legislators are not in sync with Governor Yahaya Bello, a development that has reduced the party to a house divided against its self in Kogi State.

The situation in Oyo state is not any different, as the minister of Communications, Barrister Shittu has drawn the battle line against Governor Ajumobi over his 2019 ambition to become the next governor of the state.

Of more concern to the APC is the subterranean moves to dump the Party before 2019 by some chapters of the Party that are so disenchanted with the national leadership of the party and the Presidency which they accused of having side-lined them from the scheme of things.

Significantly too is the known fact that the Tinubu has distanced himself from the National Working Committee of the party, led Chief John Odighie-Oyegun who is believed to be answerable only to the Presidency.

Curiously, even as a ruling party, the APC has not been able to carry out its statutory and constitutional functions that include National Executive Committee (NEC), and mid-term national convention of the party.

It is believed that giving the rise in political activities, President Buhari may have been advised to move fast to reposition the party ahead of 2019 or risk sinking the party.