By Agbenu Oyale, Abuja
Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have called for the dissolution of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Ordinary Convention Committee of the party, led by the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala-Buni.
Co-convener of the group, Mr. Ayo Oyalowo, who made the call at a press conference in Abuja, recalled that a little over a month ago, the group kicked-off a campaign, calling for the rebirth of APC after coming to terms with the reality that the party, by virtue of its administration and management, was on a descent to possible extinction.
He said in kicking off the campaign, the group summoned a press briefing to highlight the issues bedeviling the party, the consequences that were manifesting as a result and what needed to be done to correct them as well as return the APC to the path of progressive ideologies it was known for.
The group said when it held the view that the practices within the party ran contrary to the progressive image and credentials of the APC, it raised its voice because it didn’t want to to go down in history as one of those whose silent complicity brought the APC to where it was headed.
The group lamented that instead of seeing reasons with its concerns and heeding the call for a return of the party to its core foundational principles and progressive ideologies, the party leadership responded by declaring its members persona non grata, while also banning them from accessing the party secretariat.
It claimed that it has become obvious to all discerning party men and women that the Buni-led committee could not fix the problems it met on ground.
“If anything, the Caretaker Committee has created even more problems for the party than it was meant to resolve. On the basis of the above and many others too numerous to mention, the Concerned APC Stakeholders are calling for the immediate resignation of the Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee for their glaring failures in managing the affairs of the party, failure of which the Committee should be immediately dissolved and a new committee whose task will be to immediately conduct the National Convention of the party be constituted.”
It pointed out that the Caretaker Committee, which was constituted primarily to stabilise the party and organise the congresses and convention of the party went about functioning as if it was the National Working Committee (NWC) and as a result, carrying out responsibilities it had no mandate to.
Apart from embarking on a needless party membership revalidation/registration that didn’t come with anything new, the Caretaker Committee, thre group added, went about constituting endless committees to carry out the very responsibilities it was assigned to do.
“This is clearly indicative of the incompetence of the committee, and the fact it has even subsisted for this long is a greater testimony to its failure. If the committee’s many ’round-about’ activities were effective, it would have since fulfilled its mandate and given the party a new leadership.
“The Caretaker Committee has conducted what is arguably the worst ward, local government and state congresses since the formation of the party in 2013. These congresses, rather than putting the party on strong footings, have created further divisions and disenchantment among its members,” it stated
Concerned APC stakeholders observed that only days ago, that stakeholders of the party from Bauchi State, protested at the party’s headquarters as a result of the fallout of the congresses.
It stressed that in the same vein, the attempt by the leadership of the party to reconcile stakeholders from Oyo State hit a brick wall right inside the party headquarters, adding that similar circumstances were also being witnessed in Osun and some other states.
The group noted that another crystal clear evidence of the failure of the Caretaker Committee was the outcome of the Anambra gubernatorial election, adding that, while it was sad that the APC came a dismal third in an election it had every chance of winning, it would have been a magic if the party had performed better than it did, especially, considering that the candidate of the party, Senator Andy Uba, emerged through a process that was completely strange to the ideals of the APC.