The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje has that the dissolution of all levels of the party’s executives in Rivers state was aimed at uniting different tendencies within the party in the state.
Ganduje gave this on Friday, November 24, while inaugurating the Tony Okocha-led seven-man caretaker committee for the party in the state at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja.
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party announced the dissolution of the executive committees of the party from the ward level to the state level after a crucial meeting on Wednesday in Abuja.
Addressing the committee members, Ganduje said for the party to actualise the desired unity, the NWC thought it fit to rejig the leadership of the party at all levels in the state, hence the dissolution of the executive arm of the party in the state.
Ganduje noted that the setbacks suffered by the party since 2015, occasioned by intra-party conflict, litigations and counter-litigations which finally resulted in the loss of the party in the state, informed the decision of the NWC to reposition the party in the state.
Congratulating the caretaker committee, the Chairman said, “I am sure you are fully aware since 2015 APC has been suffering some setbacks one way or another, intra-party, conflict litigations and counter litigations finally resulting in the loss of our great party.
“So this new National Working Committee of our great party has examined every issue about the party, both at the national level and at individual state levels. And decided to reform the part and this is not possible until we examine the leadership in our respective states.
“There is no doubt we have members who have been in APC, since its creation, some have left the party, some prominent party members left the party and even contested in another political fight and they do not wish to come back.
“Some of the original party members also followed another faction, they too they’re ready to come back. Also, there are newcomers from other parties who are many according to our investigation, that would like to come into the party, so you can see that there is no time to rejig the party but now, especially rejigging the party leadership.”
Expressing confidence in the committee, Ganduje told them the party expected them to be the foundation of the reform being envisaged in the state.
He charged the committee to conduct electronic registration of party members, constitute various committees, and conduct congresses that will produce substantive leaders at all levels of the party within 6 months.
“We have confidence in you, and we expect you to involve yourselves because part of the reform system, we have introduced electronic registration of our members we request you to pay attention to the electronic registration of our members and I want you to spearhead that exercise.
“We expect you to constitute various committees so that you can get more into the party, that is the work that you should do. We also expect you to prepare an enabling environment, so that congresses can be conducted for the emergence of leadership at the ward level, local government level, state level and even senatorial level.
“We expect you to put more life into this party, there is no discrimination, do not bother yourself about factions because you are brothers for unity, and regard yourself as APC brothers.
“We would like you to make history by building a strong foundation for our party, so that during the next gubernatorial election we have an APC government in River State, during the next presidential election, even though we are grateful, River State is the only state in the South-South where we succeeded in electing our president Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
The chairman of the committee, Tony Okocha who was a former Chief of Staff in the state, assured the party of the readiness of the committee members to hit the ground running.
“We want to assure you that you have assembled eggheads, good party builders, and ardent party supporters and we shall not fail you.
“We have listened to your charges, I thought I could scribble something to respond. But having listened to your charges you took away all that I wanted to say in our response. But what I would like to do is to re-emphasize to assure you that the days of factions in APC Rivers are over.
Speaking with newsmen after the inauguration, the spokesperson for the Committee, Hon. Chibuike Ikenga said the party will be open to all comers including the Minister of Federal Capital Territory.
According to him, “Chief Nyesom Wike is an illustrious son of Rivers State but not a member of APC. He is a member of PDP. But if tomorrow he wants to join the APC we cannot stop anybody. As far as he wants to join others we will welcome them.”
The 7-man caretaker committee has Chief Tony Okocha as Chairman. Others are Hon. Chibuike Ikenga, Prince Stephen Abolo, Hon. Silvester Vidin, Senibo Karibi Dan-Jumbo and Miss Darling Amadi while Chief Eric Nwibani is to serve as the Secretary.