Forget idea of caretaker committee, Adamu tells Enugu APC factions

Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) Reconciliation Committee, Abdullahi Adamu, has enjoined factions of state chapters of the party to forget the idea of setting up caretaker committees to run their affairs.

Adamu, who made the assertion, while chastising splinter groups protesting the Enugu State congress of the party, expressed disappointment that a member of the committee was encouraging factional tendencies in the state.

The Guardian recalled that the Reconciliation Committee had advised aggrieved members of the Enugu APC to hold a reconciliation meeting before the general meeting of the state chapter with the committee to adopt common grounds.

However, when the committee arrived Enugu for the meeting, Adamu was surprised to find that as many as three factions existed in the state, including those of Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, Ben Nwoye/Chris Baywood-Ibe and Sullivan Chime groups.

Upset by the development, Adamu upbraided the stakeholders and expressed disappointment that instead of working to grow APC, they were engaged in petty squabbles.

“I heard some of you are saying we are coming to set up a caretaker committee. Please perish that thought. This committee is for reconciliation and peace. We are not here to cancel the congress or create alternative leadership. That is not within the purview of our terms of reference. You should harmonise yourselves,” he said.

Earlier, former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Emma Eneukwu, challenged Group Capt. Joe Orji, who claimed to be the consensus candidate to show the receipt of his nomination form for the congress.

Also, former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Eugene Odoh, denied insinuations that Ugo Agballah, who was elected party chairman, was not a member of the party, stressing that former Governor Chime seconded his (Agballah’s) nomination.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja, yesterday, Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, affirmed that the Adamu-led Reconciliation Committee was thorough, stressing that its efforts would help to rebuild the party.

Okechukwu told newsmen that the decision to set up the reconciliation committee was one of the achievements of the Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) led by Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, adding that the committee has been discharging its responsibilities equitably.

He expressed the hope that Abia, Gombe, Akwa Ibom and other states would comply with the committee’s advisory template, saying: “Based on my experience, the Adamu Committee will reconcile the crisis in the state chapters, which contributed to the delay in conducting the party’s national convention.”