TheCable

Mai Mala Buni, Yobe governor and chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) caretaker committee, says the recent leadership crisis in the party is not strange.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Buni said disagreements are normal in all political parties and the APC is no exception.

The chairman said the decision of the national executive committee (NEC) to set up the caretaker panel “will mark the beginning of a new chapter” in the party.

The NEC dissolved the national working committee (NWC) following a leadership tussle.

Buni said his committee would commence the process of reconciliation among leaders and members of the party.

“As the party trusted by Nigerians, and voted massively for two times in a row, we must shun away from any attempt to distract us from delivering the dividend of democracy to Nigerians,” the Yobe governor said.

“What happened to us as a party in the last few months is not totally strange in a big political party such as the All Progressives Congress (APC), internal disagreements are common in all political parties, so ours is not an exception.

“It is time for this committee therefore, to commence the process of true reconciliation among leaders and members of the Party at all levels. It is our belief that the decision by NEC to constitute this committee will mark the beginning of a new chapter in our great Party.

“To achieve this, I urge all party members to heed to the appeal by our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR on his call to all aggrieved members who have instituted various cases in the courts to please withdraw such cases in the interest of our great party.”

Buni said the focus of his committee is the interest of the party.

“From now onward, we will concentrate on medium and long term development of our strategies and internal organisation to support our public standing as well as our chances of electoral successes in all future elections,” he said.

“This is the time for us to focus with determination to create adaptive institutional capacity to weather the current divisions in our party.”