Dissenting voices need justice, says Dogara
Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has said the party is not bothered by the antics of some of former members led by former secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Buba Galadima.
Galadima announced a new faction, the Reformed APC (R-APC) in Abuja, on Wednesday.
Oshiomhole told newsmen, after a meeting with the House of Representatives caucus, in Abuja, yesterday, that the APC has opened talks with genuine party leaders and is unbothered about renegades.
The APC leader also noted that if members of the R-APC choose not to be happy, that is their business “There is no break-up. If one Galadima is not happy, that is fine. He has a right not to be happy. If he chooses to call himself whatever he wants to call himself, I will not lose my sleep over that. We know those who are in the system. Those who are seeking break-up; that is their problem.
“We are engaging real stakeholders in the Executive and the two arms of the National Assembly. We have very important influential leaders. We are engaging. If you people who are being sponsored by those who thought our convention would be a failure – they were expecting an implosion…
“If you reviewed headlines before the convention, there were stories like people are going to walk out of the convention. Oh, people will boycott the convention! In the end, they were shocked to find out the president was seated. The Senate President was seated. The Speaker was seated, the National Leader was seated. Our chairman was seated. All the governors were seated. They were like, ‘what do we do next?’
Before the meeting went into a closed-door session, Oshiomhole, who is also a former governor of Edo State, assured APC lawmakers that the crisis rocking some state chapters of the party would be resolved in a win-win manner.
The APC leader noted that although some members of the party are apprehensive that due to the outcome of the congresses in their respective states, they have lost out in their bid for the party’s ticket for the 2019 general, he reiterated that there is no cause for alarm.
“We are about to commence looking at complaints from various states. We are determined to look at each case on its merit and resolve them in a win-win manner so that it is not whether you win or you lose. All of us can be winners. The name of the game is compromise.”
On his part, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said it is only justice and equity that enthrone peace in the ruling party.
“Our only expectation is the issue of justice and justice is indivisible. What is justice to the executive should be justice to the Legislature and it should be justice to the Judiciary.”
“What is justice to the president and the vice president should be justice to the governor and it has to be justice for members of the National Assembly because you can’t divide justice. Once you begin to divide justice, you don’t have justice.”
“And, once we are able to get these things in their proper perspectives, to some extent, we will be able to silence the voices of dissent within the party. But, we have problems.
“It is perfectly okay but, we mustn’t allow our problems define us. Rather, we should define our problems as a party,” Dogara said.
