Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
A 10-man reconciliation and peace committee has been inaugurated to resolve the crisis among aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Ekiti State.
The peace committee , was constituted in Ado-Ekiti Tuesday evening by the State Chairman of the party, Paul Omotoso. It is headed by former APC State Chairman, Chief Jide Awe, while Mr. Biodun Akin-Fasae, ex-special adviser to Governor Kayode Fayemi, is the secretary. Other members are Ronke Okusanya, Abiodun Ajayi, Tunde Fakoyede, Tayo Ekundayo, Niyi Olajide and Teslim Animasahun.
Some aggrieved members led by the Presidential Adviser on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu; former Minister of Works, Dayo Adeyeye and 13 others, had raised concerns about the leadership of the party and accused Governor Fayemi of running the party like his personal estate.
A statement by the party, yesterday, quoted the APC Chairman, Paul Omotoso, as saying the mediating body became imperative considering the fact that the party had been embroiled in a crisis that needed to be resolved.
“The move to reconcile aggrieved members of the party commenced about a year ago. The executive arm of the party started visiting perceived aggrieved members at various levels, but the Coronavirus pandemic served as a clog in the wheel of progress. We inaugurated this committee in order to put our house in order and to lay all the squabbles and misunderstanding to rest. All of us are one and there shouldn’t be any reason why we can’t settle our differences using internal mechanism,” Omotoso said.
Reading the terms of reference to the committee, Omotoso explained that the party won’t teleguide the members, since its kernel was to ensure that peace returned to the party in the state.
“We can still see that some members are in court. Let them withdraw all cases in court in the spirit of unity. I charge the committee to work assiduously and ensure that such members jettison litigation in our own interest, because we have nothing to benefit in the atmosphere of rancour.
“There’s no political party that is as big as APC that won’t have some agitations. But whatever members are having against the party or individuals who are members of the party, we must be able to put an end to such, so that we can see ourselves as a family and work as a team for us to be able to record successes in the forth coming elections.”
Former state chairman of the party, Awe, who spoke on behalf of the committee, assured the state working committee that they would maintain neutrality and resolve all pending issues bedevilling the party diligently.
“Whatever that would take the committee to ensure that peace is restored in our party would be done by this committee, even if it requires me to prostrate before the aggrieved members, I will not hesitate to do so. I had once been an aggrieved member and I know how it was. As a veteran in the game, we are going to use our wealth of experiences to bring the party together in Ekiti. There is no way you can be happy, when you have contributed so much and that your contribution is not well recognised, you will be aggrieved.
“I led this party for 12 years through thick and thin, for now, I ought to have enjoyed a national patronage from this party.