The All Progressive Congress (APC) Gombe state chapter is engulfed in a leadership crisis, which threatens to tear the newly merged political party apart ahead of the 2015 general elections.
Mu’azu Baba Goro, an leader of the aggrieved members in a press briefing said the party was facing disagreements over the leadership of those that constituted the harmonization committee.
Muazu said, “We have some disagreement, we also know that we have some people who are not really satisfied with what is going on in the party leadership in the state and that is the reason why we felt we should all get together, find out what is our real problem and find a lasting solution to those problems. I am not talking about the leadership of the party in the former arrangement under CPC before the merger but the leadership as it affects the party APC”.
The leader of the aggrieved group said the party’s current leadership crisis has to do with members of the harmonization committee going round the states.
He said,“There are some statuary membership of people who were governors, those who contested for governorship and members of the house of assembly, we have no problem with these people but our major problem is the members that are to be members as per senatorial district,”.
Mu’azu said they they were not consulted when this leadership was put together, alleging that the member of the committee was forced on the people.
“I challenge anybody to ask me for explanation. We have a member who is forced on us, someone who has not lived in Gombe state for 20 years and who by any definition is a PDP member and whenever they are in Gombe, they are guests of the governor”.
The Former chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the state, Barrister Audu Baba Kwami, when contacted said the harmonisation committees were formed by the legacy party, comprising the parties that formed the APC. “So I don’t know what they are talking about. We are in support of the national harmonization committee.”
Recall that the National Interim Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress had approved the establishment of State Harmonisation Committees in a bid to regulate the activities of the party in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The SHCs are expected to prevent a vacuum between the party’s activities at the national and state levels, said the Interim National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The party said, “The SHC shall comprise president/vice president, past and serving, who are members of the legacy parties; governors/deputy governors, past and serving, who are members of the legacy parties; serving and former Senators who are members of the legacy parties; serving members of the House of Representatives who are members of the party and speakers or minority leaders of the states Houses of Assembly who are members of the party.”
“Former ministers who are members of the legacy parties; all immediate past national exco members of the legacy parties; immediate past gubernatorial candidates of legacy parties and their deputies where APC does not have a sitting governor who are still members of the legacy parties.”
