As the leadership crisis rocking Gombe State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) following the tussle between the governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya and Senator Muhammad Danjuma Goje, the party has reaffirmed that the governor remains party leader in the state.
The affirmation was made by the National Reconciliation Committee of the party sent to Gombe on Friday to make peace among the warring parties in order to ensure that the APC remains one in the state.
While speaking to newsmen shortly after a closed-door meeting held at the old Banquet Hall of the Government House, chairman of the committee and former governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu said that after hours of deliberations, it became clear to the Committee beyond any reasonable doubt, that Gombe state APC is intact and stronger under the leadership of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya.
When asked on who leads the party direction in the state, Senator Abdullahi Adamu made it clear that, “no institution operates without a leader and APC is not an exception; therefore heads of governments lead the party direction everywhere.”
He also said that, “You see, I rear cattle and anytime you see a herd of cattle you will see one of them leading the direction while the rest follow that; this is why our party made it clear that governors are the party leaders in their respective states while Mr President is the party leader in the country.”
The former Nasarawa State Governor disclosed further that his committee received only one petition made by Senator Danjuma Goje but noted that the petitioner was absent at the meeting.
According to him, “Unfortunately, it was the petitioner that failed to turn out for the Committee’s hearing but we do not want to be accused of not hearing the other party”.
Abdullahi Adamu said that, “as a committee, we realized that it is illogical to clap with one hand if you want to be heard that is why we will give him fair hearing to listen to his claims later in Abuja before we reel out our position on the matter.”
He added that, “However, we do not want to lose anybody in the party that is why our mission is to solve those areas of conflict as quickly as possible in the interest of our party, democracy and Nigeria in general.”
The committee chairman also said that, “We have a mandate to reconcile any perceived misunderstanding, grudges, or conflict and we are on course in ensuring that every member is given a fair hearing in the interest of the party’s unity” .
Also commenting, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya said that by statuses of the Committee members, it is obvious the desired result of resolving disagreements among APC family across the federation will be achieved.
He expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting held with the reconciliation Committee, assuring them that All Progressives Congress in Gombe State under his stewardship will continue to wax stronger in the spirit of fairness to all the party stakeholders in the state.
Inuwa Yahaya believes that because political parties are a conglomeration of people with differences, there is always the likelihood of having differences among members and whenever there are such differences there is a need for a reconciliation Committee’s intervention.
According to him, “All Progressives Congress (APC) is one big family in Gombe state that is united and focused on delivering the demands of our party followers”.
Recall that the APC Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) had inaugurated a nine-member committee under the chairmanship of Abdullahi Adamu with the mandate to reconcile aggrieved members of the party sequel to the outcome of the party’s congresses.
The meeting was attended by Senators Saidu Ahmed Alkali, Bulus Amos; members of House of Representatives, Ex- Senators Joshua Lidani and Abdullahi Idris Umar; Chairman and Exco members of the APC; Speaker and members of Gombe State House of Assembly, party elders and other key stakeholders.