APC CRISIS : NWC Splits Into Various Camp, Bello Draws Battles with APC Nat. Women Leader, Party May Lose More States

APC CRISIS : NWC splits into Various Camp, Bello drawn Battles with Baiwa , Party May Lose, more states
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is said to be in disarray, as members are said to have split into different camps.
The factionalisation of members stemmed from the fallouts of the last general elections and the leadership style of the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
Some members were said to have benefitted immensely from the primaries of the party, while others lost out.
Those who didn’t benefitt are the ones revolting in their states against the national leadership of the party, a source said.
Such revolts have led to the Sokoto and Zamfara states’ organs of APC alleging anti-party activities against the National Vice Chairman (North West), Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir and Deputy National Chairman (North), Senator Lawal Shuaibu.
The Sokoto State organs of APC recently expelled Abdulkadir and the National Leadership on Thursday upheld the expulsion. The APC Disciplinary Committee had sent an invitation to Abdulkadir to appear before it, but he had refused to honour the invitation of the Committee, led by the Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Niyi Adebayo.
Abdulkadir is in court in Sokoto State against APC, challenging his expulsion by the Sokoto State organs of APC when the NWC upheld his expulsion.
Also, the Deputy National Chairman (North), Senator Lawal Shuaibu, is against the leadership style of the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, and some other National Working Committee members.
In fact, Shuiabu was the first person that brought the crisis in the NWC to the fore with his letter to Oshiomhole, asking him to resign as National Chairman for the poor performance of APC in the last general elections.
Oshiomhole is said to be working with the Deputy National Chairman (South), National Auditor, Chief George Moghalu; National Treasurer, Hon. Panda and National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu.
However, other NWC members are forming alliance with others or they are staying on their own.
One of such NWC member working alone is the APC National Legal Adviser, Mr. Babatunde Ogala. He had also written a letter to the National Chairman, accusing him of usurping his functions.
According to a party source, the division in the party might lead to its losing the governorship election in Kogi, Edo and Ondo states slated for this year and 2020.
Already, there is a face-off between the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, and the governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
Both Oshiomhole and his supporters and the governor of Edo State are at each other’s throats ahead of the party’s governorship ticket in the next year’s election.
The fight between the APC National Chairman and the governor of Edo State naturally has divided the APC members from the state and at the national level.
This also has triggered state assembly crisis, with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila asking the Inspector General of Police and Director General of DSS to seal Edo State House of Assembly complex.
The same could be said about Kogi and Ondo states as party members are said to be divided along the line of loyalty.
The division in the state party ahead of governorship election is capable of making the APC to lose those elections, said a party member.
Speaking on the crisis in the Edo State APC, former governor of Cross River State, Chief Clement Ebri, said this is the time President Muhammadu Buhari should intervene.
In his view, it would be shameful and disgraceful if the infighting in Edo State should cause APC to lose the state to opposition.
According to Ebri, Edo State is the only state APC has in the whole of South East and South South and should be well-guided.
Speaking on the crisis between the APC National Chairman and the governor of Edo State, Ebri said: “l call on Mr. President to intervene and arrest the situation. For us from the South South and South East, this is very important as the state is the only state governed by APC in the two zones.
“We should be talking about how to increase the number of states in these zones rather than indulging in the things that would make us lose the one we have.
“l want to sincerely call on all well-meaning members of the APC to intervene on the crisis in Edo State and save the party in the two zones. “
The Kogi State APC crisis is also between the governor and other party members from the state including the National Women’s Leader, Hajiya Salamatu Baiwa.
According to a party source, the governor is working against the Women’s Leader being appointed as minister, while Hajiya Baiwa is also working against the governor securing his second term APC governorship ticket.
The effect of the APC crisis in Kogi State is to the extent that some stakeholders have gone to court to challenge the decision of the APC NWC to adopt indirect mode of primaries for the party’s governorship ticket.
Some APC governorship aspirants in Kogi State had said if the national leadership did not rescind its decision to adopt indirect primaries, the party might experience what happened in Zamfara State in the state.
It would be recall that because of internal crisis in Zamfara State APC during the primaries, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the election petition.
In Ondo State, the chieftains of the party in the state and outside the state are ganging up against the governor, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu.
They are moving to replace the governor with the Deputy Whip of the Senate, Senator Ajayi Borrofice or with the candidate of the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Dr. Segun Abraham.
Abraham came second in the last APC governorship primaries that brought Akeredolu as governor of Ondo State.
It would be recalled that New Telegraph had reported that the national leadership of APC was planning to rebuild the party and restore confidence of members by injecting about 50 members into the Working Committee.
The APC state chairmen had after their meeting in Abuja told newsmen that the state Chairmen were passionate about ensuring that the party gained more grounds ahead of the 2023 elections.