President Muhammadu Buhari has warned that continued political antagonism in the All Progressives Congress (APC) could lead to the destruction of the party.
He has accordingly appealed to the warring factions of the ruling party to withdraw all pending litigations against one another, and settle for internal conciliation.
President Buhari’s appeal is coming as the National Executive Committee of the party flushed out the feuding members of the National Working Committee (NWC) from the national secretariat of the APC.
NEC at its Thursday meeting in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, backed the dissolution of the NWC, and appointed Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State as Caretaker National Chairman of the troubled APC.
Governor Buni was immediately sworn-in by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN.
The decision to sack the APC NWC was taken in a NEC meeting summoned by a faction of the party led by Victor Giadom, a political associate of Transportation Minister, Chibuike Amaechi.
The Giadom NEC meeting received a presidential boost as it was attended by President Buhari, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmad Lawn and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
Others NEC members in attendance were all the state governors elected on the platform of the APC as well as some National Assembly members.
President Buhari says the gains of the party could be reversed as conflicts overshadow the primary objective of service to the people, urging members to refocus on the larger picture and place more emphasis on uniting the party.
Meanwhile, Governor Buni is to oversee the affairs of the party and conduct its forthcoming National Convention.
Most likely, the decision of NEC may not resolve the crisis in the party. The credibility of the faction that summoned the Presidential Villa meeting is in doubt.
Some legal luminaries including a top presidential aide like Prof. Itse Sagay, had warned President Buhari against gracing the Giadom NEC meeting, claiming it was ‘’illegal’’.
