Oshiomhole said internal wrangling among the party's stalwart was
responsible for the loss APC suffered in Rivers.
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams
Oshiomhole, has lamented the inability of the ruling party to have any
foothold in Rivers State, admitting that the party does not have even
a councillor in the state.
He expressed his frustration on Monday while speaking at the
inauguration of a five-man caretaker committee led by Isaac Abott
Ogbobula.
Oshiomhole said internal wrangling among the party's stalwart was
responsible for the loss APC suffered in Rivers.
The former Edo State governor said: “We don’t have a formal party
structure despite our overwhelming support base. This our move is
consequent on the Supreme Court judgment on Rivers.
“We can’t build the party from outside and the National Working
Committee decided to put a caretaker committee in place that will
liaise with those that will come and conduct congresses from ward to
state.
“My role is to simply inaugurate a committee to give it legal backing.
The APC is divided in Rivers State and your first task is to reconcile
the divides.
“We shall also send a high-level team to forge reconciliation ahead of
the congress. We are not going to be indifferent to the situation in
Rivers since politics is about the people.
“Our members have paid a huge price in Rivers and you all know the
cost of fighting to finish. As things stand today in Rivers, we don’t
even have a local government councillor. That can’t be the wish of the
people of Rivers State and we know the actors but we don’t want to go
into details.
“I hope the few setbacks we suffered is the lesson we need not to toe
the path of crisis. You must put the party first. Yes, as human beings
we have feelings but what matters is our capacity to put the interest
of APC members in Rivers State into account, so that the people coming
to do the congresses will have a reliable local base.
“You have the challenging task of managing the various shades of
opinions in Rivers. We are the net losers in Rivers but we hope you
can subordinate your interest to the larger interest of our party.
“Our doors are open, we are ready to listen to advise and we shall do
all we need to do to make the Congresses successful.”