Akande’s letter provokes northern party leaders

Firstclass newsline gathered that fresh facts on Tuesday indicated
that the national caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress
scheduled for Monday was cancelled because of the suspicion within the
party.
Firstclass newsline learnt that the APC leadership called off the
meeting because of reported anger of some leaders of the ruling party
in the north at insinuations by Chief Bisi Akande that they were
behind the crisis in the party.
Akande, a former interim national chairman of the APC, had in a letter
made public on Monday alleged, among other things, that, "Most
Northern elite, the Nigerian oil subsidy barons and other business
cartels, who never liked (President Muhammadu) Buhari's
anti-corruption political stance, are quickly backing up the rebellion
against APC with strong support."
A member of the party's caucus from the North-East geopolitical zone,
who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the
matter, said it would have been a rancorous session if the caucus
meeting had held in what he described as "such an atmosphere of mutual
suspicion."
The party leader, who in fact said he would have spoken on the record
if not for the fence- mending efforts being made by other leaders of
the party, said, "We (northerners) are unhappy about Chief (Bisi)
Akande's outburst. It was unnecessary because we are all trying to put
out a fire that is threatening to consume our house. And when you have
a respected leader and elder making such unguarded statements it does
not help.
"I personally hold Chief Akande in high esteem but what he wrote in
that letter was nothing short of an insult on our collective
sensibilities. How can you single out a section of your party and call
them criminals who were supporting rebels to destroy the party we all
built? This is most unexpected and uncharitable to say the least."
Also, a chieftain of the APC, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, on Tuesday,
described as unfortunate, the statement by Akande.
Baraje, in a statement in Abuja, said he was disappointed that Akande
who had led the party and served as a state governor could author a
statement in which he was allegedly seeking to divide the nation by
setting the North against the South-West.
The APC leader, who once served as the national chairman of the
Peoples Democratic Party, said, "I do not know where Chief Akande and
his cohorts are getting this unsubstantiated information they are
circulating. We challenge them to provide proof and let Nigerians make
their judgment.
"Akande and co believe that they have exclusive right to determine who
occupies what position in today's Nigeria and whoever tries to
challenge their position must be subjected to savage attack in the
media. That tactic is definitely undemocratic.
"I have known Chief Akande to be an honest man. I got the shock of my
life when he alleged that I had a meeting in my house with 'some old
and new PDP members with a view to hijacking the National Assembly'
through the aspiration of Dr. Bukola Saraki as the Senate President.
"I have been quiet as a leader so as to not to be seen as taking sides
because of my closeness to Dr. Saraki, else people will read meaning
into it.
"Akande has been playing a role which I admire. He will recall that he
met some actors, with a governor from the North-West and a leader of
the party from the South-West, where the leader from the South-West
was cautioned to be reasonable in this crisis.
"He (Akande) supported the view of the governor from the North-West
that the particular leader from the South-West should be admonished
for his action. It is therefore surprising that Akande is now being
economical with the truth and painting a picture that exists only in
his imagination."
Baraje said the allegation by Akande that a purported meeting took
place in his (Baraje's) house after the general elections, where "a
so-called new PDP group plotted with a view to hijacking the National
Assembly…with an ultimate aim of resuscitating the PDP as their future
political platform" was a mere fabrication.
Firstclass newsline learnt that renewed peace moves were being made in
the party and that the party leaders were hoping that they would
before Friday achieve an atmosphere conducive to holding the APC NEC
meeting.
The APC NEC meeting was shifted from Tuesday (yesterday) to Friday to
enable party leaders to engage in further consultations.
A top member of the APC National Working Committee, who did not want
his name mentioned, said that the meeting was postponed to allow
tempers to go down.
"All leaders are in touch with one another and I can assure you that
the crisis will be resolved on Friday," the party source said.
However, the Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na'Allah, himself
a northerner, had defended Akande on Monday. Na'Allah said Akande must
have been misquoted.
The senator said, "Chief Bisi Akande is a highly respected senior
member of this country and I am not so sure he had not been misquoted
on that issue. Even where it exists, I am absolutely sure that it
cannot be the correct statement on the situation.
"The North holds every section of this country high; we detest the
idea of even labelling us as North because we have passed that stage
with the current development in our country.
"We are a united country whether we like it or not with some few
interests being defined at different levels of our governance but as
far as Nigeria is concerned, I don't want to believe that there is any
conspiracy.
"If there is any conspiracy on the part of the North, what made you
think that the conspiracy will involve bringing somebody from the
Peoples Democratic Party and from the South-East to become the deputy
senate president?"
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Timi Frank, on
Tuesday, confirmed that the party's National Executive Committee would
meet in Abuja on Friday to thrash out all issues affecting the party.
"We are holding our NEC meeting on Friday and I am sure all our issues
will be thrashed out and the party will come out stronger," Frank
said.
Firstclassnewsline.net