The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked warring factions in its Anambra chapter to sheathe their swords and withdraw pending court cases as the party moves to resolve its lingering leadership crisis.
Benjamin Nwoye, APC deputy national chairman (south), spoke
on Monday while addressing journalists in Abuja on the intervention of the
party’s national working committee (NWC) in the crisis.
The intervention comes amid a deepening leadership crisis in
the Anambra chapter of the APC, with a faction led by Emma Anosike locked in a
tussle with a rival group headed by Ifeanyi Osegbo.
The Osegbo faction recently took over the party’s state
secretariat in Awka after securing a court judgment, but the Anosike camp has
rejected the ruling and maintains that it remains the legitimate leadership of
the party in the state.
Nwoye said the NWC, at an emergency meeting held on Friday,
constituted a five-member fact-finding and reconciliation committee to
investigate the causes of the dispute and reconcile aggrieved members.
He said the committee would engage stakeholders in Abuja and
Anambra as part of efforts to restore unity to the state chapter.
“The point of the committee really is to find what the cause
of the crisis is, talk to stakeholders, and see ways of reconciling the warring
parties and ensuring that our party is united,” Nwoye said.
He appealed to all factions involved in the dispute to
exercise restraint and allow the reconciliation process to run its course.
Nwoye said the committee would also engage security agencies
in Anambra to ensure the maintenance of peace and protection of the party’s
assets.
“The letters I have with me will be sent to stakeholders and
security agencies in Anambra state to ensure that peace is preserved and that
our property in Anambra state, including our secretariat, is not tampered with
by anyone, by any of the warring factions,” he said.
‘WITHDRAW YOUR COURT CASES’
Nwoye urged aggrieved members who had instituted legal
proceedings over the leadership dispute to withdraw their cases and submit to
the party’s reconciliation process.
“If you have filed a case in court and you’re a member of
APC, pull your case out. We are there to listen to you,” he said.
“It’s very likely that we can engage in alternative dispute
resolution method and be able to mediate and reconcile the impasses that we may
be having.”
Nwoye said the APC constitution prohibits members from
approaching the courts over internal disputes without first exhausting the
party’s dispute-resolution mechanisms.
“You don’t go to court until you exhaust all the remedies
available within,” he said.
“It’s strictly prohibited. And it may be strictly under our
constitution because for self-expulsion, you go to court, you consider yourself
a non-member.”
He, however, said the committee had not determined whether
those involved in the litigation had exhausted the party’s internal mechanisms
before approaching the courts.
Nwoye said the panel’s immediate task was to establish the
facts surrounding the dispute and reconcile the parties rather than impose
sanctions.
‘COURT HAS STAYED ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER’
Nwoye said the party’s legal team had challenged a court
order arising from the leadership dispute and secured a stay of its
enforcement.
“Our legal people, through the office of national legal
adviser, have filed the proper processes,” he said.
“And to the glory of God, today we got a report that
enforcement had been stayed by the court that issued that order.”
He said the dispute centred on a court action challenging
the leadership of the Anambra chapter and seeking the recognition of another
leadership structure.
Nwoye underlined that the committee’s assignment had nothing
to do with the selection or nomination of APC candidates for elections.
“The crisis I’m referring to is leadership crisis. There’s
absolutely nothing. We are not dealing with names uploaded,” he said.
“The issue of candidates has been resolved to finality. The
party has taken a decision on that.”
Nwoye said the committee would begin consultations with
stakeholders in Abuja before proceeding to Awka to meet party members and other
parties involved in the dispute.
“The national working committee is stepping in and saying
that we want to hear from them all,” he said.
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