The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has said that the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan was removed as the chairman of the party’s reconciliation committee because he had other urgent state matters to attend to.
Oshiomhole, who stated this while inaugurating the committee, also denied that Lawan’s removal was because of the opposition to his membership of the committee by Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, who raised an objection to the composition, insisting that some of the members are interested parties in the crisis in his state chapter of the party.
A former Interim Chairman of the APC, Bisi Akande, replaced Lawan as the Chairman of the committee.
The former Edo State Governor also disclosed that the inauguration of the committee was delayed because of the need to change its leadership.
“The process suffered a delay because the proposed person to lead was unable to do so for other state matters”, Oshiomhole said, adding that intraparty conflict was not limited to the APC.
“It is natural for a political party to engage in internal contestations. Where there is none, there is a problem with that party,” he said.
Thanking members of the committee for accepting the challenge, the APC chairman said: “Your acceptance to play this part renews our confidence that we are all committed to peace. It is traditional to have contestation in a progressive party. I am very thankful that you have all accepted to assist the party in this particular regard.”
In his reaction, Akande said had a feeling of unease when he was first appointed because he didn’t know the people whom he would work with.
He said: “At first, I felt trembled but when I read the names of my other colleagues in the committee, I became emboldened and felt happy that we are certainly going to do a very good job for the progress of this party.”