By Ben Ogbemudia and Nimake Earland  with agency report
The state congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which was held on Saturday across the country were dotted with confusion as the ruling party experienced parallel congresses in some states. ThisNigeria learnt yesterday that apart from parallel congresses that played out in some states, there were instances of gunshots that scared members of the party away.

Despite the hiccups in several states, the APC in a statement yesterday in Abuja congratulated its members on their ‘successful’ state congresses across the country.

The APC state congresses were to elect officials at the state level, ahead of its national convention expected to hold before the end of 2021. In Lagos State, the division in the APC has led to the emergence of three factional chairmen. The APC held three separate congresses in the nationwide exercise which produced Mr Cornelius Ojelabi, Ms Omotayo Tugbobo, and Mr Sunday Ajayi as chairman.

Ojelabi was the candidate of the faction of the party loyal to former Governor Bola Tinubu and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while Tugbobo emerged from the camp of the former Governor of Lagos, Akinwumi Ambode, and Ajayi was elected chairman from the camp of another group, Lagos4Lagos, led by Jide Adediran.

With the division, it was learnt yesterday that Tinubu’s stronghold of the party in the state has been threatened. One of the factional members of the party, Talib Ojo, said, “It cannot always go the Tinubu way. We are genuinely looking for a level playing field for all our members.”

The struggle for supremacy in the party between Governor Gboyega Oyetola and his predecessor, Rauf Aregbesola, played out as there were two parallel congresses by their loyalists in Osun State. The Osun Progressives (TOP), loyal to Aregbesola, elected the immediate Secretary of the party, Alhaji Rasak Salinsile, as its Chairman, while the Ileri Oluwa Group, loyal to Governor Oyetola, saw the immediate caretaker chairman of the party, Mr Gboyega Famodun, being re-elected as the party chairman.

The situation is not different in Ogun as supporters of Governor Dapo Abiodun and his predecessor Senator Ibikunle Amosun clashed after which they held parallel congresses. Governor Abiodun’s camp elected Chief Yemi Sanusi as chairman at the exercise conducted at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta by a seven-member committee led by Wale Ohu. Sanusi was the immediate past caretaker committee chairman of the party in the state.

The Amosun’s camp, which was initially chased away from the Ake Palace Ground in Abeokuta, later regrouped to elect Derin Adebiyi as factional chairman. It was learnt that thugs had a field day using weapons, including gunshots, to chase away each other from the venue of the congresses.

There have been brutal war by proxies between Governor Abiodun and Amosun over the soul of the APC in Ogun State. The situation is not different in Bauchi as ThisNigeria learnt that crisis is looming in APC over the emergence of its state chairman and other officials. A faction of the party has rejected the consensus chairman. ThisNigeria gathered that members have expressed dissatisfaction with top party men, including a former Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, and Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, over possible imposition of party officials.

The development led to a palpable tension among members of the opposition party in the state following the secrecy and cover-up that highlighted the party’s Saturday’s state congress. In Kano, a former governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, Senator Barau Jibril (Kano North) and other chieftains of the APC did not attend the state congress.

ThisNigeria learnt that Shekarau is having a frosty relationship with Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje over who controls APC delegates in Kano. Shekarau, Jibril, and Ibrahim Sharada led some APC members loyal to a parallel congress, but Governor Ganduje declared that any parallel congress was illegitimate.

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In Delta State, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo, and the party’s governorship candidate in the 2019 elections, Chief Great Ogboru, and others boycotted APC congress. The stakeholders, under the aegis of Delta Leaders’ Council, however, charged the party’s faithful across the state to remain focused and steadfast in the face of any provocation. Others who boycotted the congress include Alex Ideh, Cairo Ojougboh, Victor Ochei, Mariam Ali, and George Timinimi, and 12 others.

However, a one-time Commissioner for Environment, Mr Omeni Sobotie, was elected as Chairman, in a congress attended by Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, Olorogun O’Tega Emerhor, Chief Frank Ovie Kokori, Revd Francis Waive representing Udu/Ughelli constituency at the House of Representatives, among others.

In Oyo State, a coalition of three notable groups within the APC are calling on the National Secretariat of the party to release results of the ward and local government congresses in the state. This is contained in a statement jointly signed by the groups- Unity Forum, Ajimobi Legacy Forum (ALF), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and made available to newsmen on Sunday in Ibadan. The statement was jointly signed by Sen. Ayoade Adeseun; Sen. Adesoji Akanbi; Chief Kunle Sanda; Chief Adebayo Adelabu; Alhaji Adebayo Shittu; Alhaji Sarafa Alli and Mr Bimbo Adepoju.

They called on the National Secretariat of the party to ease the tension among members in the state by releasing the authentic results of the congresses. The leaders urged members of the party to remain calm over the postponement of the state congress. Among other members of the group were Senator Olufemi Lanlehin; Gunju Ojo; Alhaji Waheed Olajide; Mr Michael Lana; Gbenga Olayemi and Yekini Popoola. Meanwhile, in Ekiti State, some aggrieved leaders of the ruling APC boycotted the party’s state congress to elect new party executives.

Prominent members such as the Special Adviser to the President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu; former Minister of Work Prince Dayo Adeyeye, and Senator Tony Adeniyi were conspicuously absent at the popular Ekiti Parapo Pavilion, the venue of the exercise.

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However, those who emerged as the executives in the congress supervised by the six-member National Congress Committee chaired by Alhaji Yusuf Galambi are Paul Omotoso, who was returned as Chairman, while Sola Elesin was also retained as deputy chairman. Governor Kayode Fayemi urged the Omotoso-led state executive to work hard and unify the party ahead of the 2022 governorship poll slated for June 18.

In Sokoto, the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, and former Governor Aliyu Wammako, teamed up with their supporters for the state congress. Their faction adopted consensus to return all 36 executives unopposed. Alhaji Sadiq Achida was returned as chairman and Abubakar Muhammad Yabo as Secretary with Alhaji Haruna Adiya as treasurer For Adamawa State, no fewer than 12 local government areas in Adamawa have so far voted as the APC state congress election continued for the second day on Sunday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the APC congress commenced late on Saturday evening in the state. The Chairman of the election committee, Prof. Umar Katsayal, attributed the delay of the election to an intensive and thorough screening of the delegates.

APC congratulates members on successful state congresses
Meanwhile, the National Secretary of the APC Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Senator John Akpanudoedehe, said that only exercises conducted by duly inaugurated state congress committees would be recognised by the party. “We had to focus on internal democracy and the charge by the leader of the party, President Muhammadu Buhari that the party is returned to the people. “Card-carrying party members came out en masse to elect executives who will take charge of APC affairs across the states for the next four years. “However, our attention has been drawn to reports of so-called and purported parallel Congresses. The purported parallel Congresses are futile activities.

“It is very strange to the party. Our Constitution and the guidelines for the conduct of the State and other Congresses provide that only exercises conducted by duly-inaugurated State Congress Committees are recognised by the party,” he said. He added that the APC leadership would not hesitate to take adequate and lawful measures against any person or interest sabotaging the party’s collective interest and efforts to achieve peace and unity within its fold. He said where conflicts exist, adequate conflict resolution measures had been put in place to address such through the party’s Appeal Committees.

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He reminded the party’s members that the National Reconciliation Committee was inaugurated under the chairmanship of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, former Governor of Nasarawa state. The APC scribe said the committee was mandated to reconcile all differences that may come up after the Congresses.