National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday explained why it became necessary to embark on last ditch push to persuade aggrieved party members not to dump the party.
Oshiomhole was categorical that rapprochement aimed at pacifying aggrieved members of the party plotting to leave the party should not be taken as an act of cowardice on the part of APC leadership.
The APC National Chairman spoke at a book presentation in honour of Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim in Abuja.
He emphasized that the last minute rapprochement was all about working for peace and engendering justice and fairness for those who deserved it.
He added that the political move to mend fences should not be taken that the party is jittery in anyway.
The party chairman said that far from having sleepless nights as being insinuated in some quarters, he is only working to ensure peace in the party since peace cannot be decreed.
Oshiomhole said, “Throughout the weekend and up till today, many of the national dailies reported different stories with the impression that I have not been sleeping within the last one week as a result of alleged midnight meetings with aggrieved party members who they say I have been begging not to leave the party.
“In some of the reports, insinuations even went as far as saying that I made juicy offers to the aggrieved party members to stop them from cross carpeting.
“While I will not be too direct in reacting to such reports here, I will only say though I have been meeting aggrieved party members over whatever injustice they felt the party or some chieftains of the party had done to them, but I have not been having sleepless nights as being reported and also not in anyway jittery.
“Rapprochement move as far as I am concerned , is not an act of cowardice but a desirous endeavour in making peace since you can’t decree peace but only work for it .
” So, in a nutshell, I am not ashamed of doing that as Chairman of a great party and to those rapprochement moves are being directed to , we want them to appreciate that we are more or less trying to prevent them from making blunder of dumping palm wine for kain kain”, he said .
Oshiomhole further noted that the rapprochement maneuvers were necessary especially when stability of the country cannot be completely divested from stability of political parties.
Those running the affairs of the country, he said, got to power through political parties.
Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who chaired the occasion, commended Ibrahim for chronicling his experience in politics since 1991 in the book titled “Poorlitics” .
Saraki noted that Senator Ibrahim’s brand of politics centred on the people at all times.
He said that it is the same brand of politics that Ibrahim adopted to secure the mandate of Yobe people to govern them three times and even representing them in the senate for the third time.
He said that it is similar brand of politics that propelled the political legacy and structure left behind by his father, the late Senator Olusola Saraki.
He said, “Senator Ibrahim’s brand of politics as vividly captured in this book titled, “Poorlitics”, is not different from the model of politics my late father, Senator Abubakar Olusola Saraki bequeathed to us in Kwara State.
“It is an all-time form of politics anchored on engaging the people at all times in knowing their problems and aspirations and assisting them in confronting their challenges in and out of election years unlike others who are fond of embarking on three and half years of sabbatical leave after elections only to rush back six months to new elections and yet expecting to get positive results.”
The book presentation was also attended by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, Senators and members of the House of Representatives.
