March 4, 2018

A National Assembly member, Senator Shehu Sani, says he will support any effort at resolving the crisis in Kaduna state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Sani, who represents Kaduna Central at the Senate, gave the assurance on Sunday in Abuja while speaking with newsmen after meeting with Mr Segun Oni, leader of the party’s fact-finding committee on crisis.

He said that he was summoned by Oni as his faction of the party could not meet with members of the committee when they visited Kaduna.

Sani maintained that he was in support of any effort that would restore peace, unity and stability within the party in the state and the country.

He, however, added that it was in the interest of the party not to defer its problems and crises, but to solve them.

According to him, there is no problem in the APC that cannot be solved, so long as the contending parties are ready for settlement.

“If one person is ready and the other person is not ready, certainly we are not going to make any headway.

“So, I very much identify myself with any effort that is aimed at bringing peace.

“Our position is this, if the governor of Kaduna state is for peace, we are for peace. If he’s for war, we are also for war and a bigger war,’’ he said.

The lawmaker, however, said that it was the desire of everyone to come together and work to heal wounds.

This, he said, was critical to restore confidence and hope in the minds of millions of Nigerians that voted for the APC in 2015.

He added that a situation where some people within the party were treated as outcasts would not augur well for it.

Sani also said that it was wrong for some people to be categorized as pro-Buhari and others as anti-Buhari within the party.

He said that everyone who is in the APC was pro-Buhari, explaining that the difference was that while some were not sycophants, others were.

He, however, pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to personally intervene in the crisis in the party in Kaduna, saying that Buhari “is the glue that binds the members”.

“I still see President Muhammadu Buhari as the glue of APC; if we don’t have Buhari in the APC, everyone will find his way to his home.

“So, as he remains the glue, he must also be up and doing in addressing these crises,’’ Sani said.

According to him, the president`s philosophy of being for everybody and for nobody has led the party to nowhere.

He said that addressing the crisis in Kaduna chapter was critical to avert the tragedy that may befall the party in upcoming elections.

“As far as I am concerned, the success of this party in the upcoming elections is dependent on how it would be able to manage the crisis and solve the problems.

“The Segun Oni committee came to Kaduna and requested that we should all sheath our sword and bury our hatchet. For now, we only covered our hatchet with leaves,“ the lawmaker said.

He said the crisis in the party in Kaduna was allowed to fester and had reached a crescendo “where the broom automatically transformed to a machete“.

He, however, said that aggrieved members of the party were waiting for the president, the party`s leadership and the Sen. Bola Tinubu’s Reconciliation Team to reconcile members.

“We have provided the facts and we are waiting for Tinubu to act on it; as far as I am concerned, I believe that Oni is working with Tinubu. There is no conflict of responsibilities,“ he said.

Sani expressed optimism that the party`s future could be bright if its members were treated with equity, justice and fairness.

He advised the party`s leadership to avoid the symptoms of crisis that destroyed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He hinted that if the crisis in Kaduna defied peaceful moves, members may have to take the next step.

“And as far as I am concerned everyone has plan B; even for me, I have plan B, C and D.

“If anyone felt that this party belongs to him and doesn’t belong to me and that I am not needed in the party, there is no way I can continue to remain in the party.

“After all, it is a free world,’’ Sani said.