>
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Engr. Babachir Lawal, has charged the Minister of Petroleum (State),Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, to take charge of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in Delta State.
He said this in Abuja on Monday at a reconciliation meeting of the warring factions. He flayed the national leadership of the party for its tactlessness in resolving the crisis in the party.
Lawal said: “You have to take charge of the party, Kachikwu. We cannot leave the party in the hands of those people”. But there were mutterings by some party members that Kachikwu was a late entrant into the party.
Present at the meeting were party elders from the different tendencies with the exception of the factional chairman of the party, Prophet Erue Jones and the party’s 2015 governorship candidate, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor.
Lawal presided at the meeting that had the minister, Dr. Kachikwu, party leader, Senator Francis Okpozo, Chief Great Ogboru, Chief Ayiri Emami, former Speaker, Victor Ochei, former members of the House of Representatives, Temi Harriman and Halims Agoda, former chairman of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Chief Adolo Okotie-Eboh, Richard Odibo, Chief Hyacinth Enuha, among many others.
Also present was a serving senator belonging to an opposition political party who, however, is said to have foot soldiers in the APC with the intention of defecting to the party at the appropriate time.
The National Working Committee, NWC, was represented by Engr. Segun Oni while South-South Chairman, Chief Hilliard Eta was absent.
The SGF was, before his appointment, the National Vice-Chairman, North-East and a close confidant of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The crisis in the party degenerated about 18 months ago when the Jones executive was declared illegal upon a court action filed by Okotie-Eboh.
The SGF, who initiated the meeting, according to sources, used harsh words on the NWC, accusing the body of messing up the integrity of the party for crumbs, saying that the crisis in several state chapters of the party was foisted by the leadership of the party.
The SGF added, “Peace and progress cannot be held down because of a few people. How many are they?”
Kachikwu, in response, was said to have taken offence at insinuations that he failed to show leadership but nevertheless promised the SGF and the stakeholders that he would from henceforth, take his position and provide leadership and unite the party in the state.