Chairman of the National ruling party, All Progressive Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has dispelled fears that the ruling party may lose Edo State because of the crisis reaping the party apart.
Oshiomhole said this while speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting between the 35 APC state chapter chairmen and president Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja on Friday.
The Edo-born politician said he would do everything necessary to bring the crisis to an end.
Oshiomhole said: “The first thing to appreciate here is the fact that in a human organization, there’s bound to be contestations sometimes. Even when the destination is not in dispute, how best to get there may be a point for argument and those arguments are a reflection of the democratic nature of the party.
“I don’t know any organization that doesn’t have some internal disagreement. What matters is the commitment of everyone, both the leadership and the followership, that when there’s discontent or disagreement or misunderstanding, or communication gap, as soon as it is noticed, that efforts are made to resolve it Oshiomhole said.
“Let me reassure you, APC is not at risk of losing Edo state in the next election. Edo people have accepted APC as a preferred party since 2008 when I assumed office and if you look at the result of elections, it shows that the people have faith in our party, on the basis of the performance of the government that the party has produced, both when I was there and even when I had left.
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“That I come from a place does not mean that the place cannot have a quarrel. You will be exceptionally lucky as husbands and wives if you do not have misunderstandings with your spouses and sometimes, your children. If anybody suggests that whenever you have arguments in the family house the family may go under, the person may be a poor student of human history and human organization Oshiomhole said.
“I believe that the issues in Edo and in every other state will be resolved peacefully, to the benefit, not just of the party, but of the people in those states.
“We are committed to retaining Edo, particularly now that we have Bayelsa added to Edo. The more reason we cannot do anything which in our opinion, can possibly lead to APC losing Edo State. If anything, if you have been monitoring what is going on, more and more people are coming to join the APC in Edo Oshiomhole said.
“If they have fears that we may lose, nobody will leave PDP to join APC. So if people are leaving PDP to come and join APC in Edo State, that is the most potent, bold statement, about the level of confidence that even the people in the opposition recognize that if they want to be government, the party to join is the APC.
“Be rest assured that as the National Chairman, even if I wasn’t National Chairman, the investment that I have put in, the much effort that we invested to be able to defeat PDP in 2008, against federal might, when President Obasanjo was the supervisor of that election and I got reelected and you know the PDP forces in Edo, if you have invested that kind of effort like I have invested like I have done and God bless it, you will do nothing that will undermine it Oshiomhole said.
“Nothing anybody will do that will make one forget that a lot was invested and therefore we must keep the house together, whatever it will take. I am sure we will keep Edo together for the good, not only of our party but more importantly, for the good of the people of Edo state.”