Permutations on Saturday saved the embattled Edo State All Progressive Congress (APC) from parallel congresses to elect executives for the state chapter of the party.
The late Friday meeting, presided over by the immediate National Chairman of the party and two term governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, staved off the anticipated parallel state congresses, which would have worsened the raging bad blood in the party.
To the relief of the 1,080 delegates, who gathered at Tue Sports Centre of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), venue of the congress, reasoned prevailed and the party finally had a consensus arrangement that returned majority members of the old party executives to their positions.
Addressing party delegates earlier, the Chairman of the Congress Committee for Edo State, Alhaji Ahmed Tijani Ramalan, said their mandate was to conduct a free and fair state congress to elect a state executives to run the party for the next four years and urged the delegates and contestants to put the party first, stressing that the primary task was to return the party to power in Edo State.
In his remark, Chief Francis Inegbeniki, Vice Chairman of the party for Edo Central Senatorial district, who earlier sought to contest for the state chairmanship, said that after series of meetings he decided to drop his ambition in the interest of the unity of the party and that the party was ready to win back power in the state.
Also speaking in the same reconciliatory tone, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party, Col. David Imuse (rtd), who was returned with majority of his executive members, thanked the delegates for confidence reposed in them and for their support.
He recalled the challenges the APC faced in the past and assured that the party was prepared to surmount the challenges ahead, just as he said it was fully prepared to play role of a credible opposition with constructive criticism.
Also speaking, a former governor of the state under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Professor Oserheimen Osunbor said the party would continue to wax stronger and stronger and it was prepared to win the next election.
On his part, Comrade Oshiomhole, speaking on behalf of party leaders in the state, commended the congress committee for the manner it conducted the congress, just as he appreciated Chief Inegbeniki and those who stepped down as well as those elected.
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