We’ll not allow factions in Accord —NWC

THE National Working Committee (NWC) of the Accord Party has waded into the simmering crisis in the party, warning that it would not tolerate factionalisation in Oyo State chapter or in any other states.

The position was conveyed in a statement by the NWC at the end of its meeting held in Abuja and made available to the Nigerian Tribune, on Sunday.

The party also expressed optimism that the AD would win 70 per cent of the poll in the local government election, scheduled to hold in Oyo in February, 2017.

The NWC, in a statement signed by the national chairman of Accord, Honourable Lawal Nalado, said the only recognised congress of the party in Oyo State was the one conducted by Mr Bashir Lawal.

It averred that the congress was held after the national body gave its nod and was also duly monitored by representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It made it clear that the party had a clearly spelt-out internal mechanism for resolving disputes, admonishing all aggrieved members of the party in the state to avail themselves of such, instead of taking the laws into their hands.

“We are not having a crisis in Oyo State. What we are having is a misunderstanding among our party followers in the state. We have only one structure that was elected at a congress as the executive council of Oyo State Accord.

“They (the recognised exco) wrote to us seeking for permission to conduct congresses from the wards to the state level and we gave them the go-ahead. So, for any other person who feels aggrieved over the outcome of the congress to decide to take laws into his hand, we don’t think it is correct.

“People should not take laws into their hands. If you have grievances, you know the best way to get such grievances addressed. You cannot just say because you are a card-carrying member of Accord and then decide to start operation on your own. It is never done anywhere. We have procedure; we have rule of law. You can’t just say because you are a party member, you will just go and form your faction. You cannot form faction. We don’t believe in creating factions.

“Our party is a very peaceful party. We will never allow anybody to create problems for us, moreso now that the local government election in Oyo State is forthcoming. We are hoping to win more than 70 per cent seats in the said election. So, why are we therefore trying to create problems for our party?

“We are, once again, telling the world that we don’t recognise any faction that is formed illegally. The only congress we recognised in Oyo State is the one conducted by Bashir Lawal which was monitored by the representatives of INEC,” the statement said.

The AD national leadership, therefore, enjoined aggrieved members to ensure that the issue was resolved amicably, using the party’s dispute resolution mechanism.

The Accord NWC assured that it would do everything possible to ensure that all the candidates of the party for the local government election in Oyo State emerged through a free, fair, credible and transparent process.

The list of candidates for the election is expected to be submitted to INEC by the end of this month, in line with the timetable released by the national electoral body.