Former Acting National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Hilliard Eta, has reacted to the resignations of his predecessor, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and National Secretary of the party, Iyiola Omisore, saying it is a ‘settled case.’
Eta, who is the Governing Council chairman of the Institute for Progressive Affairs, debunked claims that the ruling party is in turmoil.
The APC chieftain made the denial when he visited the national secretariat in Abuja to discuss the 10th anniversary of the ruling party with the new leadership.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday, he argued that the ‘voluntary’ resignations of Adamu and Omisore are in line with the party’s constitution.
He said, “The institute has no official position on this. The truth of the matter is that I do not believe the party is in turmoil. We are very quick to give names and meanings to things that are very mundane and simple. Turmoil means not settled. There is nothing that is not settled. The chairman has resigned; it is settled. The secretary has resigned; it is settled. The president, governors and NWC are looking for replacements; it is settled. There is nothing that is unsettling.
“Our political party is peopled by Nigerians with different worldviews, ideologies and understandings. You cannot expect millions of people to come together and not have altercations and acrimony. Even in nuclear homes, where you have the mother and children from the same father, they have acrimony. Let us not elevate these things beyond the ordinary. There are no issues. If the national vice chairman from North-East is not on the same page with the governors, it is normal because we are not robots.
“If all of us agree, that won’t be democracy because the moment you remove the element of choice, it is no longer democracy. The ability to bring people who disagree together is why people are elected to manage political parties. So, conflict resolution is where party management is top; because you know Ali and Tom will definitely have disagreements. The APC is doing very well as a political party in handling issues. There is really nothing that can be called a threat to the existence of the party.”
Asked for his position on the alleged endorsement of former Kano Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, by the president and the APC governors, Eta reiterated that the report has not been confirmed.
The former National Vice Chairman for South-South stated that unless Tinubu or Ganduje come out openly to confirm the development, it will remain a figment of imagination.
“My reaction is: Who said it? If it is the president who made the choice, then we can start talking about it. The president has not said he chose him. The governors have not said so. I can’t react to an issue where we don’t know who chose him. If he (Ganduje) tells us who chose him, we can start responding,” he said.
Continuing, the APC chieftain also denied the viral report that Nigerians have turned their backs on the ruling party.
According to him, a considerable number of the masses voted for the president because of his ideologies and strong conviction that he can arrest the dwindling fortunes of Nigeria.
He stated, “Let me say that there are no researches to show whether Nigerians are against the APC or not. But we, as politicians, believe the best way to know is through an election. And we just won the presidential election. I assure you that the presidential tribunal will uphold the election.
“For those who stuck out their necks for President Tinubu to emerge, it was because of their firm belief that he has the talent and capacity to put people together, and Nigeria needs the best to come together again. The administration is early in the day because I believe he still has that talent to bring the best together, and Nigeria will benefit from the talent.
“This party was founded on Progressive ideas. I remember when we campaigned in 2014, we campaigned based on ideas. We will not allow the ideas to die. We may have been disappointed on the way, but we will keep to them.”
The former APC chairman also confirmed that members of the Institute for Progressive Affairs are working hand-in-hand with the leadership of the party to successfully mark its 10th anniversary on July 31.
“The reason for our visit to the party today is to intimate and interact with the leadership of the party, especially with the coming of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the party. As you are all aware, the All Progressives Congress was established on July 31, 2013. Exactly one week from today, we will be celebrating the political evolution of the country.
“The party was established in 2013 and by 2015; we have done the unthinkable, we had opposition parties come together and ousted a behemoth of a political party that has bestridden the political landscape for 16 years. And we have gone ahead to win back-to-back national elections in 2019 and 2023. We have also won several state elections,” he said.