The Senator representing Kaduna Central in the Senate, Senator Shehu Sani has said that doom awaits the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the 2019 polls, should Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu fail to reconcile aggrieved members.
Sani, a chieftain of the APC who represents Kaduna central in the Senate, stated this on Sunday in Abuja in an interview with newsmen.
It was his own reaction to Tinubu´s recent appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the APC team of consultation, reconciliation and confidence-building.
Tinubu’s assignment, among others, is to forge cohesion within the APC ahead of the 2019 general election. It involves resolving disagreements among party members and leaders.
It also involves reconciling political office holders in some APC-controlled states and addressing crises in the party`s chapters in Kano, Kogi, Kaduna, Bauchi and other states.
“It is going to be a tragedy if he fails. This is what I know and I can speak in parables,” said Sani who has not been in a good relationship with Governor Ahmad Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state.
He said Tinubu´s appointment has halted, for now, the defection of most APC members to other political parties.
Sani said it is no more news that the APC is faced with crises in some states where it holds sway, adding that the crises have defied solutions for over two years.
The Senator noted that efforts made in the past have failed to address the multi-state crises.
Sani while confirming that the Kaduna state chapter of the party was now having a parallel executive, said it was left for the Tinubu team to address the situation before it gets out of hand.
“It is left for Asiwaju to build the bridges. Lagos is known for bridges; therefore we hope that there will be Seventh Mainland Bridge to connect the divide, but we are not sure of this.
“Right now, the party is already divided in Kaduna and it is for the national secretariat to note this and we have said it in clear terms.
“The problem has defied solution for two years, but we believe that Asiwaju can do a lot of reconciliation.
“We hope that he will be able to achieve a lot, because if he fails, it is going to be doom for the party.
“In the process where reconciliation is taking place now, I think it is in our interest to put our ambitions in our pockets according to what Mr President said and wait for Asiwaju to address the problem,” he said.
Sani advised the Tinubu reconciliation team not to take sides but to give equal treatment, especially as far as Kaduna state is concerned, in the interest of the party and its members.
