A former governor of Abia, Chief Orji Kalu, on Saturday called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC to intervene in the feud between Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and the Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu.
He made the call in Ibadan at the inauguration of the South-West Zonal Office of the Muhammadu Buhari Osinbajo (MBO) Dynamic Support Group.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ajimobi and party officials in the state were not at the event.
NAN learnt that they were at the APC Secretariat in Oke-Ado for a rally while the event lasted.
Kalu said that the governor and minister were supposed to be the best of friends, adding that the rift if not addressed could affect the chances of the party in the state in the 2019 general elections.
“For us, we are students of preaching peace and unity. We are students who say the truth. We are students who are not afraid of telling people what we feel that is not right.
“Everybody in this hall will agree with us that there is a break in communication between our governor and the minister. We don’t want that to continue.
“If anybody inside this house today says it is good for these two elephants to continue quarrelling, I and my senior brother, (Ken) Nnamani, would disagree on that.
“We have decided to take the case upon ourselves and see that it is resolved. We call on the president, vice-president and national leaders of our party to intervene
“When two giants are fighting, the grass suffers. The most important thing is that we must say the truth.”
The former governor, however, commended MBO for organising the event, arguing that the president and his deputy deserved another term.
In their separate remarks, Shittu and Health Minister, Prof. Isaac Adewole, called on Nigerians to support the president and his deputy for another term.
Shittu said that the Buhari administration had done well, adding that the opposition PDP did not achieve what the president had achieved in two and a half years.
“The truth is Buhari is doing so much but little is being said about them. Buhari has created six million jobs in two and a half years from the agriculture sector,” he said.
Adewole, on his part, said Kalu and Nnamani would be supported in bringing peace and unity to the party.
“I assure you all that it’s not been easy but you will start reaping this year. I call on you all to go and get your voter’s card.
“ This is the only weapon to use in sustaining the ongoing development,” he said.
Nnamani, who was chairman at the occasion, had earlier said there was need for the APC to embrace internal decorum
“I would say publicly here without any fear or favour that the south west is a centre of excellence in Nigeria and centre of commerce and industry.
“I expect that their eminent role in politics should be anchored on peace and unity. Politics is not a game you play as an individual. You have a role to be part of a team.
“Since we are here to commission the zonal office, maybe after this, we will go further, but it is important to understand that we cannot achieve much as a group without unity and peace.
“This is vital, not only in politics, but also in our families. We must stoop to conquer. We are not trying to prove any point by trying to be antagonistic and run one another down,” he said. (NAN)