As Jedy Unites, Repositions APC For Victory In Cross River

Honourable Minister of State, Power, Prince Goddy Jedy-Agba, OFR, presenting Cross River APC State Chairman, Sen. M.T Mbu to party stakeholders after a successful peace meeting in Abuja recently.

Intra-party conflicts of all kinds have been a reoccurring decimal in Nigerian politics. In the current democratic dispensation, both major and fringe political parties have at one point or the other faced  serious acrimony that has threatened not just the parties survival but the nation's democracy.

In Cross River for instance, the opposition All Progress Congress, APC has been embroiled in serious leadership tussle. Since the party axed the PDP in 2015 from the centre and subsequent appointment of the then state Chairman, Pastor Usani Uguru as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs by President Muhammadu Buhari, unexpectedly, stability and unity  disappeared from among the ranks and files of the party.

Perhaps, the crisis was expected considering the caliber of people who moved to the party after the 2015 victory. Aligning all interests of the political juggernauts and bringing them together to challenge PDP dominance in the state became a task that lasted for about three years to achieve.

As events were unfolding, it became clear that the main crux of the friction was not just about the state Chairmanship position but who control the structure of the party ahead of the 2019  gubernatorial election in the state. The crisis snowballed into factions where the party ran two separate secretariats with factional executives from ward to the state.

As the crisis lingered with attendant accusations and rebuttals, the need for a leader that was not committed to either of the camps became apparent.

Although, the party boasts of some of the biggest politicians in the state, interest made majority identify with different factions.

Thus, as President Buhari was preparing to form his cabinet for second term, it was the desire of many that a neutral person with strong political will should emerge as Minister so that such a stalwart can become a rallying point for both factions to reconcile.
And so it was when Prince Goddy Jedy-Agba, one of the major financier of the party in the state with a robust record of strong conflict resolution qualities was appointed Minister.

As an opposition state, a minister naturally assumes the leadership of the party so it was necessary for a leader in the mold of Jedy to lead the party. Within one year, the crisis which almost made APC a laughing stock has permanently been  put to rest with a new generally acceptable State Chairman in person of Sen. M.T Mbu, Jr.

The journey to restoring peace in the party has however not been easy as people who made gains  from the crisis deployed every underhand tactic  to frustrate his efforts. Jedy  being a thorough, discipline and calculative leader exerted his acumen and pulled  everybody  together like a bundle of broom to agree on the way forward for the party.

Today in Cross River State, those who were underrating the party and making mockery of it that there is no opposition are jittery because Jedy has been able to reposition it in a strong position to not only play the role of opposition in the state effectively but to win election starting with the Cross River North Senatorial election ahead of the 2023 general election.

Political watchers have continued to applaud how he was able to pull everybody together to eschew bitterness and unite in the interest of the party. All major stakeholders are today working together and speaking in one voice. This, of course is not unconnected to the fact that in all his decisions, he put the interest of the party forward and not his personal interest.

Unity, it's said it's strength. The Unity and strength of APC to challenge the crisis ridden PDP in the State manifested recently in the smooth inauguration of the State Chairman, Sen. Mbu by the National Caretaker Committee. The exercise has been greeted with great excitement by party faithfuls who are today celebrating  Jedy more than ever for fixing the long standing leadership crisis.

Indeed, the beginning of a new era in APC Cross River is here and all thanks goes to Prince Jedy-Agba, the unsung heroe of the party.