By Dayo Johnson, Akure

Elders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State have rejected the reconciliation committee constituted by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, saying direct engagement with aggrieved party stakeholders remains the best way to resolve the crisis within the party.

The elders, under the aegis of the PBAT Elders Mandate Forum, told journalists in Akure on Wednesday that the committee lacked the credibility required to address the issues causing divisions in the party.

They also accused the governor of showing insufficient commitment to mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

Chairman of the forum, Hon. Demola Ijabiyi, said the committee was “unknown” to the group and described the governor’s reconciliation efforts as inadequate.

He alleged that the crisis stemmed partly from disagreements over the emergence of National Assembly candidates and urged Aiyedatiwa to personally engage affected stakeholders.

According to him, excluding some preferred candidates from the National Assembly election process created grievances within the party.

“When you sit in your office and write your own names, and exclude 11 out of 12 members of the National Assembly without consultation, you create disaffection. The governor created it. It is he that should remove it,” Ijabiyi said.

The elders also expressed concern over what they described as the governor’s limited political activities towards the mobilisation of support for Tinubu’s re-election.

Ijabiyi said several support groups inaugurated by the governor had failed to sustain momentum, adding that stronger coordination and grassroots mobilisation were needed ahead of the elections.

The forum further advised Aiyedatiwa to heed the counsel of former Governor Olusegun Mimiko on the need to reconcile with the three ministers from the state.

While acknowledging existing differences between the governor and Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the elders praised the minister’s political mobilisation efforts and contributions to the APC in Ondo State.

Ijabiyi said the minister’s activities had strengthened the party’s visibility and expressed the view that all stakeholders should work together to secure victory for the APC and President Tinubu.

“We see no benefit in this development. At this moment, our overriding task is clear: to secure victory for the APC and deliver overwhelming votes for President Tinubu,” he said.

On the governor’s relationship with party elders, Ijabiyi said Aiyedatiwa should personally initiate reconciliation rather than rely solely on a committee.

“The governor does not own the party. In a few years’ time, whether it succeeds in the re-election or does not succeed, he will go. The party will remain,” he said.

He added that the elders were willing to work with the governor if he reached out directly to them and other aggrieved stakeholders.

“If he calls the minister and sits with him, if he comes to the elders and says he wants us to work together, we will embrace him,” Ijabiyi stated.