APC: Opposition from Within
Despite the victory secured by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 28 Presidential elections and its transmutation from an opposition party to a ruling party on May 29, leaders of the APC have yet to abandon the trenches, writes Onyebuchi Ezigbo
The victory recorded in 2015 presidential race by the former opposition party in Nigeria, the All Progressives congress (APC), is beginning cause problems for it. The political gladiators in the party seemed not to have understood its new status as a ruling party. The party leadership appeared dazed by the sudden change of status and as such are not able come to terms with the enormity of challenges involved in managing success. Rather than forging a more united front to face the daunting task of administering the country which has been entrusted to them, the leaders have become bedeviled by unbridled contention for sphere of influence and are fast creating opposition from within the party. Too early in the day, leadership tussle and unbriddled lust for power and influence have taken the better part of APC leaders and all of a sudden, they appeared bent on crashing the house they have built and dashing hopes they raised.
Although the ousted former ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had despised APC in its formative days as a party made up of strange bed fellows, no one expected an early crack in the party’s unity, having survived several challenging moments in the past to get to the present stage.
However, the seed of the present crisis in the party began with the tussle for the leadership of the National Assembly. Before the last general election, APC had everything going well for it. Its main focus was to defeat the PDP at the presidential election and to take over power at the centre. Having gotten over the election of its national executive officers, the party soon faced up with the task of picking the presidential candidate. When the lot fell on Muhammadu Buhari as the presidential candidate and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as his vice, everything appeared to be working as planned including an unwritten agreement on how to share other political offices. But what was perhaps not taken into consideration is the uncertainty that normally go with electoral contest. Even though the party had agreed in principle to cede the position of the Senate President to the South east if it wins majority seat in the National Assembly, there was no plan B should things go contrary. The party therefore found itself in a very serious predicament when after the elections, it failed to win a single senatorial seat from the South-east, thus throwing the position open for contest by every other zone. Not even the South-south could produce a ranking senator that could be considered for the position.
The party at first seemed to be confused on what to do. The fierce contest for the leadership of the National Assembly and the eventual emergence of a new leadership in defiance of the party’s preferences thus became the albatross of the ruling party. The party has since been engulfed in internal conflict setting its leaders against one another. First, it was the fierce tussle for the leadership of the National Assembly whose fight has continued till date despite all peace efforts to resolve the conflict. Then came the move against the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun. Oyegun was accused by an aggrieved interest group loyal to one of the party’s leading figures from the South-west of sell-out to the new leadership of the federal legislature led by Senate President Bukola Saraki. Similarly, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party from Bayelsa, Mr. Timi Frank, pushed for the removal of Oyegun, criticizing his leadership style which he said was being tele-guided and ineffective.
Oyegun responded swiftly debunking the allegations and stoutly defended himself against threat to remove him. He got a temporary relief during the last National Executive Council (NEC) meeting where he secured a vote of confidence.
Before the NEC meeting, one of the founding fathers of the APC and it pioneer interim national chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, had launched a ferocious attack on those he referred to as some northern elites in the party, accusing them of ganging up against the South-west interest. He said those who were ganging-up to checkmate the perceived dominance of former Lagos state governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, are taking the fight too far and are deliberately hurting the interest of the South-west under the new dispensation. Akande saw the intrigues that denied the former Minority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, of emerging the Speaker of the House of Representatives as a conspiracy against the South-west. The attack elicited an immediate fight-back from northern politicians and interest groups who dismissed the allegations as unwarranted. The former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, former PDP chairman, Abubakar Baraje, and leading interest groups like the Arewa Consultative Forum issued statements denying any such gang-up or conspiracy.
Perhaps the aspect that is even more worrisome was the allegation by the South-west state chairmen of the APC who have jointly accused President Muhammadu Buhari of ethnic slant in appointments since assuming office.
The chairmen alleged that aside his spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, every other appointments so far made by Buhari have been from the core North and that all of them are northern Muslims. They also vowed not to recognise the emergence of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, until the crisis in the National Assembly is resolved by the party. In a joint statement, the chairmen vowed to resist any attempt by some elements in the party to humiliate the APC National Leader, Tinubu. The party chairmen who signed the statement included Chief Henry Ajomale (Lagos), Prince Gboyega Famoodun (Osun), Alhaji Roqeeb Adeniji (Ogun), Chief Akin Oke of Oyo State, Chief Olajide Awe (Ekiti) and Mr. Isaac Kekemeke, (Ondo).
Meanwhile, APC Kwara state chapter appears to have taken up the fight to protect one of their own, Senate President Saraki, against attacks from their South-west counterparts. The state chapter of the party has followed up every offending statement directed at Saraki with equal response in what has now turned into a media war.
This controversy and in-fighting over sharing of political offices is coming when Buhari has yet to assemble his ministerial team. There are fears over what will happen when the President eventually releases his ministerial list and what will be the fate of the party’s unity and solidarity.
0 comments:
Post a Comment