BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, ABUJA
The ruling All Progressives Congress like other ruling political parties globally has been enmeshed in leadership tussles which culminated in a failed palace coup. But the party has equally swam out of the murky water by settling the burning matters heading to its national convention billed for Saturday, March 26, 2022 at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
The APC leadership which was in the eyes of the storm came out better, stronger and more focused.
Governor of Yobe State and National Chairman of the party’s Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Mai Mala Buni, who was away on medical vacation when his colleague, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State, stepped in to steer the affairs of the party as they head to the convention, has now returned.
The perceived warring parties held a marathon meeting on Thursday at the Yobe State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja.
Leading to the meeting, the National Chairman had authorized the release of a press statement that cleared the air by stating that contrary to many opinions, the CECPC is retaining all decisions taken during the Chairman’s absence due to medical vacation abroad.
The statement did not only put paid to the speculated tussle between the two governors who are the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the CECPC respectively but also indicates the resolve of the party to conduct a peaceful national convention with the sole aim of producing quality leadership that will ensure a landslide victory for the party in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
A political analyst, Joseph Nworgu, in a telephone interview with The Point said “What we are witnessing in APC is the normal thing with ruling political parties world over. Once parties are in power, they pass through this kind of power tussle experience but what defines the quality of that party is its ability to sort out the problems and forge ahead as one big family.
“I want to add that the power to engender cohesion does not lie with the president alone. He will need cooperation from various party stakeholders. I think the president is more concerned with becoming ex-president than who succeeds him”
“No ruling or governing party runs its programmes without what people call crisis but to them, I mean the members, it is the normal exercise which makes the party stronger in order to face opposition. However, APC should work harder to make sure their national convention which is days away does not lead to implosion.
Nworgu also charged the party to see its national convention as a gathering of Nigerians from all walks of life and not a gathering of party members because as a ruling party, the APC is carrying the country on its back.
“APC should know that the forthcoming national convention is, as its name sounds, a gathering of Nigerians from all walks of life. It’s not a gathering of party members alone. Though those coming to vote and be voted for at the convention are members and stakeholders of the party, whatever the convention produces will determine its position in the 2023 general elections and even beyond.
“The success of a political party at any given election depends on the party’s unity and most especially, the quality or calibre of leadership it has, so, clearly speaking, APC had it very easy in 2015 when Buhari defeated the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP. This time around, I don’t see APC replicating the kind of landslide victory it recorded then in the 2023 general elections but, if they do the needful at the convention by electing the National Working Committee (NWC) and do not joke with the zoning policy, then they may retain power,” he stated.
Speaking also, a party stalwart who pleaded anonymity told The Point that the ruling party has had more troubles than it bargained for. He accused some individuals in the party, who are still carrying their membership of the defunct parties that formed the APC of selfishness and sabotage to the core interest of the party.
“Just between 2013 or 2014 when the APC was formed till date, all we keep hearing is people that are seen as leaders of the party fighting to occupy one position or the other or have their members from the party that collapsed into APC to be in one office or the other. This is simply the root cause of these too many crises. Forget that we politicians will tell Nigerians that there is no crisis, I want to tell you that we have a crisis and we have the mechanism to solve the crisis.
“Nevertheless, I am expecting more crisis, not that I am enjoying the crisis but the way we are aligning and realigning to grab positions at the forthcoming convention with our major focus on the 2023 general elections, we may end up destabilizing our party before the election and arm our opponents.”
He asked rhetorically, “haven’t you observed that the power tussle which played out at the Caretaker Committee recently was a brainchild of those positioning themselves to grab the 2023 ticket? We thank our leader, President Buhari who waded in the matter and by his pronouncements, the storm has calmed down momentarily because I know that if those people fail to get what they are looking for, they will want everything to be scattered.”
A lawyer, Ezra Enwere, differed. He said the APC is not doing what the PDP did not do when it was in power. He argued that all that the ruling party needs is timely and quick intervention of the President.
The lawyer and social commentator said President Buhari should not allow the APC to collapse after his tenure and argued that the era of body language is gone, so the President should stop playing “I don’t care” game with the party that made it possible for him to realise his life ambition.
“The body language of Buhari with what is happening in the party shows disinterestedness in the affairs of Nigeria. Perhaps, he is owning up to the reality that he has been overwhelmed by the enormous challenges that confront him in Nigeria. Having failed to address the challenges confronting Nigeria, I believe he has admitted to lacking the moral scruples and credit to determine who succeeds him which is the major cause of the crisis in the APC.
“I believe it takes a successful person to recommend a recipe for success. There appears to be wisdom in staying aloof to avoid complicating already complicated polity. A few days to its national convention, APC chieftains are in do or die quest for positions in their various offices from the national chairman to others. But the target is the presidential ticket. If I may ask, why did it take the President so long to speak? Look at, once he spoke from London on the tussle between the two governors, Buni and Bello on who is in charge of the caretaker committee, everything settled down.
“I don’t see an implosion of APC in the short term. However, we can contemplate the implosion of APC if and when they lose power. APC is an integration of many parties and this will clearly play out in this convention. Nigerians have had the opportunity to assess the leadership abilities of the two major parties. The current leadership of APC has performed below expectations. There are credible allegations of sectional and religious preferences as well as misplaced priorities. So far, we are yet to see better candidates from the ruling APC. If I am to advise the APC I will tell them to put their party differences and individual selfishness aside and conduct a grand national convention on Saturday. As a ruling party, if APC gets it right, the country will get it right.
“I want to add that the power to engender cohesion does not lie with the president alone. He will need cooperation from various party stakeholders. I think the president is more concerned with becoming an ex-president than who succeeds him. The president can step in if he has the political calculus, but he must offend the strategic people in APC, or we can have two parallel APC at the end of the Saturday national convention if they don’t truly put their house together before going into the convention.”
On Thursday, precisely, the two governors; Buni and Sani Bello held a meeting that lasted for hours at Buni’s governor’s lodge alongside some governors. Buni said it was not a formal meeting, rather the people came to welcome him from the medical trip abroad.
However, both men have given APC members and stakeholders as well as Nigerians the assurance that the forthcoming national convention will rebrand the party and prepare it for the 2023 contest.
They began by harmonizing decisions of the party caretaker Committee bringing together those taken before Buni traveled out for medical vacation and those taken under the watch of Bello as acting chairman. In all, they assured the manners and stakeholders that APC will at the end of the convention remain a party to beat in 2023.
