APC Torn Into Four Camps

Chief John Odigie Oyegun, the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), had maintained an impressive record of being punctual at the party’s national secretariat located at plot number 40 Blantyre Street, Wuse II Abuja.

But soon after President Muhammadu Buhari announced the appointment of APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to lead the newly formed ‘Consultation, Reconciliation and Confidence Building Committee’, Oyegun’s punctuality which had attracted commendation from party faithful was said to have relaxed. 

This, according to sources, is an indication that the party’s leadership was unhappy with the development as it considers the Tinubu panel as an indictment and manifestation of lack of confidence in the APC National Working Committee (NWC) by the presidency.

Although the National Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Maimala Buni described the appointment of Tinubu as a timely intervention by the president, analysts say the task before Asiwaju may not be a tea party considering the widening crack on the wall of the ruling party, especially ahead of the 2019 elections. 

Interestingly, some pundits consider Tinubu himself as an aggrieved APC chieftain, describing his new reconciliatory role as tantamount to being a judge in his own case. 

Against this background and being probably the first major assignment President Buhari  has assigned to Tinubu since the 2015 general elections, his choice of leading the APC’s reconciliation committee ahead of the 2019 elections, is considered  as a deliberate move by the president to secure Tinubu in his corner. 

But to many analysts, the former Lagos State governor is not a stranger to mobilizing and even weathering the storm of party politics in Nigeria. He had played an unparalleled role of galvanizing support for then candidate Buhari to emerge as president under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), following the merger of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a section of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

This may have given credence to the general impression that Buhari would not have scaled through in 2015, if Tinubu had not collapsed his electoral fortune in the South West and his goodwill in other geo-political zones into the APC trail.

But many waters have passed under the bridge since Buhari’s emergence. At a time it was alleged that Tinubu had parted ways with Buhari on the grounds that he was not effectively ‘carried along’ during cabinet formation and other appointments even as his business empire and those of his close associate were allegedly grossly “undermined” under the watch of the very government he laboured to put in place. 

Herculean task

Not a few observers consider the responsibility given to Tinubu.

While some believe that despite the fact that the ‘embargos’ placed on several of Tinubu’s interests have been relaxed of recent, he still has many reservations, even as most of the people he is asked to bring on board are believed to have their concerns over his selection.

It was gathered that the ‘blank cheque of freedom’ given to Tinubu to select members of his committee was also deliberate- to give him clear impression that he is trusted.

The announcement of his appointment by Buhari’s spokesman was silent on other committee members but when asked if the names would be released soon, he said: “Of course, he (Tinubu) cannot work alone. He will put the team together. When the time comes, he will assemble a team that will work with him.” 

The APC as a party is deeply factionalized with many pundits expressing doubts as to whether it would withstand pressure from within and without ahead of next year’s general elections.

 “With former heads of state including Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida already waging war against Buhari; coupled with pressure from many serving and former governors that have pending cases of corruption and other misdemeanours against them; Buhari cannot afford to allow Tinubu to join the bandwagon of the opposition. This is basically why he gave him this complicated assignment,” a chieftain of APC said.

The source who wouldn’t want to be named said Tinubu remains the biggest and most formidable force that might likely make headway in reconciliation. 

Another source said Tinubu was chosen because he controls a big empire in the APC both at the national and regional level and President Muhammadu Buhari would not find it easy in the event the former Lagos governor revolts.

‘What Tinubu must do to succeed’

For Tinubu to succeed, those in the know said his first port of call should be the presidency where he should convince President Buhari to become a party man.

Another source said if anything, Buhari is the chief architect of the crisis in the APC because according to him, he does not treat it as a golden child; hence the apparent inactivity in the party with attendant acrimony, inconsistency about policy direction and poor financing. 

Another port of call is the National Assembly, considered to be the root of the party’s woes. It is widely believed that the crises that enveloped the APC emanated from the National Assembly before spreading to states and even local government areas.

Similarly, the National Assembly also hosts all the key political gladiators including the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Senator Shehu Sani and many others.

The foundation of the APC’s crisis was believed to have been laid when Saraki and Dogara defied the party’s directive to emerge as Senate President and Speaker, respectively, in June 2015, when the National Assembly was inaugurated.

It was after the emergence of Saraki and Dogara that other crises in the party became pronounced at many levels.

Hurdles before Tinubu

A senator from the North West said there are no fewer than four camps in the APC at present, describing the task before Tinubu as “daunting.” 

“We have four camps namely the National Assembly camp (including some disenchanted ex-governors), the Amaechi/ El-Rufai camp, the Tinubu camp and the Buhari camp. It is not possible for the power forces to come together before 2019,” he said. 

He said Saraki, being the Senate President leads the National Assembly camp of the APC and that any reconciliation without carrying him along will not yield the desired result. 

Weeks ago, the senators supported ex- Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso against Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje when they asked the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to provide security for Kwankwaso to visit Kano.   

This development showed that the lawmakers are working together in fighting all perceived enemies. For now, there are ample pointers that Ganduje is in the good books of Buhari.

Another senator said Tinubu will not succeed in resolving the crises “because he is part of the problems.” 

“Take it or leave it, Tinubu has grudges against the President and he is still nursing them. Assigning such responsibility to Tinubu is like submitting yourself to the lion’s den,” he said. 

Tinubu’s task in reconciling the grievances of some APC members in the House of Representatives will also be very difficult as some of the lawmakers have alleged that the former Lagos State governor also has scores to settle with some of them. 

This much reared its head on the floor of the House last Thursday, when a member of the party from Kwara State, Rep Aliyu Hamman-Pategi, spoke while contributing to the debate on a motion about how the Nigerian legal system is being manipulated by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami.

Hamman-Pategi, a staunch Saraki loyalist, questioned the sincerity of the reconciliation move, saying President Buhari has been angry with some of them since the contest that led to the emergence of the presiding officers of the National Assembly on June 9, 2015.

He said the president called them to a dinner where he expressed anger that APC members allowed PDP into his government by the emergence of Sen. Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President, saying he feels that is part of the problem.

Wondering how Tinubu can sit side-by-side with Saraki to resolve differences when the former appears to be part of the problem, Pategi said: “I feel that the EFCC and Code of Conduct Tribunal are political tools used by this administration to victimize those that they feel are not with them,” he said.

From the contributions of most APC lawmakers to the debate on the motion that day, it seems there may be an implosion in the party soon, as no lawmaker opposed the motion, which appeared to be a tacit support for Saraki who is undergoing retrial over corruption allegations at the CCT.

A lawmaker told Daily Trust on Sunday that Tinubu’s assignment actually came at the 11th hour and that the president must come out himself to spearhead some of the reconciliations.

“He (Buhari) can’t be shying away now. If really the party wants to approach the elections as a united house, then Mr President must come in. Even if he’s not contesting, he should be able to make the party united to face the polls because he’s our leader,” he said.

Another APC lawmaker from the North West, who also has problems with his state governor, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the reconciliation should not be limited to the likes of Saraki and Kwankwaso alone.

The lawmaker also said that the reconciliatory mechanism put together by the president should be sustained even after elections.

Fighting among Buhari support groups

Another area Tinubu would have to work on is the coordination of various Buhari support groups that are being sponsored by some key loyalists of President Buhari.

One of such is the Coalition of APC Support Groups (CASG) being led by Ambassador Lawal Mohammed Munir.

This group, with another called Coalition of Buhari Support Organisations (CBSOs) are believed to be enjoying the support of Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali.

The group, last year openly opposed another support group known as the National Committee for Buhari Support Groups (NCBSG) led by another key ally of President Buhari, Senator Abu Ibrahim who represents Katsina South Senatorial District.

The two groups mentioned earlier had accused the Abu Ibrahim led bloc of supporters of trying to hijack their organisations.

But Senator Ibrahim who is also the Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, replied that he was only trying to bring together the over 198 groups that worked for Buhari before the 2015 elections out of which about 23 had national spread.

He said that other groups condemning or blackmailing them are affiliated with the All Progressives Congress (APC) while they are not.

He explained that he was able to convince the President who agreed that the support groups should be centrally coordinated for effectiveness to ease their operations for the 2019 elections.

Pundits said the Tinubu committee would also need to look at personality clashes of the leaders of this support groups as some might be used against the party and the President during electioneering.

The National Chairman of Action Democratic Party (ADP), Alhaji Yabagi Sani, said the appointment  of Tinubu would not address crisis within the APC.

 “Tinubu cannot be a judge in his own case. Besides, he is the bone of contention in all the crises in the APC; Nigerians should stop lamenting and join the ADP,” he said.

Sani maintained that the crisis within APC is in its foundation and should be tackled from there.

But the Lagos chapter of the APC has hailed the nomination of Tinubu to lead the task of reconciling aggrieved members of the party.

In a statement signed by the APC Publicity Secretary in Lagos State, Joe Igbokwe, the party hailed Tinubu’s appointment, even as it pleaded with all aggrieved persons to work with him.

“We know our leader very well, we know what he is capable of doing; we know his deep background and we know he will not fail in this herculean task even at a time like this.

“Make no mistake about it; a lot of work needs to be done knowing Nigeria’s diverse nature, culture, religion, tribe or tongue, but we have no doubt that Asiwaju will not disappoint Nigerians,” the statement said.

Disquiet at APC secretariat

The relationship between Tinubu and the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has remained strained despite open show of comradeship during meetings and events.

The inability of the Oyegun-led APC National Working Committee (NWC) to fully solve the lingering crises in key states was said to have provided the tonic to the all-important move by President Buhari to get much closer to Tinubu ahead of 2019 general elections.   

Apart from the fact that Tinubu and Oyegun have been having a cat-and-mouse relationship, sources said the President had to settle for Tinubu in order not to lose a key ally whose support is critical to his purported re-election bid.

A source said that the president would rather sacrifice the party’s national chairman whose relationship with him has been rosy over the past three years than lose Asiwaju.

 “The coming of the Tinubu committee is an indictment on party leadership. Mr President is not unaware of the animosity between Tinubu and Odigie-Oyegun. 

“So, it’s an indication that a new set of executives will be elected soon. Now, he (Buhari) has to fall back on Tinubu as former presidents seem to be fighting him. 

“If the president wants them (the NWC) to continue, he wouldn’t set up the Asiwaju committee. They did not handle the crises well with issues in almost 11 states. 

“From now on, Asiwaju will be coordinating the reconciliation effort till 2019, meaning unless there is a change of guard at the APC national secretariat, most of the people there would be redundant because their responsibilities have been usurped,”  the source said.

It would be recalled that Tinubu had, on September 25, 2016, advised Chief Odigie-Oyegun to resign following allegations that he compromised his integrity over the outcome of the Ondo State governorship primary election.

A statement from Tinubu’s media office had said, “Oyegun’s transgressions are a warning. He is but the mercenary of  forces that seek to return the nation to the old ways and if they get away with this infraction, no one will tell what or who they will undermine tomorrow. Much is at stake. On the chopping block, lies the future of the political party in which the majority of voters had placed their confidence. 

“To rescue the party, Oyegun must go. He has shown that he and democratic fair play cannot exist in the same party at the same time. If Tinubu is to choose between John Oyegun and progress toward a better Nigeria, the choice has already been made. For those who care about the party, who care about Nigeria and its chance for a better tomorrow, now is the time to stand against this brewing evil before it grows to encompass all we have built and all we hold dear,” the statement said.

But in his response on October 7, 2016, Odigie-Oyegun described the allegation of bribery and corruption levelled against him by Tinubu as “reckless and baseless.

 Crises in many APC states

Some analysts say even if Tinubu succeeds in mending fences in Abuja, he would have to do a lot to build bridges in many states.

In Kano, it is a fight between Governor Ganduje and Kwankwaso. About two weeks ago, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had called the two to the villa but clearly, the acrimony has not been resolved. 

Ganduje, about two weeks ago said that Kwankwaso would be replaced as senator by Basheer Lado in 2019. And about the time President Buhari announced the Tinubu committee, Ganduje made another statement.

“I want to state categorically that there will be no reconciliation between Gandujiyya and Kwankwasiyya forever. How can we reconcile with these people? In fact, on what basis are we going to reconcile?

“These people are Abuja based members of APC. In fact, they are not members of APC because Kwankwasiyya is not a political party. So, if we reconcile with them what can we do with the red caps. Are you expecting me to direct you to wear red caps again? I am also about to remove my own,” he said.

In Kogi State, it is between aggrieved excos of the state chapter of the APC who have been at loggerheads with Governor Yahaya Bello for allegedly side-lining them since he assumed power about two years ago.

The party excos had accused Governor Bello of appointing those that never worked for the party’s victory in 2015 into his cabinet to the detriment of those that assiduously laboured for the party.

Tinubu also has the daunting task of bringing James Abiodun Faleke/the late Prince Abubakar Audu’s political family on the same page with Bello. 

It would be recalled that the national leadership of the APC, at some point set up fact finding/reconciliation committees on Kogi which were chaired by Tony Momoh and Gen. Idris Garba respectively to resolve the internal wrangling in Kogi APC.

In Bauchi, it is between Governor Mohammed Abubakar and the speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara as well as three senators from the state namely, Ali Wakili, Isa Hamma Misau and Nazifi Gamawa. They all accused the governor of reneging on the promises he made to the people during campaigns. The Senator Chris Ngige–led Committee could not resolve the problem.

In Oyo State, it is between Governor Abiola Ajimobi and the Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shitu. Shitu wants to succeed Ajimobi as governor but clearly, the governor has someone else in mind as evident in their utterances.

In Katsina, Governor Aminu Masari is finding it difficult to contend with threats from the APC splinter group called the APC-Akida, comprising people like MT Liman, Sadiq Yaradua, Sada Ilu, Usman Bugaje amongst others. 

In Kaduna, there is serious revolt against Governor Nasir El-Rufai from the camp of Senator Shehu Sani and the likes of a former APC chairman in Kaduna State, Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed, who accused the governor of dividing the party.

On Thursday, The Senator representing Kaduna North Senatorial Zone, Suleiman Uthman Hunkuyi, announced what he called ‘Aspirants Forum’ to checkmate Governor Nasir El- Rufai, who is seen as President Buhari’s point man. 

In Zamfara, Senator Kabiru Marafa is at loggerhead with Governor Abdul’aziz Yari over his recent comment that the governor had failed to stop killings.  People close to the governor have made it clear that Marafa’s seat will be vacant in 2019.

It’s a timely intervention -APC

The National Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Maimala Buni said the appointment of Tinubu is a welcome development. 

“The intervention of the president is timely. As leader of the party, President Buhari had been doing so many things at various levels to ensure cohesion among members and this is another milestone worthy of commendation.  

“President Buhari has once again stepped up efforts at resolving some of the pending issues regarding our party in some states and we sincerely appreciate his efforts. 

“The appointment of Asiwaju Tinubu is a clear testimony to the fact that the president is a true democrat who gives every party member the opportunity to be heard. The APC would come out stronger because Tinubu is a bridge builder and would definitely do the needful,” he said.

(Dailytrust)