PoliticsAPC And The Problem Within

APC And The Problem Within

BEVERLY HILLS, May 09, (THEWILL) – This is not the best of times for the ruling All Progressive Congress. The party is currently facing a backlash from the general public over the shoddy performance of its government at the federal level. Aside this, there seems to be an additional burden on its shoulders arising from expressions of mutual fear and suspicion among its members nationwide.

Efforts aimed at repositioning the party have resulted in the controversial sacking of its executive led by a former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, on June 25, 2020 and its replacement by a Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee led by Governor Mai Mala-Buni of Yobe State.

Almost after it was inaugurated, the caretaker committee has not been able to bring stability to the ruling party whose members have been described as strange bed fellows by many political observers.

Glo

So instead of bringing the much desired unity, the actions of the committee have been perceived by members of the party with suspicion.

One issue that has constituted a problem within the party is the perceived elongation of the tenure of the caretaker committee. When the caretaker committee was announced by President Muhammadu Buhari in June 2020, it was given six months to conduct a convention that would midwife a new executive for the party. Almost a year later, the committee has not only failed to organise a convention, but also it has been unable to convince members of the party that the convention would hold anytime soon.

When the tenure of the caretaker committee was about to expire last year December, the party on December 8, 2020 extended it by another six months. The time consumed by the governorship elections held in Ondo and Edo States was cited as the reason for elongating its tenure. Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State then announced June 30, 2021 as the new date for the expiration of the committee.

The party also announced waivers for new and intending members of the party, which would make it easy for such new members to contest positions within the party.

It would be recalled that the former Interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, had openly condemned the constitution of the caretaker committee by President Buhari, saying such authorities always ended up in contempt.

Akande, who made this known after he validated his membership of the party, then asked the party’s current leadership to resist the temptation posed by ‘sit-tight syndromes’ which he warned usually characterised ‘handpicked authorities’ in most underdeveloped countries of the world.

He also berated the leadership of the party for embarking on what he called a wasteful and improper use of funds in the membership registration and revalidation exercise. Akande lamented that the exercise was a sheer waste of resources in relation to the country’s current economic reality.

Akande’s position was supported by the National Leader of the party, Senator Bola Tinubu and the immediate past National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

It is gathered that dissatisfaction is currently brewing in the party over an alleged plot by some party chieftains to further extend the tenure of the Buni-led caretaker committee.

Some interest groups, THEWILL gathered, are warming up for a showdown should the Buni-led committee renege on its mandate to conduct a national convention in June 2021.

It is alleged that the Buni-led committee plans to stay in office beyond June 2021. Some chieftains of the party, who craved anonymity, have already decried the lack of preparation for a national convention on the part of the Buni committee.

A member of the Tinubu Grassroots Support Group, Alhaji Gani Anifowose told THEWILL, “We thought they would hold the convention in December last year but for their selfish interests. They embarked on a membership revalidation and registration exercise. Instead of finishing the exercise in good time for a convention in December as mandated or early January this year, they extended the exercise till the end of March.

“Now we learnt they are planning to collate the outcome of the exercise and prepare party registers for all units nationwide before the convention. So we see this as nothing but a ploy to seek another extension. We were recently told the committee planned to review the party’s constitution as well. These are some of the reasons why people are worried. Why are they embarking on so many things at the same time? They don’t want to leave. And our leader, Chief Akande has warned them about tenure elongation.”

Also speaking with THEWILL, Comrade Sola Olawale, who is a member of the Campaign for Democracy, said the Buni –led committee was usurping the role of the executive of the party. He said what it was appointed to do was to organise a convention within six weeks, but almost one year into office, has failed to fix a date for the convention.

There is a strong indication that the plot to elongate the committee’s tenure enjoys the support of the APC governors.

It was, however, gathered that the majority of the party’s National Assembly caucuses are prepared to oppose the move.

THEWILL also learnt that some chieftains of the party are planning to approach the court to stop further execution of the programmes of the caretaker committee as a way of aborting the planned tenure elongation.

In fact, the registration and revalidation exercise has been one issue that has brought controversy into the party’s hierarchy. In many states where the APC is dominant there is mutual fear and mutual suspicion between the old and the new members of the party.

In Oyo State for instance, the new members include bigwigs from the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party and Accord Party who are not willing to take the back seat. The death of a former governor of the state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has created a leadership vacuum in the party. The struggle for leadership between old members and the newly recruited members is also creating a potential crisis in the party.

Also in Osun State, the defection of a former deputy governor of the state, Senator Iyiola Omisore, and his group to the APC did not go down well with the Minister of Interior and a former governor of the state, Engr Rauf Aregbesola. An ally of Omisore and a former Minister of Police Affairs, Mr Jelili Adesiyan, and a social-political group founded by Aregbesola, Oranmiyan Worldwide, recently engaged in open altercation in the media as a result of this.

The Oranmiyan group berated a “press release” by Adesiyan, who asserted that Omisore was reproached by Aregbesola for joining the APC. The group described Adesiyan’s tenure as the Commissioner for Education in the then Osun State, and as Minister of Police Affairs, the darkest years for the state and the country.

It further said “Comparing Ogbeni Aregbesola with Iyiola Omisore is like chasing shadows, attempting to gather water with a sieve, or rather navigating a river in a leaking boat. Young Aregbesola was the Speaker of the parliament when he was a student of The Polytechnic Ibadan, President of the Black Nationalist Movement, and a host of other positions that can be associated with a great mind as he.

Also in Ogun State, former Governor Gbenga Daniel’s arrival to the APC did not enjoy the support of Senator Ibikunle Amosun and his supporters.

Analysts have seen the recruitment of new members by the caretaker committee as a development that may bring more cracks into the ruling party. Only God knows how long it will take before they begin to manifest.

About the Author

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AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.

Ayo Esan, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.

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