February 27, (THEWILL) – There appears to be no end in sight to the controversy trailing the National Convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The postponement of the convention, earlier scheduled for Saturday, February 26, 2022, was not unexpected as political analysts and some members of the party realised that the date was unrealistic due to the party’s failure to prepare on time.
It would be recalled that after a closed-door meeting that lasted around seven hours last Monday, the Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, APC CECPC announced March 26 as the new date for the conduct of its national convention.
The March 26 date is in conflict with the earlier date given to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the Caretaker team for the conduct of zonal congresses of the party.
Thus within 24 hours, the APC had announced different dates for the convention and zonal congresses, an indication that critical stakeholders of the party did not reach a consensus on time.
Some analysts see the latest posture of the party as part of a calculated attempt by the Buni-led committee to hold on to its position and this is believed to have split stakeholders into two opposing schools of thought.
Many stakeholders of the party are even sceptical of the new date of March 26. To these ones, the March 26 date was hurriedly fixed without adequate consideration for the enormous task of organising a successful national convention.
Speaking with THEWILL, an APC stalwart from Katsina State, Alhaji Maman Daura said, “The date for the convention was hurriedly fixed. It may be very difficult to organise a successful national convention with just one month left. We pray they will not postpone it again.”
With a new date picked for the convention, political analysts and watchers of political developments in the country have concluded that a fresh crisis is already brewing in the party ahead of the convention.
The issues that are likely to throw up a full-scale crisis include the adoption of a consensus arrangement in picking the new National Working Committee of the party; the desire of former Lagos State Governor and National Leader of the party, Senator Bola Tinubu to get the presidential ticket of the party by any means and the non-resolution of problems arising from the ward, local government and state congresses in about 13 states.
There is also the matter of a group threatening a lawsuit over the planned zonal congresses, which it described as not mentioned in the constitution of the party.
On the issue of consensus arrangement, instead of the election of the NWC members, there is already uproar in the APC.
Reacting to the alleged consensus arrangement, which led to the selection of a former Governor of Nasarawa State as National Chairman of the party, the All Progressives Congress Mandate Group (APC-MG), has urged party members and the general public to disregard such rumour saying that the party never met to tip Senator Abdullahi Adamu as a consensus candidate for the national chairmanship ahead of the March 26 national convention.
The group also debunked the claim that the 2023 presidency may have been zoned to the South.
Alhaji Sani Abdullahi, National Chairman of the group, which is made up of eminent party members in a statement warned against a few individuals arrogating powers to themselves by trying to decide the fate of the ruling party without recourse to members of the party across the country.
“The APC- MG noted with dismay the purported endorsement of a former Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Adamu, as the national chairman of APC and the reported zoning of the party’s presidential ticket for the 2023 general election to the South of the country.
“The APC Mandate Group has consequently directed members of the party and Nigerians in general to disregard the purported endorsement of Adamu as Chairman and the zoning of the APC presidential ticket,” the statement said
APC-MG described those promoting the twin stories of the endorsement and zoning in the media as “purveyors of fake news and merchants of lies.”
It stressed that the decision of the APC presidential standard bearer was beyond Governors Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State or Mohammadu Badaru of Jigawa State, “who are only entitled to one vote each when it is time for elections.”
The statement also pointed out, “Members of the party would not have at any time treated Adamu as a top contender for its national leadership since he failed woefully to unite the party as Chairman of the APC Reconciliation Committee.”
The group said its assertion was based on verifiable facts that the APC did not at any time meet to take these decisions.
It clarified that a group of people meeting as a “cabal” do not constitute the APC, which is founded on a recognised constitution with known organs that have responsibility for decisions at various stages.
It further warned that no one should take the party and its members for granted, saying the ultimate powers belong to the people, who made up the party and not a handful of overbearing state governors, while hinting that those attempting to hijack the party would have to live with the reality of a deserted APC, should they provoke the larger population of the party to defect to a new platform.
Aside the crisis that is brewing in the APC over consensus arrangement, there is also the inability of the Abdullahi Adamu-led reconciliation committee that travelled round the country but could not achieve any reconciliation.
It was surprising to see an otherwise festering crisis within the APC in Osun State blow open during the party’s governorship primary held two weeks ago. In fact, the way former Governor Rauf Aregbesola and his group attacked and ‘destroyed’ the incumbent Governor Gboyega Oyetola showed that the APC reconciliation committee’s visit to that state was nothing but a jamboree.
A similar situation persists in APC chapters in Kwara, Lagos, Imo, Ekiti and Abia, among others. So the failure to achieve peace and resolve the crisis arising from the APC congresses in many states is seen as a potential danger to a successful national convention of the party.
Many stakeholders in the APC also believe that the alleged adoption of Adamu as its consensus chairman shows that instead of moving round the states where there were crises to reconcile warring factions, he went to those states to lobby for the position of national chairman.
Many also see Tinubu’s desperation to emerge as the presidential candidate of the party as an issue that is likely to trigger confusion within the party in a few months to come.
Another group within the political party, known as APC Rebirth Movement and led by Aliyu Audu, has vowed to drag the party to court over the CECPC’s plan to organise zonal congresses.
This threat was made by Audu while fielding questions on a Television programme. He said, among others, that the APC constitution had no provision for zonal congresses and describe the Buni-led CECPC as” incompetent and without direction”.
“We are going to challenge the planned zonal congresses in court. There is no place for such in our party constitution.
“The Buni-led committee has shown that it is not only incompetent but without direction. It has failed and should be disbanded,” he said.
It would be recalled that on February 21, 2022, CECPC in a correspondence addressed to INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, and jointly signed by the CECPC chairman, Mai Mala Buni, and Secretary, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, over the postponement of the convention, the party argued that the decision was in furtherance to Article 85 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended and in compliance with Section 12:6 of its Constitution.
In the said correspondence dated February 21, 2022, the APC informed Yakubu and the electoral body that its zonal congresses would be conducted on March 26.
Akpanudoedehe told journalists later that the zonal congresses would now hold in between the national convention.
He said, “After deliberation and agreement with the CECPC, we have agreed and approved that the activities of the national convention commence from the 24th of March and terminates on the 26th of March.”
The development came against the backdrop of the proposed parley between President Muhammadu Buhari and APC governors on the zoning of party positions and possible agreement on the date for the convention.
However, in announcing the timetable for the convention, Akpanudoedehe said that the sale of forms to prospective aspirants vying for positions in the National Working Committee (NWC) would take place between March 9 and 11, 2022.
He said the inauguration of newly elected NWC members would take place on March 31 and that zonal congresses have been fixed for March 12.
“After deliberation and agreement with the CECPC, we have agreed and approved that activities of the national convention will commence on March 24 and terminate on March 26. The convention activities commence on February 24 and will terminate at Eagles Square on March 26. In between the convention, we have agreed to have zonal congresses,” he said.
“The convention activities will commence on February 24 and terminate at the Eagles Square on March 26. “In-between the convention, we have agreed to have zonal congresses.”
Some analysts see the latest stance by the party, as part of a calculated attempt by the Buni-led committee to hold on to their position and this is said to be splitting party stakeholders
About the Author
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.
