2020: APC’s year of crisis management, harvest of defectors, reconciliation

In this report, BODE OLAGOKE, writes on the major events in the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) for the outgoing year.

As ruling a party, the APC had its own catastrophe and moment of joy in the outgoing year 2020. Not even Coronavirus pandemic could stop politics of wit, interest and reposition in the governing party ahead of the 2023 general elections. 

As incurable optimists, politicians always think of the next election. So while the world was busy on the way out of the pandemic, politicians (all over the world) were silently strategising on their next move to ensure victories for themselves.

The ruling APC entered the year 2020 with crisis under the combative leadership of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. Despite the crisis at all levels, the party started the year with a miraculous win of a governorship seat in Imo state through the Supreme Court judgement.

In January 14, the Supreme Court sacked PDP’s Emeka Ihedioha as Imo state governor and declared APC’s Hope Uzodinma winner of the governorship election which held in 2019.

In the unanimous judgment of the seven-member panel, read by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the apex court agreed that results in 388 polling units were unlawfully excluded during the collation of the final governorship election result in Imo State.

Justice Kekere-Ekun said with the results from the 388 polling units added, Mr Uzodinma polled a majority of the lawful votes and ought to have been declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The judgement sparked myriad of protests from the PDP across the country. This was more so that the PDP’s victory in other governorship election like in Sokoto, Zamfara, Abia, Bayelsa, Benue, Bauchi, Adamawa among others were pending at the apex court. The PDP however retained those states after the Apex court judgements.

Shocking sack of David Lyon in Bayelsa 

The shocking sack of APC’s David Lyon as governor-elect of Bayelsa state, barely 24 hours to his inauguration was one of the events that shocked the foundation of the ruling party. Lyon, who won the November 2019 governorship election, was to be sworn in as governor but his dream of becoming the governor of Bayelsa state was cut short.

PDP’s governorship candidate, Douye Diri, had challenged in court the legitimacy of Lyon’s running mate on the ground of certificate forgery.

A panel of justices led by Mary Odili had asked INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Lyon and to re-issue another to the candidate with the second highest number of votes.

Oshiomhole’s NWC sacked

As part of efforts to rescue an almost disintegrated APC presided by the Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party on Wednesday June 24, sacked the entire National Working Committee (NWC) members and in its place, constituted the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), led by Yobe state Governor Mai Mala Buni.

APC lost Edo, won Ondo

In the year 2020, the ruling party lost its only state in the South South, Edo, to the PDP. The then candidate of the PDP,  Governor Godwin Obaseki had left the APC to the PDP due to political disagreement between him and his estranged political godfather, Oshiomhole. 

Edo being the only APC state in the entire South-South, was too strategic for the ruling party to give up to the opposition. This is more so that Obaseki had defected to the opposition PDP in the state after efforts to reconcile him and Oshiomhole failed.

In Ondo state, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu had a commanding return to power after the election. Akeredolu battled with his estranged deputy, Agboola Ajayi, who later became the Zenith Labour Party candidate, and PDP candidate, Eyitayo Jegede in a three horse race. The governor nonetheless prevailed polling 292,830, as against Jegede who garnered 195,791. Ajayi got 69, 127.

Umahi, Dogara, Gemade, Abbo, others join APC

One remarkable achievement for the ruling party in the outgoing year is the harvest of some political bigwigs into its fold. The defection of Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi state, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and former national chairman of PDP Senator Barnabas  Gemade, Senator Elisha Abbo, representing Adamawa North and many other House of Representatives members, could be attributed to the reconciliation efforts of governor Mai Mala Buni led APC National Caretaker Committee.

Buni’s Caretaker c’ttee tenure extended 

The Governor Buni-led committee was initially given six months to achieve and sustain true and lasting unity, peace and reconciliation across party ranks and conduct national convention of the party but that mandate could not be achieved within the first six months. 

Therefore, at another emergency virtual meeting of the APC NEC presided by President Muhammadu Buhari, another six months was added to the Buni committee. Although the committee had embarked on the process of another task different from what it was assigned earlier on and that is the fresh registration and revalidation of members exercise nationwide.

Reconciliation efforts 

The CECPC has been able to rescucitated the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms and has set up reconciliation committees for Oyo, Edo, Ondo, Imo, Ogun, Ekiti among other states chapters with cases of disputes.

The committees are already meeting with the key stakeholders in the various states and have achieved substantial reconciliation in many states.

The success stories of the ongoing reconciliation efforts abound. Cases in point are Cross River state where the CECPC reconciled the two factions and appointed a State Caretaker Committee led by Sen. Matthew Mbu (Jnr.) as acting state chairman. In Ondo state, all the governorship aspirants were brought together, campaigned and worked for the successful re-election of the APC candidate, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

In Akwa Ibom state, the CECPC brought together all the contending interests under one roof and achieved true reconciliation. Today, in Akwa-Ibom, leaders such as Sen. Godswill Akpabio, Obong Nsima Ekere, Mr. Umana O. Umana, Sen. Ita Enang, Barr. Bassey Dan Abia (Snr) among others are working together and in collective pursuit of party interests.

At the national level and on the auspices of the CECPC, the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva have resolved their differences in favour of party interest to work together and strengthen the party, particularly in the South-South geo-political zone.

A regular visitor to the national secretariat of APC located at Blyntyre street at Wuse 11 will testify to the bubbling nature of a once abandoned ruling party house. 

Commendably, the governor Buni-led CECPC has deployed a combination of true reconciliation, consultation and inclusiveness in achieving unity and cohesion in the party.

To reposition the party and ensure good governance, Governor Buni proposed the recently-inaugurated tripartite Executive/Legislative/APC consultative Committee which is ensuring synergy, good governance and accelerated implementation of the next level agenda.

2023 calculations 

No doubt, the calculations for which zone get what has long started in the ruling party. The issue of rotational Presidency between the North and the South is already generating intense debate with Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola asking the party to respect agreement. Although, such agreements was not written anywhere as claimed by one of those who opposed to Fashola’s view.

Part of the calculations was also the visit of the APC governors to the former President Goodluck Jonathan who has been in good relationship with the seat of power and President Muhammadu Buhari. 

Among those who visited the former President were four APC governors – Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi); Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa); Dave Umahi (Ebonyi); and National Caretaker Chairman Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), along with some party leaders.

The thinking, according to insider source, is that some governors from the North were plotting a quick return of power to the North. They thought if Jonathan is allowed to run and win, he will do only a four-year term and that will hasten the return of presidency to the North. 

Among names that already ringing bell for the APC presidential ticket is the national leader of APC, Bola Tinubu, Ekiti state governor Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Transport Rotimi Ameachi, Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola among others.

The sack of Hilliard Eta 

At the last NEC meeting, the APC leadership announced the sack of its former national vice chairman in South-South, Prince Hilliard Eta. ETA got the hammer for taking Buni-led Caretaker Committee to court against the party’s decision. Till now, the case is yet to be assigned to any judge in court.

…And the crisis continues 

Up till now, crisis rocking the APC is far from over. Although the Buni-led committee has achieved a lot and the mechanism to resolve some of the crisis are in place but state chapters like Rivers, Cross Rivers, Zamfara, Ogun, Oyo and Osun among others still swimming in the pool of division.





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