The appointment of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), to reconcile aggrieved party members is seen as a welcome idea. In addition, Tinubu is a seen a round peg in a round hole for the assignment. However, opinions are divided whether the strong man of South west politics can deliver on this daunting task as BODE OLAGBOKE highlights in this report.
Like the rejected stone, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has now become the cornerstone on which the survival of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may rest. Last Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari had appointed the strongman of South west politics to reconcile aggrieved members of the party.
In particular, the former governor of Lagos state is expected to resolve disagreements among party members, party leadership and political office holders in some states. Specifically, the APC National Leader has been given the latitude to appoint members of his committee. Significantly, the appointment has been greeted as the right step in the right direction of cementing the cracks on APC ahead of the 2019 elections.
However, the big question remains whether or not Tinubu, notwithstanding his political sagacity, will deliver on this daunting task.
Tinubu: The right man for the job—APC Spokesman
In particular, the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, welcomed the appointment. Speaking to our correspondent, he said that the task ahead requires a great deal of political skills and experience which Tinubu possesses. In addition, he expressed gratitude to President Buhari for the appointment and Tinubu for willing to serve the party. According to him, ‘’any efforts to reconcile and put the party together is a welcome development because there is a lot of work to be done. It requires someone with experience and political skills to do well in that aspect.’’
APC can manage its crises—Igbo group
Similarly, the national coordinator of Ohandigbo Youths Organisation, Chief Nduka Anyanwu, said that APC is capable of managing its internal disagreements. Chief Anyanwu who is an ardent promoter of President Buhari’s second term bid, noted that APC ‘’is made up of human beings whose tendencies to disagree over issues are normal. So, it’s nothing to worry about. ‘’ In addition, he praised the president’s appointment of Tinubu to lead reconciliation in the party. According to him, “Bola Tinubu is a man whose passion for the ruling party is unequalled and he has all it takes to bring everybody together so that a tangible compromise can be reached.”
Tinubu has the experience—APC zonal Vice Chairman
In his own remarks, National Vice Chairman of APC in South-south zone, Chief Hilliard Eta, also described Tinubu’s appointment as fantastic. APC, according to him, requires the experience of a national figure like Tinubu to mend several broken fences as the party gets ready for the 2019 general elections. “You see, President Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu have been the unifying factors in APC since the merger of our party came to being. So, the right person has been chosen to do the job.”
Tinubu’s daunting task
However, in spite of these platitudes, the assignment at hand will task Tinubu’s political dexterity. Specifically, there is a lot to be done across the country, especially in APC-controlled states. Last July, the party held its congresses and almost all states of the federation were engulf in crises.
In particular, complaints of substitution of delegates’ lists, imposition of candidates and sundry sharp practices trailed the exercise. Apart from that, complaints abound in almost all state chapters of APC.
Kwara APC in near disarray
Even in his home state of Kwara, the heat around Saraki is affecting the machinery of the party in the state. Although Governor Abdufatah Ahmed had denied that he had plans to cross over to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on account of the intra-party cold war, investigation has revealed that all is not well between him and APC in the state.
The governor, himself, a strong supporter of Saraki and a group within the party known as Progressive for Change led by one Samari Abdullahi do not see eye to eye. The group has, therefore, offered to provide what it called ‘a quick exit’ for him and his political family if they wish to leave the APC.
Last week, while reacting to an interview said to have been granted by Governor Ahmed that he would dump the party if asked to do so by his people, the group said: “We thought it right and expedient to offer the governor and his political family a fast and safe vehicle now since time is of essence in any journey. The saying that a sojourner will go home, no matter how long he stays from home is apt and relevant here.
“We have it on good authority that the political family the governor represents in the party has been looking through the window a very long time ago seeking alternative abode to hibernate. We can only encourage the political family to quicken their steps and move out early enough since their interest can no longer be served in the party.”
Situation not different in Kano
The protracted cold war between Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano state and his former boss, now Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is another bombshell waiting to explode before 2019. This, no doubt, is fuelling strong speculation that Kwankwaso is on his way back to the PDP, the party he dumped in 2014. Until President Buhari invited the duo to what analysts called “a conciliatory meeting” at the Presidential Villa, last week, they were all spoilt for war over the planned epic visit of the senator to Kano.
Governor Ganduje felt that the Kwankwasiyya Movement under which he emerged as governor can no longer be sustained in the state.
For instance, it was gathered that Ganduje, as soon as he assumed office in 2015, suspended the scholarship programme his predecessor had instituted for Kano indigenes studying abroad, saying his former boss had used state funds to project his image.
According to him, the motives were wrong because the funds actually do not belong to him. Since then, Kano, the political nerve-centre of the APC in the North, began to experience severe cracks of which the national leadership appeared helpless.
The misunderstanding got to a head in early January, when supporters of both governors clashed in Kano. To the camp of both contenders, it is a show of who is more superior to the other.
A Second Republic lawmaker, Hon Sidi Alih, said: “The trouble with both of them is that while one still needs loyalty from the other, the other person wants his independence. This is expected in politics.”
The Presidency may have waded into the matter, but sources close to the camp of the senator said the only thing that took place in that meeting in the Villa was the postponement of Kwankwanso’s visit to his home state.
Kaduna not faring any better
In Kaduna state, another strong base of the APC where El-Rufai presently holds sway, the party is fractionalised to the extent that the PDP is already extending a hand of fellowship to Senator Shehu Sani, the perceived political arch-rival of the governor. Currently, there are two known factions of the APC of which none is prepared to step down for the other.
Aside from the group loyal to the governor, there also exists another one called Akida faction led by Senator Sani. This group, Blueprint Weekend learnt, was formed because of its dissatisfaction with the leadership style of Governor El-Rufai.
Hakeem Baba Ahmed, a former chieftain of the party who is loyal to El-Rufai, but now an aide of Saraki, said: “Akida faction was formed as a result of the political difference between the governor and Sen Shehu Sani. Among the notable members are Tom Maiyashi, Alhaji Ibrahim Yari and Hafsat Baba.”
In all of these, analysts are wondering how El-Rufai can still sell the manifesto of the APC to the electorate at the grassroots, especially on account of his unpopular decision to sack over 21,000 teachers.
The Bello, Melaye rift
It is not clear if Kogi state, which gave the APC almost 100 per cent of the votes in 2015, will still be willing to do the same in 2019. As a result of what analysts refer to as the unpopular leadership style and policies of Governor Yahaya Bello, all is not well with the party in the state.
For example, Blueprint Weekend gathered that while the workers are waiting for 2019 to take their pound of flesh following the mass retrenchment the government embarked upon through endless staff verification exercise, he and the senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, are at each other’s jugular, with the party as the victim.
Investigations by Blueprint Weekend have indicated that the state chairman of the party, Haddy Ametuo, and his executive members avoid the governor like a plague, the reason for which they spend most of their time in Abuja instead of Lokoja.
Although, it is believed that the opposition PDP in the state is disorganised, with the current rumblings within the APC, it may not be smooth sailing for the ruling party in 2019.
APC faltering in Benue
The situation is not different in Benue state where the party polled over 70 per cent of the votes in 2015. The story is, however, no longer the same. Unofficial reports shortly after the January massacre of 73 people by killer-herdsmen indicated that the governor, Samuel Ortom, is no longer in the good book of the party in Abuja. This is because he refused the party’s call to avoid mass burial of the victims.
The party, it was learnt, has decided to pay him back by denying him the ticket for 2019, a development, it was further gathered, which has made the governor to have started looking through the window for where he can successfully pitch his tent along with his supporters should the threat be real.
Apart from this, the lackadaisical posture of President Buhari towards the several killings by herdsmen in the state, Blueprint Weekend learnt, will not play out well for the party in 2019, as leaders of the two major ethnic groups in the state has resolved to speak with one voice.
The scenario in Benue is similar to the ones in Plateau, Adamawa, Ogun, Edo and other APC-controlled states where herdsmen have killed hundreds and maimed many others without any known arrests, not to talk of prosecution.
Lopsided appointments
Many Nigerians, especially the elite, have at various times raised objections to what they believe are the lopsided appointments done by the government into public offices.
Of concern, in particular, is the complaint about the concentration of top security positions in the North to the exclusion of the other sections of the country.
Rising from its monthly meeting, last week, the Yoruba socio-cultural political organisation, Afenifere, re-emphasised the need to revisit the country’s security architecture.
Speaking with Blueprint Weekend, Yinka Odumakin, the spokesperson of the organisation, said: “For the record, let it be known that the entire Yoruba nation is against the president’s idea of concentrating top security positions to one particular region in the country. In our communiqué, we asked him to begin by sacking the Minister of Defence because apart from the fact that there should be an overhaul of security appointments, we take exception to some of his provocative comments on sensitive national issues.”
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, while speaking in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, at the weekend, also accused the current administration of nepotism, especially in the appointment of security chiefs. Many analysts are of the opinion that the decision of the president to ignore the call by other sections of the country to spread top appointments to reflect the federal character principle may be the government’s undoing in 2019.
Asiwaju the rejected stone
Until recently, all was not well between Asiwaju Tinubu, the National Leader and President Buhari. First, the disaffection centred around the emergence of the National Assembly leadership, where Senator Bukola Saraki and Honorable Yakubu Dogara emerged Senate president and House Speaker respectively.
The duo, in a keen contest, defeated Tinubu’s candidates to the chagrin of the strong man of South west politics. In particular, Tinubu had supported Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe state to head the 8th Senate but Saraki, in defiance to party position, reached out to the opposition PDP senators and struck a deal. In the end, he defeated Senator Lawan.
Similarly, Dogara reached out to Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambawal, the Sokoto state governor and immediate past Speaker, to defeat Femi Gbajabiamilla, Asiwaju’s candidate. Significantly, the president was also angry with Saraki and Dogara, according to reports, but somehow Tinubu blamed him for his candidates defeat.
Falake’s loss
Similarly, the Kogi state gubernatorial race had pitched Tinubu against Buhari. Before results were announced, the APC governorship candidate Prince Abubakar Audu had died, rendering the election inconclusive. Consequently, a political and legal riddle ensued as opinions were divided on whether the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), should announce Mr James Faleke, Prince Audu’s running mate and Tinubu’s protégée, the winner of the gubernatorial poll. In the end, APC sent Alhaji Yahaya Bello’s name to INEC as Audu’s replacement and Tinubu felt slighted.
Abraham’s defeat in Ondo state
In Ondo state, a similar script played out when Tinubu supported Mr Olusegun Abraham who was defeated at the September 2016 primaries. In the end, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu emerged victorious but Asiwaju alleged thatb the delegates’ list was tinkered with. In fact, APC raised a panel to investigate his claim and it recommend a repeat poll.
However, the recommendation was observed in the breach as Akeredolu’s name was submitted to INEC. As a result, Tinubu allegedly threw his weight behind Chief Olusola Oke, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) candidate.
Subsequently, he boycotted the rally on November 19, which was attended by the president and other party chieftains. In addition, Tinubu’s allies like Governors Rauf Aregbesola of Osun and Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, the Lagoos state governor, were conspicuously absent at the rally which held at Democracy Park, Akure.
Courting Tinubu
However, in spite of these differences, the duo of Buhari and Tinubu managed to keep a calm façade, insisting that all was well. But beneath the surface, the president’s aides were doing everything, according to a source, ‘’to cut Tinubu to size.’’ Last Novemeber, the president ended all speculations when he included Tinubu, along with Governor Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom and Alhaji Mohammed, his Bauchi state counterpart. Specifically, pictures of the entourage, all smile in the presidential jet, were generally splashed in the media. Since then, the former Lagos state governor has been a regular guest to the Presidential Villa. The big question is, will Tinubu’s reconciliation efforts bear fruits?
