President Bola Tinubu attended the All Progressives Congress’s (ASPC) National Executive Committee meeting, which was finally held. KUNLE ODEREMI writes about the president’s order to form reconciliation committees and the extent to which it can seal existing rifts and bring resentful founding leaders and other factions back together with the APC.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
The leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) met in Lagos five months ago to discuss ways to address internal problems. It was an assembly of the party’s influential figures from the nation’s South-West geopolitical zone. Owing to governmental obligations, President Bola Tinubu was unable to attend. His Chief of Staff, the Honorable Femi Agbalajobi, represented him well. The most remarkable aspect of the meeting was how candidly all of the leaders voiced their concerns about the general course of events in organs.
Former Ogun State governor Chief Olusegun Osoba, former national chairman Chief Bisi Akande, and other party elders were forthright about what they saw as shortcomings in the party’s management. According to a synopsis of each of their individual presentations, the pattern had caused division within the party and led to preventable complaints. Some of the most important stakeholders also voiced concerns that the APC’s chances in the upcoming governorship election in Ondo State in November 2024 would be threatened by the disillusionment among many grassroots party supporters over perceived neglect after helping the APC win the general election in 2023.
At the meeting called by Governor Babatunde Sanwo-Olu, Chief Osoba and other APC leaders took the time to ask the irate party members for understanding, stating that President Tinubu was seeking to change the way Nigeria was governed. The renowned administrator and journalist disclosed that he frequently met with the president. After listening intently to all of the speakers, both high and low, Honorable Gbajabiamila pledged to present President Tinubu with the complaints of the APC faithful.
“Mr. President has asked me to deliver his message; he is aware that he has made very difficult decisions,” Gbajabiamila stated. The end of the tunnel is in sight for him. We will all be grateful to him for the choices at some point. According to Mr. President, I should inform you that he is considering the future generation rather than the next election. There is a certain leader created at each moment in a nation. Now is the moment to develop a brave leader.
accumulating storm The party quickly found itself in a tumultuous period in the prelude to the Ondo election, which was in line with the concerns voiced at the Lagos meeting. The animosity that resulted from the governorship primary’s conduct caused a broad storm that the party’s state chapter was unable to handle. The APC made desperate attempts to mediate a settlement between the two factions at the heart of the dispute. The APC national leadership promptly rallied other important stakeholders, especially governors from the South-West, at President Tinubu’s insistence in order to placate the irate candidates over the way the party candidate was selected.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, the chairman of the South-West Governors Forum, warned of the repercussions of a split home during a meeting to rally APC stakeholders. He urged everyone to put aside their differences and work as a single, cohesive family. No one will be neglected or left behind. This meeting is known to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is eager to see the APC win the upcoming election. Our goal in this race is to maintain the current progress. We cannot afford for our advancements to be undone. Abiodun Oyebanji, his counterpart from Ekiti State, emphasized the importance of the election by claiming:
“I had to be here because the Ondo election is more important, even though it is my second year in office in Ekiti.” He urged party members to stick together in order to uphold the accomplishments of the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, adding that this is the reason the APC needs to regain power. It is necessary to uphold the legacy that the late governor left behind.
The opinions presented at the conference by Ganduje, the national chairman of the APC, were the most enlightening, though. “As party leaders, we must treat this election with the seriousness it deserves because it is crucial,” he stated. For the benefit of the party as a whole as well as the state, we must rigorously complete this mission. Everyone stands to gain from this election.
In light of this, additional important members of the ruling party participated in deliberations at the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting last Wednesday, which had been postponed multiple times. President Bola Tinubu, the national chairman, Dr. Ganduje, and other party leaders attended the APC national Caucus meeting on Tuesday, which took place prior to the event. Not present at the NEC meeting were former Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, former Transportation Minister Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, former Interior Minister Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), and immediate former President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, as political parties stepped up their efforts to improve their standing before the general election, the president took the opportunity to set the tone for the APC. He urged the leadership to take decisive steps to restore harmony after recognizing the blazing discordant tunes in certain state chapters of the APC. Tinubu gave the APC National Working Committee (NWC) the responsibility of forming an organization to evaluate the state of affairs and choose the best course of action. He stated:
“I am happy with the National Working Committee; they are doing a great job. Nonetheless, there are some disputes among the different states. Committees should be established to investigate the states’ ongoing issues, and party leaders in different states should be urged to remain composed and work together. The situation of affairs Checks show that almost every state chapter of the association has significant problems to deal with or that are bothering a lot of its members.
The conduct of congresses to elect party officers at the state, local, and ward levels is the source of some of the problems. Others deal with accusations of egotism by a select few who are permitted to control other party loyalists. There are rumors of a chilly relationship feud in Kano State between Abdullahi Abbas, the state APC chairman, and Yusuf Ata, the minister of state for housing and urban development, over the APC’s 2027 governorship ticket.
Abbas is reportedly in favor of the deputy president of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau, running for governor in 2027, while the state chairman is reportedly supported by Dr. Ganduje. Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and Governor Hyacinth Alia are engaged in a fierce struggle for the APC’s soul in Benue State. The state’s APC leaders collaborate with other groups. APC’s structure in the state has been undermined by the war, which coincided with the general election.
Notwithstanding the electoral harm done to the APC as a result of the leaders’ ongoing crisis of confidence, the main APC personalities in Zamfara State have yet to give up. A strange power battle over the APC’s structures is also involving some of the party’s Delta chapter chieftains. The APC’s tea cup storm hasn’t shown any signs of abating in Rivers. The party is out of breath from the tug of war. Numerous former battlefield commanders have been mostly marginalized.
The APC’s attempt to reinvent itself and make an impact at the polls has been hampered by the lingering effects of the most recent governorship contest in Bayelsa. Recall that the warring camps established parallel organizations as a result of the infighting. Problems The issue of the party’s patronage after forming the government is another. According to some party supporters, the administration has not done enough to recognize the sacrifices they have made both personally and collectively to ensure the APC’s election victory.
They claim that a greater number of non-party members have favored federal nominations. Despite the NEC’s decision, issues like the national chairmanship now held by Dr. Ganduje of the North-West continue to be the main focus. North Central stakeholders are refusing to back down from their demand that the post be filled in their zone.
Posers Party supporters across and abroad are interested in knowing which names will be on the lists as the party gets ready to form the reconciliation committees that President Tinubu has suggested. They contend that in order to inspire trust and ensure equity, the standards to be applied when choosing members are essential. Will it include the names of people who have criticized the APC-led government and are regarded as close allies, confidants, and followers of prominent APC leaders?
Will the resentful parties provide what is required to the committee formation process? After they have physically drawn the battle line, can individuals like Mallam El-Rufai, Amaechi, and Salihu Ibrahim still make amends with the APC? Some experts pointed out that their anti-government outbursts have, to put it mildly, been incompatible with their status as one of the APC’s founding fathers in 2013.
Internal dispute settlement procedures According to Dr. Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru, the national secretary of the APC, life is full of obstacles that must be overcome as they arise. The fact that Nigerians may openly use their freedom to criticize and insult the government on television or radio and go unpunished is a plus for democracy under the current regime, he said, adding that the APC has been successful in strengthening democracy in the nation. Similarly, Nze Duru, the deputy national organizing secretary for the APC, believes that the party’s position is under control. He was cited as stating that the APC’s dispute resolution procedures were functioning properly.
The intriguing thing about politics is that, like all human affairs, it is not something we micromanage; individuals are free to meet and adopt stances whenever they see fit. The state party cannot be forced to follow the ruling party’s decisions. However, I can guarantee that the majority of the problems we have discussed will be resolved very soon. According to Duru, the APC has dispute resolution processes in place, unlike other parties that lack answers to their competing issues.
Bala Ibrahim, the national publicity director for the APC, has equal faith in the party leadership’s skill, competence, and aptitude to address the current problems in certain state chapters. “The APC, led by Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, is a party that does not shy away from responsibilities,” he said. It’s an organization that takes on issues head-on and seeks for long-term fixes. The opposition is fabricating and exaggerating these issues in the hopes of thwarting the party’s goals and objectives.
Will President Tinubu’s order to the APC national leadership to form committees whose only task is to bring agitated party members together across state chapters prove to be a magic wand for the ruling party?CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
