The All Progressives Congress (APC) is facing its biggest hurdle of survival since the party was formed in 2013, in a merger which involved four political parties; the Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
The party subsequently won a historic election and emerged majority in all elective positions across the country, defeating the then ruling party; the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) including the presidential election, in which Muhammedu Buahri defeated then incumbent President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
However, since assuming power, the APC has been plagued with prolonged internal squabbles, and divisions among leaders in several states, largely due to tussles for control of the structure of the party or disagreements with the governance policies and political ambitions.
While there has also been a general opposition and antagonism among APC members, especially the federal law makers to some of the Buhari administration policies and programmes.
This squabbles and divisions have spread to several state chapters of the party, pitching several chieftains and leaders of the party against one another.
This crisis is threatening the chances of the party retaining these states beyond the 2015 general elections.
Recently, President Muahmmadu Buhari set up a reconciliation committee headed by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the party, saddling it with the task of reconciling aggrieved members across the troubled state chapters.
The states
Imo
The crisis in the Imo State chapter of the party started early this year, when the state Governor, Rochas Okorocha was said to be making moves to endorse his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, for the 2019 gubernatorial election on the platform of the APC, as Okorocha’s second term in office expires in 2019.
Okorocha had subsequently publicly endorsed his Chief of Staff, Uche Nwosu as next Imo governor in 2019.
However, this development has not gone down well with political leaders and the people of Imo state, including fellow leaders of his party, the APC , who had asked the Governor to jettison such ambition and allow his successor come naturally from within the ranks of the party.
Over the last few months, the crisis in Imo APC has further degenerated due to the interest of the Deputy of Governor of the state Eze Madumere in the Governorship position.
The internal wrangling took a different twist last week, after the ward congress, when the Deputy Governor defeated the Governor in the ward congress in several local governments, resulting in fresh reports of moves by Rochas Okorocha to instigate the impeachment process against the deputy Governor through the state Assembly.
Okorocha and his group are said to be accusing the Deputy Governor of having led the onslaught that resulted in their loss in last Saturday’s wards congress in the state.
Sources said an aid to the Governor had allegedly met with some key member s of the State House of Assembly to carry out the plot of impeaching the Deputy Governor for reasons such as his refusal to enforce his son-in-law and forming an alliance with the opposition to humiliate him.
As the current impasse in Imo intensifies, what is obvious is that the current succession battle in the state may tear the APC apart, while several actors in the current imbroglio, including the governor, may be consumed.
Kaduna
The All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kaduna State has for some time, been embroiled in an intra- party crisis which has resulted in the fictionalisation of the party in the state.
The crisis, which started just after Nasir El-Rufai assumed office as governor, resulted in the suspension of Senator Shehu Sani from the party by the El-Rufail controlled faction since 2016.
While it is generally believed that the control of the APC structure is the reason for the current crisis, some of El-Rufai’s administration policies, like the controversial sacking of hundreds of teachers in the state, and the long history of rivalry between Christians and Muslims, have fueled the crisis.
The crisis however aggravated recently, when a new faction formed by members loyal to the two APC senators, Sulaiman Hunkuyi and Shehu Sani in the state, recently opened a new state party secretariat in Kaduna and appointed interim leaders to run its affairs.
Responding, the El-rufail controlled faction also suspended Hunkuyi and expelled 28 others from the party for alleged anti party activities, they were alleged to have been involved in creating a parallel organ outside the state working committee and conducting themselves in a manner that is not in accordance with the party’s constitution and manifesto.
However, in their response to the suspension, members of the faction met and announced the suspension of governor El-Rufail from the party for six months, over what they described as unilateral imposition of candidates for the forth -coming local government election.
The acting Chairman of Hunkuyi Faction, Danladi Gwada, said Hunkuyi and other members of the new faction during the meeting insisted that their camps were the duly recognised factions by the APC National leadership and that they cannot be said to be suspended by the other group.
Reacting to the suspension, the governor ordered the demolition of Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi’s house which was used as the headquarters of the faction of the party.
Speaking recently on the floor of the Senate on the demolition, Senator Sani said the governor was acting with the support of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said: “Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has said repeatedly that he has the nod of President Muhammadu Buhari to do whatever he likes. I recall that my constituency office was attacked 11 times and unfortunately, military and police personnel were used in these attacks because we set up APC office outside El-Rufai’s personalised office, he demolished it”.
However, there are moves by the Tinubu’s reconciliation committee to resolve the lingering crisis in the state after meeting with the two faction’s severally in the state.
Kano
In Kano, the immediate past governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, is locked in battle with his predecessor and long-time political benefactor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
Both men have made it clear that they would never work together again politically. In fact, the feud between the two leaders has transcended the political to the personal.
Since he left office in 2015, Kwankwaso went to Kano only once, and that was to commiserate with Ganduje on the death of his mother.
His second attempt to return to the state after he left office was twice aborted by Ganduje, prompting the presidency to summon the duo for a meeting with Abba Kyari, the chief of staff to the president, to avert trouble in the state.
However, as the general election approaches, the relationship between the duo is still tense and getting more bitter; Kwankwaso in a recent statement to his supporters, after the wedding of Ganduje’s daughter to the son of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state, said those who attended the wedding of Ganduje’s divorcee child had wasted their time.
Also recently, there have been rumours of Kwankwaso defecting to the PDP, but it is however instructive to say that the APC faces the risk of losing Kano state or a large chunk of votes, if the current face-off between the two political gladiators is not urgently resolved.
Kogi
The crisis in the Kogi State chapter of the APC has been raging for some time, with the incumbent governor Yahaya Bello and controversial Senator Dino Melaye and the party executives.
Recently, a faction of the party loyal to the state governor had sacked the chairman of APC in the state, Hadi Ametuo and other excos, while the purported sack was announced by Ibrahim Ahovi, who claimed that he was now the state acting chairman.
The claim was countered by the zonal executive of the party who revealed that neither the state nor the zonal executives constituted in whatever name or form, could expel anyone from the party, adding that only a convention of the party was empowered to do such.
However, the feud between the governor and Senator Dino has taken a twist over the last few months; Governor Bello is being fingered in the current ordeal of Senator Melaye, having been accused of spending large sums of money in the botched move to recall Melaye form the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
The governor is also being fingered in the current attempt by the Nigeria Police to prosecute Melaye, for several alleged crimes.
Recently, Senator Dino Melaye had claimed he had uncovered an alleged plan by the Nigeria Police and the Kogi State Government to assassinate him, using lethal injection, adding that it necessitated the moves by the Police in prosecuting him in Kogi rather Abuja, a position that was denied by the Kogi state government in a statement by the Director General, Media and Publicity to Governor Bello, Kingsley Fanwo.
“He should face his problems and leave Governor Bello out of the issues surrounding his face-off with the Police. The governor is a law abiding citizen of Nigeria who would not involve himself in such criminality. Home or abroad, no organisation has ever indicted the governor of such crime”.
However, as the battle between the two gladiators intensifies, what is obvious is that the APC in Kogi cannot likely work in accord, meaning the APC faces the danger of losing Kogi state soon.
Sokoto
Upon resumption as the head of the reconciliation committee of the APC; among the first states, the leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu visited was Sokoto state, the battle is between the Kaduna state Governor Nasir El-Rufail and the national vice chairman of the party, Inuwa Abdulkadir.
The governor had pulled down the building of the faction of the APC in the state, a faction linked to Inuwa, the demolished building was said to belong to Inuwa.
Officials of KASUPDA demolished the building, while the politician was in Abuja for a party meeting
Expressing shock over the incidence, Inuwa said he wondered why the state government would carry out the demolition when the issue was in court, adding that the demolition was a personal threat.
“The demolition of my house is a personal threat by the governor, we are in court over the issue, the matter is still in court, and they should have waited for the court to decide.
Inuwa further said the disagreement between the duo was because of political differences, adding that he could not be intimidated by the governor.
“It is a personal matter because of our differences in political views and opinions. He wants to intimidate me because of political issues and I cannot be intimidated. I am not a bootlicker.
“We are in the same party. I am a leader of the party, my role is to ensure fairness and equal treatment of party members.
“If he thinks he can fight me by attacking my property, so be it. That will not make me change my position.”
