Undoubtedly, the lingering confusion over leadership succession in the All Progressives Congress (APC) will take center stage as the stakeholders of the ruling party converge for another National Executive Council Meeting (NEC) on Monday, April 9 at the party’s secretariat in Abuja.
The APC NEC will consider the report of the 10-man technical committee, led by Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, which submitted its reports on Friday on the issue of tenure elongation. BusinnessDay gathered that the committee has toed the line of President Muhammadu Buhari, who had reversed the tenure elongation granted the National Working Committee (NWC) and the state executives of the party.
The technical committee had recommended that the party go for congresses at the state levels and convention at the national level to elect new leadership, which effectively diminished the voices of those still hanging on the tenure elongation.
So as the tenure elongation agenda has seemingly collapsed, the next theater is predictably, who will seize the instruments that will be put in place to organize the congresses and convention. The expected clash is between President Buhari , who BusinessDay gathered is rooting for a prominent politician from the South West to lead the convention committee, while the governors are said to be backing one of their own, the Governor of Jigawa state, Badaru Abubakar.
The ruling party had plunged into needless controversy after the NEC in its February meeting in Abuja, granted one-year tenure elongation to the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) led by National Chairman, John Odigie- Oyegun and all executive members at the state level, which tenure comes to an end in June.
This decision that was initially hailed as best for the party, soon sparked implacable protests from aggrieved members. The Lagos state chapter of the party allegedly prodded by the acclaimed National Leader of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Timi Frank among others, had dragged the party to court over tenure elongation.
The decision also deepened resentment and dissension among members, a situation that threatened the party with implosion until President Muhammadu Buhari, during the NEC meeting of March 27, reversed the tenure elongation claiming it was illegal and unconstitutional.
A source within the party who does not want his name on prints told BusinessDay that the decision to reverse the tenure elongation was all politics adding that President Buhari was compelled to reverse the tenure elongation following strident opposition to it by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who the president is said to be heavily dependent on for his yet-to-be- declared reelection bid.
Since the Buhari declaration, the party had witnessed twists and turns in quick succession as some governors especially Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; Ondo State, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu; Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong among others, who were said to be strong backers of the tenure elongation allegedly disagreed with their colleagues, who backed President Buhari’s decision, led by the Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari. The governors went into a meeting with President Buhari on Monday last week to resolve the imbroglio and it ended in a stalemate.
An urgent meeting was organized once again on Tuesday after which the governors issued a statement by the Zamfara state Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, who is the chairman of the Governors Forum, saying that they have all now agreed to align with the position of the President and that congresses and convention should hold without delay.
Some other governors at the meeting included; Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha; Senator Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun State); Yari (Zamfara); Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano State); and Lalong (Plateau),among others.
Chairman of the APC, Oyegun, who had earlier told reporters that the tenure elongation was good for the party suddenly, changed his position and started backing Buhari. According to the source within the party, “Oyegun, who was a beneficiary of the tenure extension, was forced to toe the line of the governors, who have overwhelmingly supported the position of President Buhari, in order not to be seen as the cog in the wheel of progress.”
Oyegun, while briefing reporters after a meeting with the governors on Wednesday said “Today the governors, the NWC of our party decided to sit and look at the issues that are seemingly dividing us and I want to say to you with absolute satisfaction, absolute pride that all the issues that you have been commenting about in the last two days have been completely and totally resolved.
“We are back in business as one united and happy family”, he said adding that the party is now” focused and strongly behind President Buhari and strongly behind our party executives in all the states.” This was in contradiction with his earlier position on tenure elongation.
Making further clarification on the matter, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Bolaji Abdullahi, said “the NEC meeting coming up on Monday is essentially to consider the report of the technical committee set up to look at the earlier position taken by NEC against the background of the position subsequently taken by Mr. President.”
He however, noted that the president’s stand is not inconsistent with the party, saying “what the president has said is that he has been advised that the position taken by the NEC is not consistent with the party’s constitution and the 1999 constitution.”
He said further that the president only wants to be sure that whatever decision the party takes is consistent with the provisions of the law. He added that what informed the meeting with the governors is to reconcile their positions.
“We don’t want to appear as if we are undermining the position of the NEC because of the position taken by the president and at the same time to ensure that we give confidence to the president, who is the leader of our party,” he said.
On whether party congresses will now be considered, he said that the position of the NEC is for the NWC members to continue in acting capacity after the expiration of their tenure in June this year. He said further that the NEC will act on the report of the Lalong committee.
As the new theatre of conflict emerges in the embattled party, it is clear that all may not be well with the ruling party, which has not been able to organize a national convention since it was formed about four years ago even as it has no functional board of trustees.
Innocent Odoh, Abuja
