Since 2015 when the party won the presidential election, it has not been able to manage its success, as the party has been embroiled in one crisis or the other due to the lack of cohesion and internal party discipline among APC leaders and all the ranks of the party in the country.
In 2015 APC had 60 senators and 190 All Progressives Congress in the House of Representatives but due to rising political tensions to the election in 2019 lost 37 members in the National Assembly, 33 members defected to, PDP, while four defected to African Democratic Congress (ADC) APC ended with 153 before regain its strengthen of majority in the House of Representatives in 2019 elections with 190 All Progressives Congress with 57 senators in 2019.
The party as governing party since 2015 elections APC had 23 states in 2015 but after the 2019 elections lost four states namely Adamawa, Bauchi, Zamfara and Oyo states. Around 2018 APC lost Sokoto and Benue and recently Edo state all these state to PDP.
The internal rancor within the party led to the easing out of office of the former national Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and later saw the popular emergence of Mr. Adams Oshiomhole national chairman of the party but the honeymoon last not long within the party.
Before dissolution of past immediate National Working Committee led Oshiomhole is as result of power struggle within the APC governing party has been going on quietly for long. Until Oshiomhole-Obaseki rift reached climax of APC internal strife became the epicenter in March this year when a Federal High Court in Abuja suspended the party chairman Oshiomhole.
When Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) dissolved , the party former national secretary and governor of Yobe state Mai-Mala Buni was named Chairman Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Committee as he had inside experience but the tasks ahead of him is challenging one more than when left the national Secretariat in 2019.
Your Committee saddled with the task of rescuing the party from imminent disintegrates party members believed that a breath of fresh air would be experienced in the party. From now onward, your led committee will concentrate on medium and long term development of the party strategies and internal organization to support public standing as well as APC chances of electoral successes in the future elections.
All members of APC believe that the party would benefit from HMB vast experience to mediate and negotiate between the different interests within the party. Like you and other caretakers members knew that politics is a game that moves together with interest and ambitions. As one can’t separate blood from the tissue so, also, you can’t separate politics from interest and ambitions. You have a task of charting a new course with renewed commitment and dedication for the Party to be more strong party with emblem of internal democracy and mutual understanding among leaders and other stakeholders achieving these tasks will be a dire need because finding lasting solutions to the party lingering crisis before the mini convention even thought But the challengers is bigger because different camps within the party are alienated with the ways former National Working Committee (NWC) handling they grievances with impunity.
A sign of Good Friday starts from Wednesday so to speak, shortly after the committee was inaugurated to wooing the confidence of aggrieved members. Already Caretaker Committee visited visits the founding fathers of the party in Lagos and Osun states Chief Bisi Akande and Ahmed Tinubu had justified the new approach with very positive results after consultations, both of them advising the committees to engage in an all-inclusive consultation to accommodate and fix areas posing threats to the party. In fact the ongoing consultation and reconciliatory moves of the committee have started yielding the desired result.
Buni’s led committee have demonstrate the political will by inaugurating the Reconciliation Committees for Edo and Ondo states chaired by a former Senate President, Sen. Ken Nnamani and the Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello, respectively. 49-member high-level National Campaign Council for the Edo State Governorship Election Inaugurated under chaired of Kano State Governor at the party’s secretariat. Your led committee has constituted a screening committee for APC governorship aspirants in Ondo State has appointed the Party’s former interim National Secretary, Alhaji Tijjani Musa Tumsa to chair the Party’s screening committee for Ondo State governorship aspirants.
The outcome of your committee obligation will interest, millions of Nigerian, many political observers and the party members as caretaker committee will face enormous tasks in the days ahead and what turns out of the duties will be of interest. When interim NWC charting a new course with renewed commitment and dedication for the Party to be more strong party with emblem of internal democracy and mutual understanding among leaders and other stakeholders achieving these tasks will be a dire need because finding lasting solutions to the party lingering crisis before the mini convention will write your committee in the anal of history. Buni’s led caretaker committee should convince the aggrieved members that dragged the party to courts need to withdraw all court cases with a view in resolving any outstanding disputes because their actions ridicule the party. The caretaker committee should understand that as a progressive party needs to operate on the principle of change, the committee should keep to the rules of change in discharging its assignment.
Organizing transparent convention which can be acceptable to all and importantly APC Caretaker and Convention Committee can achieve this by simple obeying the rules as contained in the party constitution and the caretaker members should avoid impunity which brought APC to its present quagmire. The committee has to instill party discipline and respect of the party constitution among all the ranks of APC before and after the party mini convention. As well to stop drifts and internal wrangling within the party have to instill party discipline and respect of the party constitution among all the ranks of APC before and after the party mini convention.
This trust bestows on Buni’s led committee came as a result of the confidence, and reliability on his experience as a pragmatic politician can restore the lost fortune of the governing party which plunged into a leadership crisis. When reiterated APC interim NWC Governor Mai Mala Buni said change is inevitable, disagreement on issues and concepts are an integral part of human and institutional relationship and interim NWC priority would be the recognition of the need to act appropriately and acceptably in the overall interest of the party as their actions in the next few months would be proactive and responsive, adding that as a political party built on strong ideology, parading men and women of enduring principle and integrity, the party must prepare for real and anticipated changes and their consequences. Therefore Nigerians and other members expect you to be a team player and not to allow certain interests to supersede the well being of the party.
Dukawa writes from Kano and can be reached at [email protected]
