As the race for the national chairmanship of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) hots up, MUYIWA OYINLOLA in this report examines the gladiators
By Muyiwa Oyinlola
When the Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) came on board June last year, not many stakeholders believed the party would not have held its National Convention by now.
The Committee led by the Yobe State governor which was inaugurated on June 25 at an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee NEC had a six-month mandate to reconcile warring tendencies in the party and convene an elective national convention within the period.
In the last one year, the committee has had its tenure extended twice, once in December last year and the other last month.
The latest extension which was validated by President Muhammadu Buhari also led the release of a timeline and timetable for the congresses of the party.
With the national convention of the party in view after the forthcoming congresses, gladiators for the national championship position have started showing up although they are keeping their plans to themselves. It remains a mind game as the party has not announced a date for the national convention.
There is however, apprehension ahead of the national convention given the intrigues already playing out. What many see as a family affair is gradually turning to a test of political might among party chieftains, who are out for battle over control of the party’s structures ahead of the 2023 general election.
With the extension of the tenure of the CECPC, the national convention to elect a new National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling party is now expected to hold in the first quarter of 2022.
According to the party, Ward Congresses will be held on 24th July, 2021, Local government Congresses (including 3-Man delegates to National Convention) will be held on 14th August, 2021 and
State Congresses are to hold on 18th September, 2021.
Gladiators for the national chairmanship position are leaving nothing to chance in their bid.
Among those, who have directly or indirectly shown interest for the APC national chairmanship position are three former governors. They are Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa), Ali Modu Sheriff (Borno) and Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara).
Others are Saliu Mustapha, a former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the senator representing Niger East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Sani Musa.
Tanko Al-Makura
The immediate past governor of Nasarawa State is not pretending over his ambition to succeed Buni as the national chairman of the ruling party.
Al-Makura, who presently represents Nasarawa South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, has the support of his home state in bid to steer the ship of the APC.
He was elected governor of Nasarawa State in 2011 on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a party formed by the President Muhammadu Buhari after defeating the then incumbent governor, Aliyu Akwe- Doma of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Following the successful merger of the legacy parties into what is today known as the APC; Al-Makura joined the APC and was re-elected for a second term on its platform.
While the former governor has not publicly declared his interest for the APC top job, emerging developments from his home state show that he has the support of his successor,NGovernor Abdullahi Sule.
The governor had during the APC registration/revalidation exercise, not only advised the party to look in the direction of the defunct CPC and Nasarawa State for the position of its national chairman, but revealed reasons why he is mobilising support for Senator Al-makura.
His words: “I have gone beyond advice now. We are campaigning; we advice now. We are campaigning; we are going round. I have been in contact with all the major stakeholders of the APC and we strongly believe that what we are asking for is not too much for the party to do. What we are asking for will also help keep the party together. I will tell you that I am just making a plea and I have gotten to the stage of making consultations, speaking with the right people and all the decision makers. I am specifically speaking with my colleagues, the governors. So, we are doing everything to ensure that we plead for this position to come to Nasarawa State.
“I am in full swing, I didn’t want to go half swing, I am saying that I strongly believe that the position APC national chairman should come to the North Central, Nasarawa State in particular. I don’t want to stop at just the position of APC national chairman coming to the North Central without mentioning Nasarawa State because that’s why I said that I am going full swing. We’re not just saying that for the sake of saying it. APC is actually a product of alliance between three former independent political parties, the CPC, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
“The two other members of the alliance have produced the national chairman of the party twice. The only one that has not produced so far is CPC, and if you are talking of CPC, Nasarawa is the only state that joined the APC alliance as a CPC controlled state. That serves as a justification for state. That serves as a justification for the demand we are making. Right now, we are campaigning for people like Tanko Al-Makura and we are not pretending about it.”
No doubt, a serious contender for a position such as the national chairmanship of a ruling party must have the backing of his home state, but how the Al-Makura camp convinces other tendencies within the APC to back an aspirant of the CPC extraction after cries of marginalization by the ACN and ANPP camps by the Buhari administration will determine how far the former governor of Nasarawa State will go in his bid.
Ali Modu Sheriff
A founding member of the APC before he left the party for the PDP ahead of the 2015 general election, the former governor of Borno State later acted as chairman of the party until he was removed and replaced by Ahmed Makarfi.
In April 2018, he defected back to APC and has been working underground to emerge as its next national chairman, with a promise to lead the party to victory in the forthcoming 2023 elections.
Though Sheriff has a rich political profile that stands him out among other contenders, the belief within the APC is that he is likely to be trusted given what transpired during his reign as acting national chairman of the PDP.
Sheriff almost succeeded in wrestling the PDP to ground until the party was saved by the courts.
Abdulaziz Yari
The immediate past governor of Zamfara State is also reportedly eyeing the national chairmanship of the ruling party, and with the recent defection of his successor, Bello Matawalle to the APC, he is likely to have a good bargain.
Yari had sought for a seat in the Senate after eight years as governor of Zamfara State but his bid was truncated by internal wrangling within the state chapter of the APC.
Though he won the poll, a Supreme Court judgement, however nullified his election and those of all candidates fielded by the APC on the ground that they were not validly nominated.
After the botched Senate bid, Yari concentrated with rebuilding the party in the state. While this has paid off with Matawalle defection, it is not clear whether he will enjoy the support of the governor, who has taken over the leadership of the party in the state.
Saliu Mustapha
The one-time Deputy National Secretary of the CPC is banking on his relationship with the President’s camp to actualize his ambition.
But given that he would be facing contenders, who have the backing of former governors and some serving and ex-senators having occupied both positions in the past, Mustapha faces a Herculean task in realizing his bid.
Sani Musa
The senator representing Niger East Senatorial District in the upper chamber of the federal legislature might be seen as a dark horse in the race but there are indications that he is the candidate to beat given his support base.
The senator is said to have the backing of most APC senators, who are rooting for one of their own to assume the leadership of the party. He is also said to have the support of his state chapter of the party led by Governor Sani Bello.
Equally working for Sani is the clamour for the chairmanship of the APC to be zoned to the North Central.
Those rooting for the senator are of the view that the party should avoid handing its leadership to another former governor given what it went through in the hands of a former governor of the Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
According to them, what the ruling party needs going into a general election is a personality, who has the election is a personality, who has the capacity to carry all members along and not an individual with dictatorial tendency.
They also insisted that Buni’s successor must be a party man and not what they described as a “fair weather politicians,” who are good in jumping ship at will.
For them, besides being a founding member of the APC, Senator Musa is a highly organized, dedicated, passionate and hardworking person with a proven integrity in all the places he has served in both public and private sector from 1986 to date.
The lawmaker is also described as a great mobilizer, a bridge builder and a strategist, who is passionate about wholesome development of the nation, which according to them, is what APC needs going into the 2023 general election.
Source: LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER
