There are strong indications that the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is currently under intense pressure to re-chart his political course, ahead of next year’s general election.
This followed an elongation of tenure awarded Chief John Odigie-Oyegun by the National Executive Council of the party, to continue as APC National Chairman for another one year, despite Tinubu’s perceived agitation for Oyegun’s sack.
The blessing of tenure elongation came the way of Oyegun reportedly through the will of President Muhammadu Buhari and in the presence of Tinubu!
Sources, at the weekend, revealed that following this unsavoury development, the Tinubu camp had begun secret talks with other political interests as time ticks for various elections in the country.
The camp of Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State and the central figure in the mega-party arrangement that led to the formation of the APC, is particularly pained that its principal has been technically sidelined in the running of the party.
“The last straw that broke the camel’s back was that despite Tinubu’s cry over Oyegun’s illicit activities at the state chapters of the party, and Tinubu’s recent letter that the party chairman was sabotaging his peace and reconciliation efforts, the party’s National Executive Council still approved Oyegun’s tenure elongation by a year,” a Tinubu loyalist, craving anonymity, lamented.
The development, according to analysts, has implied that the coming primary elections, ahead of the 2019 general election, will be conducted by Oyegun, a clear indication to the stunting of Tinubu’s high political toga.
Pundits also said that the power play that looked like Tinubu’s political castration, was meant to detoxify his enchanting clout, ahead of 2019.
OBJ’S CNM COMES AS ALLY
But our correspondent gathered from a reliable source in the party that Tinubu was ready to take them by surprise, with different political ‘mathematics’, this time round.
He said among his moves were his secret talks with the Coalition for Nigeria Movement, formed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in the aftermath of his strong open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari.
“All will be taken by surprise with what will happen ahead of 2019. Asiwaju knows how to play his game; and he never says die when it comes to issues like this. He knows where to touch and people to mingle with. When the time comes, you will all see the outcome,” one of the party’s chieftains, close to Tinubu, hinted.
Meanwhile, the recent elongation of Oyegun’s tenure has been generating ripples in the party, among the followers of the political bigwigs.
It was gathered that loyalists belonging to Tinubu’s camp were currently not leaving any stone unturned, to ensure that Oyegun and his backers were paid back.
KOGI APC WORRY OVER TINUBU
In Kogi State, it was gathered that panic had gripped the Chairman of the party, Alhaji Haddy Ametuo, and his people who were relying on Tinubu’s reconciliation committee to retain their relevance. According to a member of the party in the state, Mr. Lateef Ojonugwa, “the members of a said parallel committee formed by Governor Yahaya Bello and Oyegun have been parading themselves as the Alfa and Omega of the party since the tenure elongation gift to the national chairman.
Ametuo, when contacted over the situation, said he and the other state executive members of the party were still in control in the state. He added that they still believed that Tinubu’s reconciliation team would restore peace in the party.
Asked about the likely effects of Tinubu’s ordeal in the party, Haddy said, “Tinubu is still as relevant in the party as he was from the beginning. Everyone knows his weight and that is why no one can underrate him. Asiwaju is a core politician; even, the President understand this. That is why he entrusted him with the peace-keeping assignment in the party, nationally.”
SANI WARNS
Meanwhile, Senator Shehu Sani has said tampering with Tinubu’s relevance in the party may lead to doom. The Kaduna State senator, who has been at loggerheads with the state governor, Nasir el-Rufai, said the state chapter of the party was already enmeshed in crisis that only Tinubu could save.
“We will not accept, tolerate, and endorse any form of tyranny by the governor of Kaduna State. He has pocketed the party and the party is already divided, but we believe that Asiwaju Tinubu can do a lot of reconciliation and we hope that he will be able to achieve a lot because if Asiwaju fails, it is going to be doom for the party,” he warned.
The last straw that broke the camel’s back was that despite Tinubu’s cry over Oyegun’s illicit activities at the state chapters of the party, and Tinubu’s recent letter that the party chairman was sabotaging his peace and reconciliation efforts, the party’s National Executive Council still approved Oyegun’s tenure elongation by a year
PDP BETTER THAN US – APC DEPUTY SPOKESMAN
With the current situation of things in the party, aggrieved members of the party have warned that the party could collapse with the manner its leadership handles issues.
According to them, the chairman’s tenure elongation, which is against Tinubu’s cry, is an indication that the party has embarked on a difficult mission. They also maintained that the party’s strength would be restored only if Tinubu was allowed to bring together its fractured segments across the country.
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Timi Frank, while reacting to the situation in the party, said several anti-democratic activities in the party might soon lead to rebellion from some party chieftains.
“I am personally disappointed with the tenure extension of the Chief John Oyegun-led leadership. This has clearly shown that APC is an undemocratic party. A party which has been in existence for three years but has never obeyed its own Constitution,” Frank said.
He also said APC had proved that PDP was better than it. “I challenge anybody to tell me the part of the APC Constitution that has been religiously obeyed in the past. This has shown again the difference between PDP and APC; but I know that the former is better.
I will not relent in speaking the truth, which I’m known for. This decision is against the wish of the majority but for the oppressors within the party.”
I challenge anybody to tell me the part of the APC Constitution that has been religiously obeyed in the past. This has shown again the difference between PDP and APC; but I know that the former is better
Frank added that failure to respect Tinubu might lead to the end of the party in 2019.
He said, “Even when the Presidency had appointed the National Leader of APC to reconcile all the aggrieved members, the tenure elongation clearly showed that the party is going nowhere beyond 2019, because if they didn’t believe in Tinubu’s reconciliatory panel, why did they set it up at all?
“How can you keep a man that lacks the capacity to lead a political party, for another 12 months? This has shown that those who took such a decision are selfish and do not mean well for the APC. Time will tell very soon when some of us will have to take decision against some of these anti-democratic tendencies of some people in APC.”
APC GOVS BACK OYEGUN, SNUB TINUBU
In what appears to be yet a complication of the APC crisis, some APC governors have sent warning signals to Tinubu not to appear in their states for his reconciliation assignment.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, known to have a quiet tiff with Tinubu, last week, sarcastically appealed to Tinubu not to bring his reconciliation committee to Ondo State, “as the Ondo APC is peaceful and united.”
A source in the party told our correspondent that many of the governors had vowed not to allow Tinubu’s reconciliation committee in their states.
“The governors believe that Tinubu will take advantage of the peace move to plant his people in their states’ party chapters so that he can easily have his ways as needed,“ the source
said.
He claimed that the governors viewed Tinubu as a leader with vested political interests, whose appointment to reconcile aggrieved members would further tear the party apart.
The source explained, “In Kwara, Tinubu was not in support of Lai Mohammed becoming Minister; In Ondo, Tinubu’s choice of Chief Segun Abraham in the Ondo Governorship election in 2016 put a wedge between him and Governor Rotimi Akeredolu who eventually emerged. The crisis in APC in Ondo State is also due to the rivalry between Tinubu’s men and Akeredolu’s men.
“In Ekiti, Tinubu is not in good terms with the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.”
