The decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the tenure of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress and recent defections of political bigwigs is already causing ill-feelings within the party, writes Adedayo Akinwale

In clear contravention with the constitution of the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari recently approved the extension of the tenure of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) single handedly without consultation with the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party.

Nevertheless, despite the unconstitutional approval of the tenure of the committee, no member of the party was bold enough to speak out because apparently they don’t want to be seen as kicking against the decision of the President who they all adore.

The Caretaker Committee led by the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni was inaugurated on June 25, 2020 to run the affairs of the party after the sack of Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) following a protracted leadership crisis.

However, the caretaker committee that was supposed to be there for six months to reconcile aggrieved members and conduct convention for the party has now successfully had its tenure elongated for the third time.

The National Secretary of the party, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, in a statement said the President granted the approval after detailed consideration of the progress report, the schedule of outstanding activities with regards to Congresses, the National Convention and the forthcoming Anambra governorship election.

He said by virtue of the extension, the tenure of the caretaker committees at each level from ward, local government, state and national will end immediately elections are held at their respective levels and its officers immediately take oath of office terminating with the National Convention.

Stakeholders Kick

A group, Concerned All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders was the first to dare the President, saying he lacks the power under the constitution of the party to grant tenure extension to the committee.

Reacting to the tenure elongation, the Spokesperson of the group, Mr. Abdulahi Dauda told THISDAY that his group disagreed with the tenure elongation given to the Committee, saying the party is not a one-man show.

According to him, “About the tenure elongation given to the Buni Committee, we totally disagree because this party is not a one-man show or investment. APC as a political party is an institution governed by constitution, anything out of the constitution, we will not agree, and everybody has to think.”

He wondered why a party that promised to respect law and order, decided to discard its own constitution in order to grant extension to the committee.

Dauda added: “As I am talking to you now, we are just coming out from the meeting about the issue, we are not happy. With due respect to Mr. President, he has no power, even the constitution has not given him such power without the National Executive Council (NEC). But the problem is from those people, they only went to the president and lied to him.”

The Spokesperson said he sometimes wondered why Buhari, who is known as a man of principle can take such a decision, stressing that the party is not a one-man investment, adding, “how can one man take a decision without proper consultation – NEC meeting? It is totally wrong.”

Dauda noted: “We are going to draw the attention of the President and the party elders. As a party member, you have to write a letter to the party leaders and the President, because they misguided the President. That’s why he made that decision. Maybe Mr. President doesn’t know anything about the constitution of the party.”

“There is nowhere in the constitution that gives Mr. President the right to give them tenure elongation. Mr. President is always claiming he is a man of principle, he is a man of law and order, where is the law and order, where is the principle there? For violating the constitution.”

Zamfara APC leadership crisis

Lately, the ruling APC has become the toast of political bigwigs across the country ahead of the 2023 elections. The party has witnessed an influx of serving and former governors, serving and former federal and state lawmakers into its fold. The defections recently witnessed is not probably because of the stellar performance of the APC administration but basically because the political parties in the country lack ideology.

Based on this, Nigeria politicians often times defect to the governing party to remain relevant; to have access to government money; to gain political patronage, to win a second term election, among others.

Following the decision of the APC to embark on an aggressive membership drive with its registration and revalidation exercise, which is still ongoing, the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been at the receiving end of the exercise. Each passing day, the PDP has seen its ranks depleted.

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade and recently the Governor of Zamfara state, Bello Matawalle have all pitched their tents with the APC. This also saw federal lawmakers, state lawmakers and political appointees following their governors to the APC.

While the ranks of the APC continues to swell and the Caretaker Committee has been praised to high heaven for attracting eminent politicians to the party, the ruling party may be dancing into another round of crisis similar to or worse than what it witnessed during the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC).

Whoever thinks that the APC has seen the last of its crisis should better have a rethink. While the crisis generated by the membership registration exercise remains unsolved, the ones that would be created through the forthcoming congresses and the fall out of the convention will shake the foundation of the party.

The recent defection of Matawalle from the PDP to the APC has set off a new leadership struggle in Zamfara States as Senator Kabiru Marafa and former Governor Abdul-Aziz Yari have opposed a directive that the defector governor has automatically become the leader of APC in the state.

Matawalle had claimed that he joined the APC in order to get the federal government to end insecurity in his state, reinforced public’s stance that the APC and its government were responsible for the banditry, terrorism and kidnapping ravaging the state.

But Marafa, a grassroot and strong politician in the state noted that the declaration of Matawalle as the leader of the party in the state was tantamount to deception, insisting that they would not accept it. He added that Buni doesn’t have the powers under the constitution to make certain pronouncements.

Marafa, while speaking recently on ARISE News Channel contended that the APC constitution in section 17(4) forbade Buni from being the chairman of APC. He also said he had told President Muhammadu Buhari of the banana peel on the path of Buni as chairman of APC, threatening legal actions for his continued stay in office as APC Chairman.

Marafa stated: “Let me tell you something that is likely to happen, as far as I’m concerned. APC should let the sleeping dog lie. Mai Mala Buni, the chairman, doesn’t have the powers under the constitution to make certain pronouncements and that is number one.

“Number two, issues will come up and we are going to challenge even the legality of his being a chairman of APC. When you look at our APC Constitution, Sections 17(4) in particular forbids Mai Mala from being the chairman of the party. I have warned.

“I have alerted Mr President a long time ago that we should be very wary of these banana peels, because if things are pushed to their limits, there will be consequences. Now when you push a man to the wall, definitely, he is going to fight back. So, we are going to ask these fundamental questions, when the need arises to do so.”

Specifically, Marafa said there was no APC in Zamfara and no governor for the state now, saying, “We don’t have any governor for now,” insisting that Matawalle’s defection violated the 2019 Supreme Court Judgement.”

He added, “We said for proper integration, there should be a meeting for proper consultations but all of a sudden, an announcement was made that the party executives had been dissolved and someone was named as leader of our party. This is incorrect.”

On his part, Yari for the first time is on the same page with Marafa because he has also rejected Matawalle as the leader of APC in the state.

Featuring on BBC Hausa Service, Yari rejected Buni’s declaration, saying Matawalle was not the leader of the party. He said this after a meeting with the Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.

He added: “It’s one thing that we are challenging, which is the declaration by Governor Mai Mala. His declaration was not part of what we discussed with six governors before he (Matawalle) defected. What we all agreed during our meeting with the six governors was that Matawalle should be received into our fold and afterwards we should discuss how to integrate both his people and ours. But during the defection, we were told that the party executives should be dissolved. You just don’t dissolve executives of a party, because nobody has the power to do so.”

Unending Kwara APC Crisis

While the Buni-led committee has been able to broker peace in most of the crisis-ridden state chapters of the party, that of Kwara APC has defied all logic as political gladiators in the state are still at daggers drawn.

The Kwara APC has been embroiled in a crisis which appears intractable for about two years now. Though, the leadership of the party at the national level recognises Alhaji Abdulahi Samari, who is in the same faction with the State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as party Chairman, the two ministers from the state; Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Senator Gbemisola Saraki faction have remained resolute that Hon. Bashir Bolarinwa’s status as Kwara state APC Chairman subsists.

The crisis rocking Kwara APC deepened last weekend following the decision of the faction led Mohammed to open a new secretariat at No 26, Reservation Road, GRA, Ilorin.

Addressing supporters at the new secretariat, after the General Stakeholder Meeting, Mohammed denied the allegations that he converted monies donated to support APC candidates during the 2019 general election to personal use.

He said he single handedly raised all the funds made available to the APC candidates. The minister also described the party’s membership registration and Revalidation exercise in the state as a charade. Mohammed told supporters that the upcoming congress would not hold in the state until everyone has been duly registered.

He stated: “I never converted monies donated to support All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2019

general election to personal use as alleged by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. By the grace of God I single handedly with the support of friends, politicians and family raised all the monies for the Oke-Ero/Isin/Ekiti/Irepodun Federal Constituency by-election of November 2018 that made Hon. Tunji Olawuyi become a member of the House of Representatives.

And I challenge anybody here to say he gave the party one penny apart from what I gave them. I challenge anybody here to say he gave logistics support to the party. I did that by the grace of God, I distributed 500 motorcycles and 20 vehicles. And many of the beneficiaries are here today.”

On the party’s forthcoming Ward, local government and state congresses it will only according to him hold in Kwara state only if certain steps are taken.

“The Acting National Chairman of APC Mai Mala Buni has assured us that no congress will take place in Kwara until all our members are registered. And that the congress will be free and fair by the grace of God.

“About two weeks ago, myself in the company of former governorship aspirant Professor Shuaib AbdulRaheem and others went to meet with the chairman and he assured us that Kwara state is a special case and that there will be no congress until we are all registered. And we believe him. When they come, please come out in your thousands and let them know where the power lies.”

Even though APC has been able to manage its crisis so far, especially since the Buni committee came on board. It is only a matter of time before the crisis festers, especially with the coming congresses and convention.

QUOTE

The National Secretary of the party, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, in a statement said the President granted the approval after detailed consideration of the progress report, the schedule of outstanding activities with regards to Congresses, the National Convention and the forthcoming Anambra governorship election. He said by virtue of the extension, the tenure of the caretaker committees at each level from ward, local government, state and national will end immediately elections are held at their respective levels and its officers immediately take oath of office terminating with the National Convention. A group, Concerned All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders was the first to dare the President, saying he lacks the power under the constitution of the party to grant tenure extension to the committee. Reacting to the tenure elongation, the Spokesperson of the group, Mr. Abdulahi Dauda told THISDAY that his group disagreed with the tenure elongation given to the Committee, saying the party is not a one-man show