Akani Alaka
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu consolidated his grip on the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC with the confirmation on Thursday of his allies, former Kano governor Abdullahi Ganduje and Ajibola Basiru, a former spokesperson of the Senate as the national chairman and secretary of the party respectively.
Ganduje and Basiru replaced former governor Abdullahi Adamu and Iyiola Omisore who resigned as the chairman and secretary of the party last month.
Adamu was forced to resign following what loyalists of Tinubu regarded as his consistent opposition to Tinubu which started when the party was trying to get a presidential standard bearer for the 2023 election.
Adamu had tried to foist the then Senate president Ahmad Lawan as the anointed candidate of former president Muhammadu Buhari on the party.
However, the insistence of Northern APC governors that the party’s presidential ticket should be zoned to the South frustrated the move. Adamu’s open opposition to Tinubu’s preferred choices as principal officers of the National Assembly immediately after their emergence was also interpreted as evidence that he had not repented of his opposition to the President.
This is more so since the principal officers were either direct associates or loyalists of Tinubu or disciples of people loyal to the President and their emergence was with his strong backing.
Indeed, some members of the APC National Working Committee had distanced themselves from the claim by Adamu over his stance on the principal officers.
He was also accused of high-handedness. Salihu Lukman, who had also resigned as APC vice-chairman North-West had in a statement issued on 31 May said that “Instead of working for the success of the decision of the NWC through activating meetings of higher organs of the party to confer more legitimacy to the decision of the NWC, he seems to be more interested in ensuring that the 2015 model of rebellious leadership emerges in the 10th National Assembly.”
Lukman had also severally accused Adamu of mismanaging the party and its finances while urging the President to find a way to boot him out of office.
With the increasing groundswell of opposition to him by the loyalists of the President, the expectation was that Adamu would be booted out of office at the meeting of the APC National Caucus and National Executive Council, NEC earlier scheduled for July 10 and 11.
But Adamu threw in the towel ahead of the meeting leading to the appointment of Abubakar Kyari as the APC acting national chairman.
Tinubu Speaks After Crowning of Ganduje/Basiru
Ganduje who was one of the strong backers of President Tinubu was later anointed as successor to Adamu by the party’s governors and other stakeholders.
Basiru, from Osun State, was also a key loyalist of the President. Both men were unanimously endorsed at the party’s 12th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on Thursday.
Speaking after the meeting, an excited Tinubu urged elected officials of the party to remain persistently dedicated to good governance, which will re-engineer the nation’s economic and political environment to serve the needs of the poor.
He also pledged that his administration would continue to ensure that all government programmes benefit and uplift the country’s masses rather than causing more pain.
“We are in the process of establishing fully a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. It is in my time that the subsidy has been removed, and it is now upon us to satisfy the yearnings of the poor in a larger, restructured economy,” President Tinubu declared.
President Tinubu also called on the party faithful to train their sights squarely on development and prosperity for the country, adding that his administration was poised to build international trade partnerships across sectors that would benefit, not just the national coffers, but the wallets and accounts of the Nigerian people.
The President also defended the legitimacy of the election and echoed his earlier stated position that those who do not accept the outcome of a free and fair election do not deserve the joy of victory.
”We have worked hard, and we have received the trophy. Winning an election is the first part of the process. What is next is good governance and quality service delivery. We must promote unity, peace, and love among all organs of the party.
Ganduje Lists Priorities
Speaking after he was sworn in, Ganduje acknowledged the contribution of Tinubu, the Progressive Governor’s Forum (PGF) and the party’s key stakeholders to his emergence
He added that his main focus would be promoting party unity and defending and increasing the number of executive and legislative seats the party currently holds.
“Under my watch, internal democracy will be strictly adhered to with a deliberate policy to engage in wider consultations and make party functional throughout the year.
“More reforms will be carried out in the party in alignment with the current political landscape.
“We all agreed that we must unite our members to achieve support for our government to respond adequately, urgently and assertively to the challenges that Nigerians confront on a daily basis,” he said.
Ganduje pledged to ensure a scientific register of party members and pay utmost attention to election management and conflict resolution.
The new APC chairman asked Nigerians to bear with Tinubu at the country’s trying moment, considering that the country’s economy had been in shambles for years.
“I believe the policies and programmes to be unveiled by Tinubu when his administration fully takes shape, will surely turn around things for the better.
“Our party must remain rooted among the people, must demonstrate a willingness to serve and make sacrifices, and must be willing to acknowledge and address our weaknesses.
“It is a huge privilege and an honour and a great responsibility to take on this job and I will do it with everything I have to the best of my ability for my party and my country.
“We will ensure a level playing field for all party members that want to contest elections under the party’s platform. Our primary elections would be free, transparent and fair,” Ganduje said.
He called on members of the party and all the people of Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa to close ranks and ensure that the APC won in the forthcoming governorship election.
Agitations By North Central
However, the immediate challenge of Ganduje will be how to douse agitations that have trailed his emergence from the North Central zone where the former chairman hails from.
Stakeholders of the party from the North Central complained that while the new National Secretary was appointed from the Southwest and Osun State where Omisore hails from, the same privilege was not accorded the North Central.
Indeed, the national vice Chairman of the party resigned because of the obvious distortion of the zoning of the NWC positions that will be brought about with the imminent ascension of office of Ganduje.
However, the National Legal Adviser of APC, Ahmed El-Marzuq, resigned from his membership of the NWC immediately after the NEC meeting.
In a statement by his Special Adviser, AbdulHalim Adamu, El-Marzuq said he decided to resign due to the emergence of Ganduje; and Basiru as APC national chairman and national secretary respectively.
“In light of the recent developments within our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), with the emergence of His Excellency Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Senator Ajibola Basiru as National Chairman and National Secretary and the reconfiguration of party offices for national cohesion and adequate regional representation, the National Legal Adviser found it pertinent that he resigns his position within the party to allow for a smooth reconfiguration of the party’s leadership,” he said in the statement.
This, according to analysts was an indication that the APC will in the days ahead find ways to assuage the agitations of the North Central.
The APC NEC said it has ceded its powers to the NWC now led by Ganduje to fill the vacant positions in the administrative organs of the party.