The APC crisis has remained on the front pages of major dailies for weeks unending.
Akani Alaka writes on the festering crisis in the ruling All Progressives Congress against the background of the plot to sack the party’s Governor Mai Mala Buni-led caretaker committee.
Aside from indicating that he has handed over to his deputy, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, one other issue addressed by President Muhammadu Buhari as he was leaving the country for medical treatment in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 6 March was the crisis in his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Many critics and analysts had predicted that with the perpetual crisis and battle to gain control of the APC, which led to the ouster of Adams Oshiomhole as its chairman yet to abate after about two years, the party may not survive the exit of the President who is due to leave office in May 2023.
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Indeed, the prediction was that the APC may implode during its national convention which the Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State led the Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee put in place to manage the affairs of the party after the ouster of Oshiomhole had repeatedly postponed.
The caretaker committee had finally fixed the convention for March 26 after the President warned in a television interview some weeks ago that APC may lose power to the opposition in the 2023 presidential election if it failed to get its acts together.
But President Buhari had told reporters on his way out of the country that APC would shock its critics with the way it would organize its national convention.
Bello’s Coup
A day after he left the country, the APC indeed sent shock waves to political circles across the country, but it is doubtful if it was the type anticipated by the President.
The simmering battle for the control of the party, especially among governors elected on the platform of APC had come to the fore in an extreme game of brinkmanship which has now put the possibility of the convention holding as scheduled into question.
Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State who was deputy to Buni on the APC’s caretaker committee had in a manner akin to a palace coup declared himself the new acting chairman of APC amidst high security at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja: “I am the acting chairman [caretaker] APC and the governor of Niger State,” the Niger State governor told reporters after presiding over a meeting of the Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja last Monday.
“I am aware of any position at the moment. I know he has travelled,” Bello said when asked of the status of Buni by journalists.
He claimed that he has the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders of the party.
He explained that issues related to the party’s national convention were discussed at the meeting. And to further signify his determination to clear uncertainty about the March 26 convention, the party had the next day released the zoning arrangement that would be used at the event to elect members of the National Working Committee of the party.
Bello had also on Tuesday inaugurated a revised caretaker committee for the party in which Buni and Caretaker Secretary, James Akpanudoedehe were excluded.
The Governor had also sworn in all the state chairmen of the party and the national convention sub-committees of the party.
He had also announced March 17 for an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting where issues related to the March 26 convention as well as ratification of Bello as the acting chairman of the party were expected to be discussed.
Why we want Buni Out
On Wednesday, Governor Nasir El-Rufai had appeared on a television programme to justify why Buni was pushed aside from running the party.
El-Rufai claimed he had the authority of Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), Governor Atiku Bagudu to speak on the coup against Buni and that 19 of the 23 APC governors were in support of Bello taking over the running of the party.
He also claimed that the overthrow of Buni had the backing of President Buhari. According to him, the governors had met with President Buhari before his London trip to get his permission for the convention and to hold a NEC meeting to ratify critical decisions about the event.
El-Rufai claimed that Buni, who was also out of the country never wanted to hold the national convention of the APC despite fixing a date for the exercise.
He claimed, for instance, that an injunction had been obtained by a party member stating that APC should not hold its convention until his grievances had been addressed. But he said Buni had kept the injunction in his drawers, rather than taking steps to vacate it.
With Bello in charge, he said efforts had commenced now to vacate the injunction which he described as “a weapon of mass destruction”, planned to use to scuttle the convention.
“We got wind of a court process wherein an order had been gotten directing that the convention should not be held until the determination of the case. And it was unfortunate that our lawyer engaged by the Buni-led committee agreed with this in court. If this remains, how can the convention be done? He also pointed out that the overall plan was to ensure that the national convention was pushed forward by about a month.
“We got signals that there were some elements in the party that were bent on scuttling the proposed March 26 convention. And if we miss that date, the following Saturday, will be Ramadan and that means we would not be able to have convention until after Ramadan. That means we would have lost another month according to INEC’s timetable. Based on this, we met with the president to discuss several issues with him like zoning formula, which the president signed off on,” said El-Rufai.
He also claimed that Buni was engaging in a hanky-panky game with the party’s zoning formula, even after the President had signed on into it. “We went the second time to inform the president that the zoning formula he signed off on had not been sent back to us. “Instead, we were hearing about another list, which we knew was not from Mr. President. The president agreed with us and directed that with immediate effect, Governor Buni must go and that Governor Bello should take over the headship of the party. The president directed that we must do everything possible to ensure the convention holds. I can tell you that Bello has the full backing of the president and at least 19 of the 23 APC governors.
“Then, you can see that since Monday that Bello took over, we have made a lot of progress,” El-Rufai said the governors had to intervene to stop the drifting and imminent collapse of the party.
“I can confirm to you that Mai Mala has stepped aside and I can assure you that when he returns to the country, he will not assume any position. We do not have any personal disagreement with Mai Mala Buni, as he was also a victim of many of the intrigues that played out,” said the Kaduna State governor. “Unfortunately, some politicians’ ambition was putting the party at risk and the president was not happy when he heard about the sinister motive,” he added.
Coup Frustrated
To further solidify its hold on the party, the Bello group had issued a notice fixing its NEC meeting for 17 March. “The CECPC of the party at its 23rd meeting of 8th March 2022, hereby calls for the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to consider matters pertaining to the national convention, governance of the party and any other relevant business of the party,” the group said in communiqué.”
The Bello group had consequently written the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC inviting it to monitor the election.
But this was where the shit hit the fan for the Bello group as INEC rejected the invitation. In its response to the invitation, INEC in a letter which has since gone viral signed by its Secretary, Rose Oriaran Anthony, entitled, “Re: Invitation to the emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee” virtually disowned the Bello group.
In the letter addressed to the National Chairman, APC CECPC, the commission drew the attention of the CECPC to the fact that the letter of invitation was not signed by its recognised National Chairman and National Secretary of the CECPC, Buni and Senator John Akpanudoedehe, respectively.
INEC said this was contrary to the provision of Article 1.1.3 of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Party Operations (2018).
INEC also pointed out to the party in the letter of the provision in Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, “which requires at least 21 days’ notice of any convention, congress, conference, or meeting convened for the purpose of merger and electing members of its executive committees, other governing bodies or nominating candidates for any elective office.”
Buni Not Sacked
INEC’s letter practically stopped the coup by Bello and the governors in his group with Ismaeel Ahmed, APC’s youth leader telling journalists at the national secretariat of the party on Friday that Buni was not sacked.
Contrary to the assertion of El-Rufai, Ahmed claimed that Governor Bello was only acting for Buni as he had done since the inception of this CECPC on June 25, 2020, whenever the Yobe State Governor was not around.
“And now we have a convention on March 26, the chairman wrote a letter and transmitted it for his leave to go for medical treatment. These are two emergencies. He has a medical emergency that cannot wait for (the) convention. We have a convention that cannot wait for him to be healthy.
“The chairman left, transmitted a letter, Governor Sani Bello has been acting appropriately. What is the problem? Why is it difficult for people to simply understand that? So, Governor Bello is acting with the full authority of the caretaker committee and with the full authority of the stakeholders, and leaders of the party, and with the full consent and knowledge of Governor Buni,” he said.
He, however, insisted that the national convention of the party would hold as scheduled and there is no need to transmit new letters to INEC on the issue.
“You don’t need another 21 days’ notice and that letter was written about two weeks ago, when we realised that we couldn’t hold it on February 26. The moment the CECPC agreed on March 26, that letter was written to INEC, INEC accepted that letter.
“The issue of the date of the convention is not in question, not in INEC, not certainly with us. That is settled. March 26 is sacrosanct, and we have complied with all the rules and we have notified INEC as appropriately expected for us to do that. So that’s no longer an issue,” Ahmed stated. He added that the legal department of the party would speak on the issue of the NEC meeting.
Governors In Battle
There were speculations that the governors who want Buni out may head for court in their bid to have the way. The aim is to obtain an injunction that will force the Yobe State Governor out of office just as Oshiomhole was forced out.
But Buni is also not totally without support among the governors. While the Kaduna State governor claimed that only about four governors were supporting the Yobe State governor, it was gathered that about seven of them might be on his side.
Also, some National Assembly members, including Senator Smart Adeyemi had dismissed the removal of Buni as acting chairman of APC.
Indeed, former Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum, Salihu Lukman in a statement entitled ‘APC and Surrogate Politics of Timid Leaders,’ last Friday identified Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun among the governors still in the camp Buni.
He claimed the governors were working against the interest of the APC. In addition, he added that three other governors must be made to account for their role in trying to frustrate the holding of the APC convention.
The Nigerian Xpress gathered that some of the governors are supporting Buni because he had also helped them in the battle to gain control of their state chapters of the party, especially in the fight against their predecessors or ministers. This was the case with Governor Abiodun.
There are also members of the party who believe that Buni would be in the best position to help them realize their presidential ambition. These include the Kogi governor who had declared his intention to contest the 2023 presidency and Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.
Some APC members had claimed that the two presidential aspirants were working with Buni to ensure that the national convention of the party was pushed forward in a way that it would be held alongside the presidential primary of the party.
There is also the claim that Buni himself had promised to deliver the presidential ticket of the APC to two persons from the South who are not presently members of APC.
Some members of APC claimed the two persons are former President Goodluck Jonathan and Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The plan is that Buni will run as the vice-presidential candidate to the two, especially, since the position has been zoned to his part of the country, said a source.
Hence, Lukman noted in his statement that: “Some party leaders and members have declared opposition to Abubakar Bello and the CECPC and are mobilising Nigerians to only recognise Mai Mala Buni as the only person who should preside over the affairs of the party. While some can disclose their identity in declaring their opposition, some timid leaders who are not so courageous, do so using surrogates,” Lukman said.
“There are other party leaders including Senator Orji Kalu who have actively supported Mai Mala Buni to undermine the decision to organise the national convention of the party. “The March 17, 2022, APC NEC meeting should initiate processes of a disciplinary hearing in line with provisions of the APC Constitution to sanction all these leaders if found guilty”, Lukman added.
Buhari’s Inaction
But analysts said President Muhammadu Buhari’s failure to take control is the major cause of the crisis afflicting the party.
Tellingly enough, even as both camps of governors battling to take control of the party had claimed that they have his support, the president has refused to speak on the issue.
The president had adopted a similar approach by failing to call the Buni committee to order as he continues to grant an extension of tenure for it despite the reports that the Yobe State Governor is determined not to leave.