After the campaigns and accompanying victory, the APC is now confronted by the burden of managing its success and sharing offices, Assistant Editor (North), CHUKS EHIRIM, reports.
In the last three weeks, the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been engaged in a series of meetings aimed at resolving what many political watchers call the burden of victory. The last of such meetings, which took place last Wednesday, April 22 night at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja ended in stalemate.
The National Leaders’ Meeting was actually called to look into the sharing of positions in the party. But it could not achieve much in this regard, as sources told TheNiche that many party stakeholders were not happy with the conveners, labelling the gathering as “illegal”.
Since after the elections, so much pressure had been on the leadership of APC, especially by those looking for one appointment or another. Apart from the positions in the National Assembly – Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and other principal positions – there are plum jobs in the presidency to be distributed to party loyalists and others who assisted the party in routing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The greatest problem the party has is contenting with various interest groups angling for recognition and appointments. Within the party hierarchy, disagreement seems to be gathering as each of the political blocs that teamed up to form the APC wants a lion share of the booty.
Legacy Parties at war
The Legacy Parties – All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) as well as fragments of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) – are now locked in battle of wits, with the ACN elements controlled by the former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, appearing to be having the upper hand.
A source within the party expressed displeasure over what he called “the overbearing influence” of the ACN extraction in the incoming government of Muhammadu Buhari. The source, who pleaded not to be quoted, posited that the party wants to corner all the plum positions in government, to the detriment of other stakeholders.
“They want to have the Senate President, the Deputy Senate President, even the Speaker of House of Representatives zoned to their areas of influence. They are also bent on having such other positions as the Finance Minister, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Attorney General and Minister of Justice as well as the Minister of Information,” said the source.
But the group from ACN is said to be finding it extremely difficult contending with the opposition coming from the Northern power bloc where both the ANPP and CPC were domiciled. Another party source explained that this is what informed the interest the North East leadership of APC has declared, not only in the position of Senate President but that of Deputy Senate President, as well as other very powerful ministerial positions such as the SGF.
Race for oily positions
The North East zone is said to have started drafting some of its political bigwigs into the arena of negotiations for sharing of booties of ‘war’. Already, the name of SGF in the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s government, Babagana Kingibe, is featuring strongly as one of those who will call the shots in the incoming government. Kingibe is already prominent in the transition committee, coming from the party’s list. It is being speculated that he may lead the charge for the North East, if not the entire North, in the power struggle that has ensued within the APC.
Not much is coming from the North West, which produced the president-elect, in this regard. For the North Central, the fight for the position of Senate Presidency is still ragging. Aside the two initial gladiators for the position – Bukola Saraki (Kwara) and George Akume (Benue). A third contender, former Governor of Nasarrawa State, Abdullahi Adamu, has joined the fray.
But Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South Senatorial District, has given reasons for the demand for the Senate Presidency by politicians of North East extraction. Ndume, a second term senator, is one of those being positioned by his zone to occupy the office, if it is eventually zoned to them.
Ndume, who visited the National Secretariat of the APC last Thursday, told journalists that the fact the North East produced second highest votes during the election puts it in good stead to corner the Senate Presidency. He also said that the zone has consistently been in opposition, so it should be compensated with top job in the Senate.
“You see, the North East produced the second largest vote for APC during the last election. If you are looking for people that will be consistent for being in opposition all this while, Borno and Yobe in particular have been consistent in opposition. Now that the power has shifted from the former majority party, PDP, to the opposition and we happen to be there, that is one reason.
“Second, we are the most devastated in terms of the level of insurgency and marginalisation during this political dispensation.
“Third, North East comprises part of the poorest region on earth, according to the United Nations human development indices. Because of her natural position, we will need to be placed in the power kitchen whereby we will not be lacking. Because we were marginalised, we are in a desperate need to ensure that he who is in the kitchen will never stay hungry,” he said.
He, however, made it clear that whatever the party decides, the people of his zone will abide by it.
“Anything that is given to us will be okay. We have contributed so much as a zone. We even prefer to be given the best, but we know that the best cannot be given to all. For instance, we prefer to be given even the presidency, but that has been given to another zone and the vice president also to another zone. The party is considering all these and we are pushing our case. It is left for the party to decide what is in the best interest of the country which is what the party stands for,” he said.
On whether he is not interested in the office of the Senate President, Ndume said: “I have been a leader in the National Assembly, and leadership is not something I am desperate about. But normally, power is given to anybody by God. If it is the wish of the people for me, I want to be Senate president. The politics is something that is based on our experience and how some of you know us. But whatever decision that is taken by the party is what the North East will abide by.”
South East, South South missing in action
But in all of these, the South East and South South seem to be missing in action. Worse is the South East which may face serious marginalisation in the scheme of things simply because of its performance during the recent elections. While Buhari is said to be favourably disposed to the zone, in terms of political appointments, leaders of the other zones that had better showing in the elections seem to be fighting very hard to deny the South East its due in the incoming regime.
It was speculated, even before the elections, that the position of SGF would be retained, not just in the zone, but given to trusted ally of Buhari, for effective governance, if the party emerged victorious. In fact, at a time, it was virtually concluded that former Abia State governor, Ogbonnaya Onu, was the right man for the job. Many considerations seemed to be working in his favour. With robust background in opposition politics, he stands tall among Nigerians that had kept faith with their original political platforms since 1999. Even when it appeared hopes had been completely lost on the then All Peoples Party (APP) that later metamorphosed to ANPP, he kept to principle and faithfully resisted the offers to cross over to PDP. As former governor and university teacher, he also has the depth and experience required for the office.
The unfolding politics in APC, however, suggests a different ball game, as political godfathers from the South West and North East are said to be angling for the seat.
Obiano on begging mission
To compound the situation for APC members from the zone is the fact that politicians from the opponents camps are now in the forefront of lobbying for Gen. Buhari for appointments. Among this class is the Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, who paid a solidarity visit to the president-elect in Abuja on Friday. Part of his reason for the visit was to solicit for political appointments for not just Anambra people, but people of South East extraction.
He said, “I came to congratulate His Excellency, the president-elect, on his victory. I am also here to reassure him that Anambra and the South East will support him. I also pleaded with him on some pressing projects that are of major importance to the people of the South East like Second Niger Bridge and some of the federal roads.
For the role the governor of River State, Rotimi Amaechi and former governor of Bayelsa, Timipre Silva as well as Umanna, former Secretary to Governor of Akwa Ibom State, played in the emergence of Buhari, analysts are hopeful that the South South will be compensated in the sharing of political offices
I also did mention the area of appointments for Anambra people in particular and the people of the South East in general, be it ambassadorial, ministerial and others. Basically, it is to congratulate the president-elect on his well-deserved victory.”
On whether he was in touch with the South East leadership of APC before coming to ask for appointments from the party, Obiano said “most of the APC leaders in the South East have actually visited me and we are talking. I suspect that the president-elect is not going to offer appointment only to people from his party. Everybody supported him and, therefore, I am pleading that he considers people from the other parties, so that we can all embrace the change.”
