General Editor, EMEKA ALEX DURU, examines at the chances of the fledgling Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (APDA), in offering the needed opposition in the country’s future elections.
With the unveiling of the Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (APDA) on Monday, June 5, 2017, the touted Plan B by the embattled Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee (NCC) faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), may, perhaps, be taking shape, eventually.
APDA, according to reports, was one of five political associations that got the nod of the Election and Party Monitoring Department of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to formalise their registration with the Commission.
Though the true faces behind the party are yet to fully unveiled, this newspaper gathered that aside members of the Makarfi group and disenchanted chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), some smaller parties who recently had interactions with the Prof. Jerry Gana-Strategy Review and Inter Party Committee of PDP are also involved in the organisation.
While presenting the new political association, and its Interim National Executive Committee (NEC) to the public in Abuja, former National Chairman of Labour Party, Dan Nwanyanwu, said that, unlike the APC and PDP, the APDA, will address all issues that had been threatening Nigeria’s corporate existence and will keep Nigerians united, with every citizen having a sense of equality, justice, protection, belonging and fair play.
The interim national chairman of the association, is Mallam Kabir Shittu, erstwhile aide to former PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur and former chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC.
Nwanyanwu added that in presenting the organisation, he and his colleagues are determined to present to Nigerians a political party that will be highly disciplined, provide the level-playing field to all its members and remove every trace of godfather politics.
Even as the party is yet to be formally launched, the mere fact of its presentation, has in a way, erased the fears of the country technically slipping into a one-party state on account of the uncertain developments in PDP.
In fact, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) unfolded the 2019 election timetable last March, the conclusion in some quarters was that the exercise would be a mere walk-over for the APC and its candidates at various levels.
The Commission had slated Presidential and National Assembly elections for Saturday, February 16, 2019, while governorship and state assembly polls are to take place on Saturday, March 2, 2019.
While the debate on the appropriateness of the release, more than two years to the election, raged, the more critical issue of concern to most Nigerians, was about the political parties that would run for the various offices with the APC.
This apprehension was essentially on account of the dwindling fortunes of the opposition in the country’s politics.
PDP, given its displacement as a governing party, following its dismal outing in the 2015 general election, had been looked upon to lead the pack against the APC in future electoral contests in the country.
But with the leadership crisis that has practically torn it apart, the fear has mounted on the party rising to the challenge before it.
The Supreme Court, which is handling the case, is yet to deliver judgement on whether it is Ali Modu Sheriff, former Borno State governor or Ahmed Makarfi -led National Caretaker Committee, (NCC) that symbolizes the authentic leadership of the party.
Even as the case lingers, utterances and activities of henchmen of the disputing camps, do not indicate peace returning to PDP, no matter who wins eventually.
A former South-South governor on the platform of PDP, in a recent encounter with TheNiche, captured the piteous state of the party and the inability of former President Goodluck Jonathan to resolve the issue between Sheriff and Makarfi. According to him, the problem in the party is not one that can be fixed by the court.
He said; “The problem in PDP requires political solution. It is not a Court issue. When I learnt that Jonathan was wading into the crisis, I had thought that he was going to be tactical in addressing the issues.
“I am aware that Sheriff is his friend but he is more favourably disposed to Makarfi leading the party. There is no problem with that. But I had expected him to summon the two in a private setting, look into the issues at stake and extract a commitment from them on the way out. Thereafter, he would call a meeting of the whole house where three of them would announce that the trouble was over.
“In that instance, nobody would feel used and dumped; nobody would have a feeling of loss. To my surprise however, even without talking to the gentlemen privately, he summoned a meeting of the whole house that looked more like a rally and was even trying to impose himself on Sheriff.
“No, it is not done that way. It then become an ego thing. More so, Sheriff is his senior in politics. Sheriff was governor when Jonathan was a Deputy to the late Diepreye Alamieyesaigha.
“So, Sheriff deserved respect. Don’t forget that in politics, we say ‘Monkey get grade’. Because Jonathan failed to see things from this angle, he did not succeed in reconciling the two factions”.
Many saw the failure of that last ditch effort by Jonathan as a signal that the solution to the PDP crisis, may not be in sight, after all. What more, some governors on the ticket of the party, had on different occasions stated that they would leave the party if the Supreme Court affirms Sheriff as the authentic chairman. Governors Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti) and Nyesom Wike (Rivers), have been on the forefront in this campaign.
Other chieftains of PDP have also made similar vow. Sheriff, is incidentally, not bothered at the threats by the governors and his fellow party members. For him, what matters most, is being confirmed the party’s national chairman by the apex court. Or so, it seems.
Our reporter learnt that it was in a bid to guard against the unpleasant experiences the mainstream PDP chieftains may encounter in the event of Sheriff’s victory that they are looking towards APDA.
How far can APDA go?
On the surface, APDA may not immediately pose a huge threat to the APC. The party, for one, is still undergoing processes of registration. Its acronym sounds like that of the existing All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). In that case, there is bound to be confusion, if it is eventually registered. APGA, it is feared, may kick against the acronym, which may affect its eventual registration. There is a precedence to fall on, here.
When Chekwas Okorie, the founding APGA National Chairman fell out with the party and had intended registering another political party, United Progressive Grand Alliance, that had UPGA as its acronym, APGA took up the issue and had its way at the court. The issue may work against APDA in the current experiment, many fear.
Besides, the resolution of the PDP case in the Supreme Court in favour of Makarfi’s NCC, may see some mainstream members of the party not flowing into APDA as expected.
Also, those touted as the facilitators of APDA – Nwanyanwu, who’s former Labour Party, is currently, a shadow of its old self, and Raymond Dokpesi, founder of Africa Independent Television (AIT), are not names that can really cause sleepless nights to the ruling party.
APDA can however spring surprises, at least, going by recent history. At its formation in 2013, not many initially gave APC chances of upstaging PDP. PDP which then appeared more like a Behemoth, had prided itself as the largest political party in black Africa.
It also had a fair share of first rate politicians. The party had, in addition, recorded many victories, though in some cases, controversially, in many electoral contests in the land.
Thus, when the then All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a faction of APGA and later, estranged members of PDP, euphemistically referred to as New PDP (nPDP), fused into APC, the organisation was initially written off as an assembly of strange bed fellows.
But with strong commitment by its facilitators and taking advantage of the poor performance profile of the Jonathan administration, APC positioned itself as a viable alternative to the voters. It was therefore, hardly surprising that it routed PDP in the 2015 general elections.
Analysts are of the opinion that APDA can reenact similar feat in 2019 if it gets its acts right.
APC for now, is in serious mess. Among critical Nigerians, it has not manifested any serious difference with the PDP. If anything, it is rather seen in some quarters as a fraud, given its manifest failure in meeting up with the pledges it made to the voters before the election. It is also as with the PDP, lacking in internal democracy.
“These are issues APDA can latch unto and displace APC. The organisation has bright chances of causing major upset in the country’s politics. In fact, presenting unknown faces rather than the tired and unproductive old ones, will even work in its favour. It recently worked in France (Emmanuel Macron) and Britain (Theresa May). It can work here. To hell with those crooks!”, volunteered a senior information officer in Lagos State Ministry of Information, who asked not to be mentioned.
APDA is incidentally, promising a new agenda to Nigeria’s politics. It has for instance, pledged conduct of primaries for elections for all elective positions through direct primaries where all registered members who are in good financial standing with regards to the payment of their dues and levies, shall be eligible to vote for any aspirant of their choice at the ward level, using the electronic open secret balloting system.
This is seen as an innovation that may guard against rigging and imposition in the country’s politics.