Tension is high in the All Progressives Congress (APC) as it prepares for its first national convention on June 13 in Abuja to elect its leadership.
Executives elected at the convention will have a huge influence on the choice of candidates for the polls next year.
To wet the ground for the convention, the Governors’ Forum met in Port Harcourt on June 6, where all the APC governors strategised on how to take Nigeria out of the woods of shortage of medical care, youth unemployment, unstable power supply and bad good governance.
Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who doubles as the Forum’s Chairman, advocated medical facilities to cater for all.
The forum expressed concern over unemployment and demanded a new approach to creating jobs and raising awareness over information and communication technology (ICT).
However, underlying intrigues in the APC played out on May 5 during the inauguration of 34 of the 37 state chairmen by interim National Chairman, Bisi Akande.
At the event, held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, interim National Vice Chairman (South East), Anyim Nyerere, created a scene when Akande announced Fabian Okonkwo as the elected Chairman in Abia State.
Party insiders told TheNiche that Nyerere’s grouse was that his governorship ambition in Abia State may have been buried for good, as his candidate for the state’s chairmanship lost in the state congress. He blamed it on Akande.
Said Nyerere: “We don’t know what interest they have in Abia. Whatever interest they have there, that interest is not going to work. We want a free and fair congresses in Abia.
“The whole South East caucus has agreed and the national congress committee have decided that the congresses in Abia have been cancelled. So for somebody to come here and say that there were congresses in Abia is an aberration.
“It is impunity. The person who did it is the Chairman of the party, Bisi Akande. We don’t know the interest he has in Abia State.”
The outburst may be replicated on June 13 when delegates gather to elect national leaders.
There is apprehension over the zoning of positions. Some Northerners want the national chairmanship zoned to the South West for Akande to retain the seat, others, said to be in the majority, canvass for it to go to the South South.
The post of national secretary is also contentious. Some want it retained in the North West, others prefer it moved to the North East.
It was learnt, however, that former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipriye Sylva, is likely to emerge National Chairman as the majority of APC Governors are rooting for him.
“Ten out of the 16 APC governors prefer Sylva, among them governors from the South West,” a source said.
They want Sylver for the job because he “is angry with President Goodluck Jonathan for the way he was treated in the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party). He wants to fight back.”
Other South South aspirants to the post include former Edo State Governor, John Oyegun; former Foreign Affairs Minister, Tom Ikimi; former PDP Deputy National Chairman, Sam Jaja.
Former Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nasir El-Rufai, is reportedly keen on the post of national secretary, likely to be zoned to the North East or North West.
His supporters are pressing him to dump his Kaduna State governorship ambition for the party’s secretary job, because they claim that he has the capacity to organise the national secretariat well.
Sokoto State Governor, Aliu Wamako, has admonished APC members to be weary of detractors out to wreck the party.