Tinubu, Atiku, cold war deepens

• As APC suffers internal ‘bleeding’ over plot to remove Saraki

By CYPRIAN AJAH, Abuja

THE plot to remove the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, from office has continued to deepen the power struggle in the All Progressives Congress (APC). National Daily inquiry revealed that despite the pretences by APC leaders that all is well within the ruling party, leaders of the various power blocs from the North to the South are said to be engaged in deep and seeming intractable cold war.

Findings indicated that the legacy parties that formed the APC, which comprises of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and the assimilated All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), as well as the co-opted new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) have been engaged in battle for the hegemony of the APC, a battle that reflected in the election and appointment of presiding and principal officers of the National Assembly in June 2015.

An inside source from the ruling All Progressive Congress, who sought anonymity, alleged that the CPC faction held a clandestine meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, lobbying him to place CPC leaders ahead of others and also to deliver the APC machinery to the CPC faction towards 2019.

According to the source, the CPC leaders appealed to Buhari that on the event that he will not contest the 2019 Presidential election, he should ensure that the ticket is given to a CPC stakeholder.

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The said negotiation was said to raise eyebrow when certain APC leaders moved for the removal of APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and to replace him with Chief Tony Momoh, a foundation CPC member. Odigie-Oyegun is held to be sponsored to that position by APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The conflict burst during the struggle for the leadership of the National Assembly. “The persisting conflict,” according to the party source, “has become overtaken by the struggle for 2019 presidential ticket of the APC.” This was said to have compelled the APC leadership to declare, penultimate week, that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock, insinuating that President Buhari will contest for second term. Our source said that the party chairman made that statement to dowse tension and minimize crisis in the party.

The politicization of the trial of Senate President Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) at the instance of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on charges of false and anticipatory declaration of assets while he was Governor of Kwara State took the internal ‘war’ in the APC to higher pedestal.

Tinubu, leading the ACN faction in alliance with a section of the CPC faction sponsored Senator Ahmed Lawan from Borno State, for Senate President, and Senator George Akume from Benue State, for deputy senate president. Their sponsorship was facilitated through the APC political machine controlled by Tinubu.

On the other divide, the Peoples Demotic Party (PDP) mobilized the party’s lawmakers in the National Assembly deliberately to play spoiler game against APC leaders. This resulted in the rejection of an alleged plea for support by Tinubu and the alliance with the Saraki group, which has some CPC and ANPP stakeholders in its fold that defeated the APC project in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

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Thus, at the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, Saraki was elected unopposed by 57 of the 108 Senators, while APC 51 were holding meeting at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, with APC leaders that included Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Odigie-Oyegun, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and others.

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Former Vice President Abubakar Atiku and former PDP governors that defected to APC, including nPDP APC governors in the North West Aliyu Wamakko, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto Governor, as well as Sani Yerima of the ANPP, consolidated the Saraki forte in the power tussle against the Tinubu group.

Tinubu has in recent time, captured Governor Nasir El-Rufai of CPC to his side.

The cold war subsequently exploded into confrontational battle in the struggle for the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the APC that eventually pitches Tinubu against Atiku. That power tussle has been fought to stalemate, forcing APC leaders to keep occupation of that office pending.

The height of the battle has been the prosecution of Saraki at the CCT which President Buhari has constantly resisted the temptation to interfere either way.

Senator JKN Waku, APC chieftain from Benue State, at a time accused Tinubu of being behind the travail of Saraki at the CCT, an allegation Tinubu refuted.

The trial of Saraki at the CCT has been going through tortuous legal proceedings but the Senate President is yet to get any respite on his side. Rather, more damning allegations are being made against him, though; some are inconsistent with the substantive charges in the trial. The prosecution have been suffering from perpetual adjournments, and probably, allowing for more negotiations for political solutions. The power tussle in the APC further provoked a threat from PDP senators to take over the senate president if APC removes Saraki; this is coming after the provocative emergence of Ike Ekweremadu of the PDP as Deputy Senate President.

While, the prosecution is still proceeding, the opponents went mobilizing social groups for protests and demand for the resignation of the Senate President.

ALSO SEE: APC scribe condemns CCT trial of Saraki

Warding off the pressure from the opponents to resign, Saraki, last Friday, said he will not resign from office while his prosecution subsists in court.

The Senate President through a statement by Yusuph Olaniyonu, Special Adviser on Media, contended that, “there’s a case in the Tribunal and a resultant appeal at the Court of Appeal. The underlining philosophy of our legal system is that an accused person is presumed innocent until found guilty.” He maintained that, “Those who are contemplating calls for resignation want to circumvent the judicial system. They are obviously being sponsored by some politicians. The Senate President is not contemplating any resignation. He will surely have his day in court.”

Meanwhile, there is a wide suspicion that the CCT Chairman, Justice Danladi Umar, may purportedly be taking instructions from some APC leaders on the trial of Saraki. However, Saraki was not only said to be fighting back through the courts but has a high ‘diplomatic’ team, which included some Emirs, making overtures to his opponents and the Presidency to lay the trial to rest.

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