Politics

APC takes crises to convention

Published

6 years ago

June 23, 2018

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Despite attempts by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to create the impression that all is well, the party is going into its national convention, scheduled for today, June 23, divided than it has ever be.

National Daily gathered that the very foundation of the convention began to fall apart weeks ago when the party’s efforts to conduct peaceful congresses – a litmus test for it ahead of the elections – hit brick wall.

From cases of parallel congresses to incidents of violence and boycott, the congresses were marred by infractions. In the end, over seven states produced separate executives while John Odigie-Oyegun, its outgoing national chairman, never featured in any of the congresses in Edo, his home state.

There is the likelihood that states where parallel executives emerged will send separate delegates to the national convention, though the APC has said it will not recognise any parallel congress at the exercise.

Another big challenge that is facing the party at the moment is the grievances of the new Peoples’ Democratic Party (nPDP) faction.

The bloc, which houses some top members of the party including Senate President Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives, had pulled out of the PDP to team up with the APC for the 2015 elections.

Although the group had said it will be attending the convention, who says a nAPC can’t emerge at the convention ground? Those up to date with our political history will still recollect how nPDP stage a walkout at the PDP convention five years ago.

There is also the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and John Odigie-Oyegun cold war. Pundits say Buhari may have considered his chances in 2019 and seen that he needs Tinubu more than he needs Odigie-Oyegun and so, had to “trade off the outgoing national chairman in order to court Tinubu.”

The Tinubu reconciliatory committee was set up to soothe fray nerves and reconcile warring parties within the APC but ironically, the former Lagos governor himself needed to be reconciled with the Odigie-Oyegun-led NWC that had allegedly sidelined him in the affairs of the party and whose tenure extension he had kicked against.

He later accused Odigie-Oyegun of frustrating his peace efforts. Odigie-Oyegun denied the allegation and told Tinubu he should be rest assured of his support towards ensuring the success of the reconciliation task but that could have happened in the dream. The rift between the two is in the open.

The party should have done more to make the reconciliation succeed. Of a truth, it would have been extremely difficult to achieve peace in all the states but healing wounds ahead of the convention would have worked in its interest. What we have at the moment is like sitting on a keg of gunpowder.