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Sunday, 12 July 2015
BoT chair: Dark days ahead for APC
The
battle for
the
chairmanship of the All Progressives Congress
Board of Trustees may be a fierce one among
former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former
interim National Chairman of the APC, Bisi
Akande; and a chieftain of the party, Audu Ogbeh,
writes TOBI AWORINDE
Article 13.2 (X) of the APC Constitution (October
2014 as amended), which deals with the powers
of the BoT, stipulates: “The Board of Trustees shall
elect its chairman, deputy chairman, secretary
and other officers as it deems necessary, and
formulate its own rules and procedures to
regulate its meetings and activities.”
This must have prompted the National Executive
Committee of the All Progressives Congress, to
ratify proposals made for the inclusion of some
members of the party’s Board of Trustees. No
sooner had the NEC approved proposals made by
the party’s National Legal Adviser, Dr. Muiz
Banire, that some contenders emerged for the
chairmanship of the BoT.
Last Monday, it was gathered that three party
chieftains desired to give it a shot. They are:
former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; a former
interim national chairman of the APC, Bisi Akande;
and an ex-national chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party, Audu Ogbeh.
When asked in a recent interview with SUNDAY
PUNCH, if amending the party’s constitution may
hold the key to resolving the ongoing leadership
crisis at the National Assembly, Ogbeh, who is the
former national chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party, and also a founding member of
the APC, expressed disappointment in the party’s
delay in inaugurating the BoT, adding that the
board is the answer to the party’s woes.
Ogbeh said, “It isn’t the constitution that is the
real problem. Constitutions are run by human
beings. We have our constitution; we have a
certain understanding among ourselves about
what we should do and shouldn’t do. I think there
are some managerial lapses somewhere.
“For instance, we have not yet formally
inaugurated our Board of Trustees. What are we
waiting for? This is the kind of crisis that the Board
of Trustees should have taken over and resolved
and not the National Working Committee or the
National Executive Committee of the party. Why is
the Board of Trustees still not in place?”
The party’s NEC, which is its highest decision-
making body, reportedly took nominations for
membership of the BoT from the various state
chapters during a NEC meeting which held
penultimate Friday.
On June 20, Saturday PUNCH had reported that a
fresh power tussle between Atiku and Akande was
on the horizon over the party’s BoT chairmanship.
According to findings, the tussle is an episode in
the supremacy war between power blocs in the
APC.
Atiku and the National Leader of the party,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, were reported to have been
the primary contenders in a fierce battle to
control the party. With these two camps, clinching
the BoT chairmanship would go a long way in
assisting them to control the party.
Both camps were said to have started reaching
out to members of the board, who will elect the
chairman. Further investigations showed that
Akande had the backing of Tinubu, who is
reportedly angry with Atiku’s role in the National
Assembly leadership elections.
The struggle for the chairmanship of the APC’s
BoT, it was learnt, became intense following the
inauguration of the eighth Assembly which
witnessed the controversial emergence of Bukola
Saraki as Senate President and Yakubu Dogara as
Speaker. They were said to have won with the
support of Atiku.
Tinubu and the party’s National Working
Committee, on the other hand, were voting for
Ahmad Lawan for the Senate presidency and Femi
Gbajabiamila for the House speakership.
Political observers have since highlighted that
Saraki’s election would enable the Atiku camp
take control of the party’s National Executive
Committee since the Senate President and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives are
members of the NEC.
However, Tinubu is believed to be in control of
the party’s NWC, as many of its members are said
to be loyal to him. Thus, the contest for the
control of the BoT is clearly between both camps.
Atiku, who has held the number two office in the
country for two consecutive terms and contested
in the party’s first ever presidential primary which
produced President Muhammadu Buhari as the
APC candidate for the March 28 election, is widely
regarded as a political heavyweight in the APC.
Pundits, however, note that Atiku’s chances are
slim.
The executive chairman of the Coalition against
Corrupt Leaders, Debo Adeniran, in an interview
with SUNDAY PUNCH, argued that Atiku was not
as all-embracing as the job of BoT chairmanship
demands. Recalling Atiku’s political history with
concern, the activist said the APC may not last
long with the ex-vice president at the helm.
He said, “When we look at Atiku, especially with
regard to the controversy surrounding his
activities as vice-president, he has not yet
convinced Nigerians that he didn’t soil his hands.
Moreover, the kind of divisive politics that he
plays may not put him in a good position to be
the best BoT chairman that can satisfy the
yearnings of rank-and-file members of the party.
“One would not want the ruling party to succumb
to the whims and caprices of somebody who
already has an open agenda that once was
hidden. We must not forget the influence of the
Peoples Democratic Movement in the PDP and
the prominent role it played in the breakup of the
PDP. The same thing happened when the New
PDP emerged. That means that with an Atiku in
the saddle, the APC may not last the tenure of the
current regime before they break it into pieces.
“The divisive politics of Atiku puts him at a
disadvantage. I don’t see him as having a
sectional agenda; his agenda cuts across, but he
plays opportunistic politics and that is not fair.
People like Saraki and Dogara need somebody
who is courageous enough to confront them.
Atiku is hand in glove with them, and if he
becomes BoT chair, he will tolerate whatever they
do.”
Similarly, a professor of political science in the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Onyebuchi Ezeani,
agreed with Adeniran, adding that Atiku could not
be held to the commitment of the party’s
founding members because he formed the party
late.
“Most of the groundwork that was laid for the
party’s formation was already there long before
he arrived. As a result, I don’t think he has what it
takes to hold such a position. Atiku is what I call a
latecomer,” the professor opined.
But the Director-General of the Atiku Media
Office, Mr. Paul Ibe, when contacted on Monday,
said the former vice-president “is eminently
qualified to occupy the position.” He added, “We
are not aware that the APC has thrown open the
race for the chairmanship of the party’s BoT. But
if, in the wisdom of the party, it elects to appoint
(Atiku) Abubakar as chairman of its BoT, the
Turaki Adamawa will be amenable and well-
disposed to it because he is eminently qualified to
offer his services to the party at that level.”
For Akande, the battle for a top job in the APC is
not entirely new. On June 11, 2013, the erstwhile
national chairman of the now defunct Action
Congress of Nigeria was reported to have been in
a fierce contest with Tom Ikimi, another chieftain
of the party, for the position of interim national
chairman of the newly formed APC.
The battle between Akande and Ikimi followed
the decision by stakeholders of the APC — a
merger between the ACN, the Congress for
Progressive Change, and the All Nigeria Peoples
Party — to cede the chairmanship to the ACN.
But the APC, following a meeting behind closed
doors in Abuja on June 26, 2013, named Akande
its national chairman.
Spokesman for the Congress for Progressive
Change, Rotimi Fasakin, said the appointment,
which was, “part of the requirements (set by the
Independent National Electoral Commission) for
the registration of the new party was a collective
decision of all the merging parties.”
The APC was then registered by INEC on July 31,
2013, after which the party was joined by
aggrieved PDP members, including Atiku, Saraki,
and seven governors, between November and
December of the same year.
On June 14, 2014, Akande handed over his seat as
chairman to a former Governor of Edo State, John
Odigie-Oyegun, who became the first substantive
national chairman of the APC, following a
consensus arrangement by the leadership of the
party at the inaugural national convention of the
APC.
By August 21, 2014, the party was reported to
have appointed no fewer than 74 persons,
including Buhari and Tinubu, as members of its
BoT. Others listed were Atiku, Ikimi, Akande and
Ogbeh.
The BoT also comprises serving and former APC
governors still in the party as well as two senators
representing each of the six geopolitical zones
and a member representing each state and the
FCT.
However, in a provocative statement on June 28,
Akande alleged that the members of the APC, who
left the PDP, came into the ruling party with
vested interests, which he claimed were fuelling
the APC crisis.
The APC chief said, “What began as political
patronages, which was to be shared into APC
membership spread among ethnic zones,
religious faiths, (as well as) political rankings and
experiences, has now become so complicated
that the sharing has to be done by and among
PDP leadership, together with cohorts of former
New PDP affiliations in the APC, by and among
gangs against Buhari’s presidency, and certain
APC legislators and party members who dance
round the crisis arena to pick some crumbs.
“After the elections, which saw the APC to victory
all round, a meeting was reported to have been
held by certain old and new PDP leaders in
(former National Chairman of PDP) Kawu Baraje’s
house in Abuja to review what should be their
share in this new Buhari’s government and
resolved to seek collaboration with the PDP with a
view to hijacking the National Assembly and,
having got rid of Goodluck Jonathan, with an
ultimate aim of resuscitating the PDP as their
future political platform.”
But Baraje, in a summary rebuttal, described
Akande’s claims as unfortunate and expressed
disappointed that the former interim chairman of
the APC would make such claims.
Baraje was not the only one who had a bone to
pick with Akande. The APC chieftain’s claims also
drew the ire of party chairman, Oyegun, Saraki,
Dogara, the Arewa Consultative Forum and the
northern caucus of the party, among several
others, leading to speculation that Akande’s
chances of emerging the APC BoT chairman had
been hurt.
But Adeniran disagreed. On the contrary, he
argued, the same reason that made some party
members allege that Akande was being
sponsored by Tinubu proved his suitability for the
job.
“He told no lie within the submission he made. He
has said he didn’t make any sectional statement
that was credited to him and nobody has
disproved him since. Confronting them with past
records that they have is not supposed to be seen
as a disadvantage. It should, instead, be seen as
an index of courage, which is why I believe he has
adequate courage to confront anybody that
wants to sabotage the good fortune of the party,”
Adeniran told SUNDAY PUNCH.
Commenting on speculation that Tinubu is behind
Akande’s candidature, the activist said the
national leader of the APC is a proven political
tactician whose prowess would serve as an
advantage.
“Take it or leave it, Tinubu is a political strategist
with a level of sagacity that no other politician has
been able to achieve in the (Nigerian) political
landscape. If Tinubu is supporting Akande, it
should be seen as a plus, rather than a minus,” he
opined.
Citing Akande’s tenure as governor of Osun State,
Adeniran described Akande as an articulate
leader and a Cicero in his own right, whose wealth
of experience would position him well for the job.
Akande’s former Chief Press Secretary, Adelani
Baderinwa, also expressed conviction of Akande’s
capability to lead the APC’s BoT.
Baderinwa, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH,
described the party chieftain as well qualified for
the position. He highlighted Akande’s run at the
party’s interim national chairmanship, and his
role in laying the groundwork for the party’s
formation.
“He knows Nigeria very well and so there is
nothing so spectacular about being the BoT
chairman. By virtue of being the (interim) national
chairman of the political party, he must have met
quite a lot of the stakeholders in the process of
managing the party, especially to the level that it
became a success in terms of what the APC is. My
take is therefore that he is found to have an
advantage,” he said.
But Ezeani expressed opposition to Akande’s
advantage, arguing that Ogbeh is the candidate to
beat.
The professor of political science said, in
comparison to Akande and Atiku, Ogbeh stands
out because, “he does not have the baggage that
comes with being linked to Tinubu. He is
untainted, which is a crucial consideration in
picking the man for the job.
“If we are talking about those who have
experience and contributed to the formation of
the APC, Audu Ogbeh has the advantage. Let us
not forget that he has held top positions in the
PDP, so he has the most experience and the best
understanding of what the party needs to.”
Adeniran, however, expressed mixed feelings
about Ogbeh’s candidature, arguing that though
Audu Ogbeh is not known to accumulate wealth,
his gentlemanly disposition would translate to a
reluctance to want to rock the boat, which the
political expert believes, is contrary to the
demands of politics in Nigeria.
“Save for the possibility that he might be too
conservative for the dynamism that Nigerian
politics deserves, he could have been the best
candidate. But he may not have the guts, courage
or political will to discipline erring party members
and he doesn’t have the charisma with which he
can carry everybody from different sections of
the country together the way some other leaders
are expected to. He is likely to tolerate the
intolerable and that would be a minus against
him,” Adeniran opined.
Attempts to get Ogbeh’s reaction were
unsuccessful, as he did not answer calls by our
correspondent to his mobile telephone number
on Wednesday.
On the consequences of a fierce BoT
chairmanship race to the already embattled part,
Ezeani told SUNDAY PUNCH that the crisis in the
APC came as a shock to many political observers.
According to him, the rift in the party is proof that
the parties that came together to form the APC
did so out of selfish interests, rather than a
shared ideology.
“I would advise the President to maintain his
objective position and not meddle in the political
dealings of the party. That is the right decision; I
think that it is best that he stays away from the
crisis rocking the APC so as not to be distracted
from governance,” he added.
But Adeniran argued: “Everybody was surprised
that the (primary) election conducted by the APC
went as smoothly as it did and that the general
elections also went smoothly. It could be yet
another surprise that, after this race, everybody
will go back to his camp calmly without any strife.”
SOURCE: PUNCH
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