Politics
APC crisis deepens as NASS leadership tussle widens
By EMMA OKEREH
Things have continued to fall apart for the governing All Progressives Congress as the party’s move to nominate candidates for the remaining NASS positions is again being resisted by the Senator Bukola Saraki forces. EMMA OKEREH in Abuja reports
Barely two weeks after the inauguration of the 8th national assembly, there seem to be no respite in sight for the governing party, All Progressives Congress [APC]. Rather than exacerbate, the leadership crisis has continued to worsen as the gladiators have refused to yield to the position of the party.
The national assembly had adjourned to the 23rd of June, a day after its inauguration on the 9th after the senate president had sworn in the then senators-elect. The national assembly also went on two weeks break without filling in the remaining principal officers. It had elected the president of the senate and his deputy leaving the post of the senate leader, deputy senate leader, chief whip and deputy chief whip, minority leader and minority whip to be filled upon resumption.
Hallmark gathered that in spite of the assurance of the national chairman of the APC, Odigie Oyegun that the party would bridge the gaps and move on swiftly upon resumption, parliamentarians especially those in the senate, are still bent on rehearsing the event that took place on the chambers on the day of inauguration where the preferred candidates of the party lost to the Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara groups.
The Saraki group otherwise known as the like minds said that the leadership of the party cannot impose principal officers on them. They argued that the election of the four principal officers was the exclusive right of the zonal caucuses and not the party leadership.
‘’The move for imposition by the party leadership is illegal. There can never be imposition of candidates on the chamber by the party leadership’’ says Senator Ahmed Yerima at the weekend.
This is just as the Ahmed Lawan group which is known as the unity forum also faulted this argument, insisting that it was the party leadership and not that of the zone that determines who become the leader, deputy, chief whip and his deputy.
Before now, the Lawan group had asked the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu to step down as a condition for them to recognize the leadership of Senator Saraki as the senate president.
The inauguration of the 8th national assembly on the 9th of June which produced Senator Saraki’s as President of the Senate and Dogara as the Speaker, House of Representatives respectively, has no doubt, polarized the APC.
The election also brought Senator Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President. Ekweremadu, a Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] stalwart was the Deputy Senate President in the7th NASS. He got the position back due to the sharp disagreement in the APC over the NASS leadership. The PDP leveraged on the crisis and went into an alliance with the Like Minds faction that produced Saraki and Ekweremadu. PDP came to the inauguration united and with their number, Saraki and Ekweremadu triumphed.
Since that election, things have fallen apart in the APC and only time shall tell whether the centre can still hold.
The development has been greeted with mixed reactions as to the legality and acceptability of the process that produced them giving rise to speculations of sabotage.
The bone of contention was the inability of the APC leadership to rein in their lawmakers to agree on the choice of their candidate. Moreso, the leadership did not come out on time on the choice of candidates. It dilly-dallied to say the least and when candidates had already expressed interests and engaged in keen campaign with different camps emerging, it then dawned on the party leadership to conduct a straw election which produced senators Lawan and George Akume as preferred candidates for senate president and deputy respectively. By this period, the party had been polarized.
The shadow election was also conducted for members of the House of Representatives that supported Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila. The faction that was supporting Saraki, called the ‘’Like Minds’’ boycotted the exercise just as the Dogara group denounced the outcome in the Representatives.
Meanwhile, the Senator Lawan group, ‘’the Unity Forum’’ would not accept it the other way. Earlier in the day, attempt by vice president, Yemi Osinbajo to wade into the crisis hit the brick wall as the Saraki group stayed away, while the Dogara group denounced it as a sham.
Pundits also believe that Buhari’s position that he would work with whoever emerged at both chambers, paved the way for all the interested parties to throw their hats into the ring. It provided the fuel for the keen contest thus, when the party tried to impose a candidate on them, it was stiffly resisted.
That was the situation in the morning of the inauguration when the APC summoned its lawmakers to a meeting at the International Conference Centre [ICC]. According to reports, the meeting was put for 10 am even as the inauguration was scheduled for the same time. Meanwhile, the president had already written to the Clerk of national assembly, Maikasuwa to proclaim the assembly at ten.
Whether it was political sagacity or rebellion, the Saraki group rather than honour the meeting summoned by the party, came to the national assembly for inauguration.
When it was time for nomination of candidates, Saraki was nominated by Senator SaniYerima and there was no Lawan group as they were still held in the ICC. It was the dazed group that raced to the national assembly from the conference centre to see Saraki already seated in his exalted chair holding the gavel.
When it was time for nomination of the deputy senate president, again, the Lawal group lost out as Ekweremadu and Ali Ndume slugged it out and eventually, Ekweremadu made it courtesy of the new alliance. At the House of Representatives, the choice of the party also failed as Dogara beat Gbajabiamila to become speaker.
The APC was jolted and quickly refused to recognize the officers, a position they have since vacated even as the Lawan group is asking Ekweremadu to step down as a condition to recognize Saraki’s leadership. Besides, another group has also commenced campaign for the national chairman of the party, John Odigie Oyekun to resign from his position for failing to deliver the party’s candidates resulting in the embarrassment the party suffered at the national assembly leadership election.
It is believed that the demands of both groups will be difficult to attain as Ekweremadu will be difficult to remove by the Lawan group, since it is a game of numbers. The Saraki group will also find it difficult to betray the pact entered with the PDP and so, the APC may have to move on with the arrangement as it is.
The obviously sulking APC is determined not to have a further mix of the PDP senators in the principal offices that are the exclusive of a ruling party, hence, the renewed effort to stop the Saraki group from hijacking the exercise.
The APC wants the four principal officers to emerge from ranking hence the choice of Lawan and Akume as senate leaders and deputy respectively.
