BoT chairmanship: Tinubu’s grand plot to stop Atiku

The last has not been heard about the supremacy battle between Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as Tinubu promised to stop the former vice president from becoming the chairman BoT of the All Progressives Congress. CHIKA NWABUEZE and OKUNADE ADEKUNLE report

The supremacy battle between Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar will see the two All Progressives Congress, APC, leaders clash again over the choice of the party’s Board of Trustee chairman. Before now, Atiku has been tipped as the best candidate for the job, given his contacts and political experience, ahead of Chief Bis Akande, the former interim national chairman of the party.

However, it is now clear that the battle for the BoT chairmanship of the governing APC between the former Vice President Atiku and erstwhile interim chairman of the party, Chief Akande may further deepen the crisis in the party. Reason: Some of the party chieftains from the South West geopolitical zone who believe that Atiku worked against the interest of the party in the national assembly leadership election by attempting to assert his authority as the dominant figure might not be allowed to lead the party’s advisory body.

Sources close to the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu disclosed that the role played by Atiku in the emergence of Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker respectively has made the chieftains of the party from the South West to brace up their plans to ensure that Atiku does not get the BoT chairmanship position.

Hallmark gathered that Tinubu had met with some of the executive council members of the party from the zone and some from the North West, who will participate in the process of electing the BoT chairman, imploring them to ensure that the plan by Atiku to emerge as the chairman does not work out. It was further revealed that Tinubu led some of his strong loyalists in the party from the region to meet few selected party chieftains from the North East seeking for their support ahead of the election.

The chairmanship battle to some of the associates of Tinubu is perceived to be a payback for Atiku, who has been consistent in working against the interest of Tinubu in the party since the election of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Akande, who is the choice of Tinubu, has been tipped as the favourites in the race for the chairmanship, but he might have serious challenge from the staunch loyalists of the Atiku group who defected with him from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Atiku’s influence, which cuts across the six geopolitical zones of the country, is capable of seeing him through in the race as his associates have started lobbying the zonal leaders of the party to vote for him.

Atiku’s aspiration which is said to have gained momentum among the APC chieftains from the South-South region have made the camp of Tinubu in the party, especially in the executive council to begin to strategize on how to reduce Atiku’s influence in the executive council to minimal level.

Before the national assembly leadership elections, there were clear indications that the BoT chairmanship of the party might be zoned to the North East in a bid to favour the former vice president Atiku, considering his defeat in the APC presidential primaries and the fact that his contributions helped the party emerge victorious in the last general elections.

It was observed that after the national assembly leadership election in which he influenced the process against the wish of the party, the BoT chairmanship seat appears to be the tool to be used to punish him for his tacit support in the enthronement of Saraki as the Senate President. Although, Atiku did not singlehandedly installed Saraki and Dogara but he extensively lobbied some of his loyalists in the senate to vote against the preferred choice of the party which was championed by Asiwaju Tinubu.

Aside this, Atiku’s other issues with Tinubu and the party, according to the camp of Tinubu is the call for the resignation of the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun, by the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Timi Frank, who is seen as one of the strong loyalists of Atiku in the party. The view of the Tinubu supporters is that Atiku wants to edge out Tinubu and take over the control of the party ahead of the 2019 general elections.

They also claim that the Saraki group in the senate currently battling the Ahmed Lawan group in the national assembly over the selection of the other four principal officers of the senate is being backed by Atiku, who serves as their godfather in the party.

But a source close to the former vice president told Hallmark that Atiku has perfected his plans on how to lobby the party leaders at the zonal level over the BoT election without creating crisis in the party after the election. He disclosed further that it will be a disservice and distrust for the party to make U-turn on the BoT chairmanship because Atiku never held any position in the party structure and still remains in the party even when former president Goodluck Jonathan had persuaded him to come back to the PDP and help rebuild the party.

“The BoT chairman is expected to be given to Alhaji Abubakar because as he never defected to the PDP even when the former president Goodluck Jonathan was persuading him to come back to the PDP. It will be a disservice and let down for our party not to give the chairmanship to Alhaji Abubakar at this moment. The truth is that he is also working to ensure that the zonal leaders of the party throw their support behind him in the battle, so we see ourselves winning”, said the Atiku’s close associate.

Speaking with the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, he said it was untrue, adding that it was a mere ploy by detractors to distract the party and turn the leaders against each other.

“It is absolutely untrue. It is a ploy by our detractors to turn our leaders against each other which will not work”, said Mohammed.

Hallmark attempts to reach the media assistant to Tinubu, Mr. Sunday Dare was unsuccessful as he could not answer his calls, nor respond to the text message sent to his line.

Hallmark reports that the APC has been swimming in crisis since the 8th national assembly was inaugurated. The characters behind the crisis include Atiku, Tinubu, Saraki,Oyegun etc. the worst thing that happened to the party was the election of Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu as President and deputy senate president. Ekweremadu is of the PDP, but because Saraki and his group desperately wanted to become the president, they agreed to share positions with the PDP senators to get their support. This is the first time in history that a ruling party is sharing the leadership of the senate with the opposition.

It is not only that Saraki went against the party’s decision, he got elected as president when majority of the APC senators went to honour a meeting called at the instance of Mr. president at the International Conference Centre, Abuja to resolve the issue of the NASS leadership before the inauguration of the senate. But Saraki defied the party, not only that he did not attend, he rallied his supporters to nominate him in the absence of his opponent, Lawan and adopted president by consensus. By the time the information got to the APC senators and they raced back to the senate, Saraki was already seated with the gavel.

Though Buhari promised to work with the new leadership, he however expressed concern that he would had preferred that the party’s position was followed. Right now, the APC is in the second round of crisis following the decision of the party to nominate Lawan as Majority Leader of the senate and Femi Gbajamiala as Majority Leader House of Representatives after they lost out in the leadership tussle.

But the Saraki and Dogara supporters are opposed to their emergence, as they preferred that the party zone the offices and allow the lawmakers to make their choices rather than nominating candidates for them. At a close-door meeting held on Tuesday at the senate to resolve the impasse ended in stalemate as the APC senators resorted to fist-fight as they disagreed on the issues. The meeting was between the Unity Forum and the Like Minds to decide on the remaining leadership positions of the senate.

The meeting which began around 2:00pm to streamline the zoning of key leadership positions which is considered a strictly party affair failed to resolve the lingering crisis as senators from both divides refused to compromise their positions.

The Senators were seen exchanging words as they burst open the doors of the room where the meeting was held, with some of the senators being restrained by other colleagues from exchanging blows. One of the APC senators who rushed out of the meeting room to brief waiting journalists after the fiasco said trouble started when members of the Unity Forum, a pro-Ahmed Lawan group walked into the meeting to protest the zoning of positions which had already been approved and agreed on by those who were at the meeting.

The senator said that the senators were already in agreement that the position of the Senate Leader be zoned to the North East, where both Senators Ali Ndume and Lawan have shown interest. The North West is to produce the Deputy Leader, South West Chief Whip, while the South-South is to produce the Deputy Chief Whip. But the position did not go down well with the Lawan group as it was said that he wanted it on a platter of gold rather than contesting with Ndume, a stance which the Ndume ‘Like Mind’ senators opposed.

It was also gathered that when it was apparently clear that the leadership of APC wanted to use the position to compensate Lawan who was beaten in the senate presidency race by Senator Saraki, senators from the North East opposed the move and said they should be allowed to choose among themselves who will lead them.

However Senator Abu Ibrahim speaking to Journalists in his office shortly after the incident described the meeting as a healing process for APC members after the crisis that was generated by the senate presidency.