New Telegraph

APC Convention: Who wears the crown?

Barring any last minute hiccup, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will hold its long-awaited National Convention this weekend. In this analysis, ONWUKA NZESHI takes a look at the array of chairmanship aspirants and projects that a dark horse might carry the day

 

In the next few days, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will be choosing a new leadership to run the affairs of the party. The National Convention of the party where the new leadership will be elected has been postponed several times for various reasons amidst the legal battles and political intrigues.

 

The Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) which has served as the interim leadership of the ruling party has had its tenure extended a couple of times, ostensibly to enable it put the house in order before marching out to the Eagle Square, Abuja to choose a new leader.

 

During this waiting period, those aspiring to lead the party have grown in numbers.

 

This is largely due to the uncertainty surrounding the zoning of offices in the party. Many aspirants have thrown their hats into the ring believing that the position of the national Chairman would be zoned to their region.

 

The parade At the initial stage, the contest was thrown wide open and this brought to the podium as many as 11 chairmanship aspirants, including the former Deputy National Chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Saliu Mustapha; a former governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Almakura; a former governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff and the senator representing Niger East Senatorial District, Mohammed Sani Musa.

 

Others who also showed interest in the job were a former governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari; a former governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda; a former governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, a former governor of Gombe State, Danjuma Goje; Minister of Special Duties and Inter- Governmental Affairs, George Akume and, a former Governor of Nasarawa State and Chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee of the party, Abdullahi Adamu.

With this array of personalities, each having his own pedigree, the questions on the lips of delegates to the convention are: Who shall we send? Whom does the cap fit? Who wears the crown?

 

No doubt, all these men are eminently qualified to lead the party but as the race draws closer, pundits within the APC are beginning to take a second look at each of these aspirants to ascertain who can best serve the interest of the party.

 

This thorough assessment has become necessary because they all know that whoever emerges as the next national chairman already has his job cut out for him. It would be his lot to revive the party, reconcile the aggrieved members and ultimately lead it to battle in the 2023 general election.

 

The zoning conundrum As at last week, there were strong indications that the position of the National Chairman has been zoned to the North Central geopolitical zone.

 

This indication emerged after the meeting of the Progressive Governors Forum which held in Abuja. Although no formal announcement was made on the issue, sources within the forum, who monitored the meeting said the governors had decided to take that route as part of a chain of strategic calculations that would see the APC repositioning itself in the power game.

 

If that permutation is anything to go by, it means the race has been narrowed down to only those aspirants from the North Central zone, otherwise known as the Middle Belt.

 

The aspirants from this zone include Mustapha (Kwara), Musa (Niger), Akume (Benue), Adamu (Nasarawa) and Al- Makura (Nasarawa). This makes it a clear five-horse race in which only the very best would be good enough to wear the coveted crown.

It may interest you to know that key stakeholders in the APC are not just looking for a national chairman to preside over meetings at the national headquarters of the party but are hunting for someone who can match the assemblage of forces in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the main opposition in the country.

 

Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, the current National Chairman of the PDP is a former senator, who was elected President of the Senate during the Third Republic. He later served in various ministerial positions during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure between 1999 and 2007.

 

Before his foray into politics, Ayu was in the academia and an activist who rose to become the chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the University of Jos.

 

This intimidating profile is what some stakeholders in the APC are seeking to counter in their choice of the next National Chairman and incidentally, their political compass appears to be pointing towards Benue State.

The dark horse A member of one of the think tanks in the APC told New Telegraph that Akume virtually holds the ace in the forthcoming chairmanship race for several reasons.

 

The source said: “The APC needs to plot its game very strategically bearing in mind that we are not just looking for a national chairman for the fun of it.

 

We’re looking for a personality who will fit into the emerging scenario, especially the possibility of the presidential ticket going to the South and the likelihood of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu picking it.

 

“Of course, if that happens, Tinubu, a Muslim from the South, will need not only a strong Northern Christian as running mate but the party also needs a strong bridge builder as National Chairman who is also a Christian otherwise the party will still be battling to pull off that toga of being a Muslim party.

 

“While we cannot put our fingers yet on who becomes Tinubu’s running mate, Akume, a Christian comes very handy in taking charge of the party. This will douse a lot of tension and  give the party the needed mileage ahead of the election.” The source added that Akume holds the aces in terms of status, name recognition, political career and capacity to hold the party together.

 

Although Akume might be at par with Adamu and Al-Makura as former governors, he towers above the duo in terms of his current position in government, as well as his comportment and vast contacts across the length and breadth of the country. In some circles, it was learnt, he’s regarded as the dark horse not because his name does not ring a bell but because he has chosen to pursue his ambition in a modest way.

 

Although, he is eminently qualified for the job and has indicated his interest, he has not embarked on an elaborate campaign like some of his peers.

 

“He is privileged to be a serving cabinet minister and appears to have the tacit endorsement of his boss and some other powerful forces within the party. He’s not a loud man and does not display wild ambition like some other politicians would do, but he’s deeply entrenched in the party and commands the respect of the five APC governors from his zone.

 

“Again, temperament is key in leadership. Do you know that some are seeking this office for some ulterior, selfish motives?

They want to use the office to lord it over some persons including the governors of their states. If such persons are allowed to emerge, it means the party will return to the Adams Oshiomhole era, when an ego war between a party chairman and his state governor nearly destroyed the party,” a party chieftain said.

 

Indeed, apart from Akume whose state governor, Samuel Ortom, is of the PDP, the other aspirants from Kwara, Niger and Nasarawa have the governors of their respective states to contend with as the race gets closer to the finishing line.

 

In these other states, the coast appears unclear as no serving governor wants the national chairman of his own party to emerge from his state. It goes without saying, that for the stability of the party, there is the need to elect a candidate who will not be embroiled in a supremacy contest with his governor over the control of the party.

 

The endorsements In recent weeks, many political support groups have been paying solidarity visits to Akume’s residence in Abuja, while his campaign office located in the highbrow Maitama District, has also witnessed a beehive of activities.

 

The most recent was the visit of two groups, namely the Katsina based Northern APC National Front (NAPCNF) and Bauchi-based Coalition of North East APC Groups (CNEAPCG), which came to pay him homage. Ayuba Hassan, who spoke on behalf of both groups, said they came to express their support for Akume’s aspiration to become the new national chairman of the ruling party.

 

He added that the visit was also meant to brief Akume of the work both groups have been doing in the North-East and North-West zones in furtherance of his aspiration. He assured Akume that both groups as well as numerous other support groups will continue to work together until victory is achieved at the forthcoming national convention.

 

In response, Akume expressed appreciation to the support groups and charged them to continue to conduct their mobilisation activities in peace, remain law abiding and accord due respect to other aspirants.

 

The former governor and now minister urged them not to personalise issue or provoke anyone but to remain focused on their primary goal.

 

The delegation later visited the Senator George Akume Campaign Office where they met with the chairman of the Campaign Contact Committee, Chief Simon Shango; Director of Communications, Media and Publicity, Mallam Farouk Muhammed and Chief Akputu, Director of Operations.

Shango, a veteran journalist, disclosed that what has placed Akume at the peak of the pack is that he is a bridge builder and a go-getter.

 

According to him, these are some of the key attributes that the incoming chairman of APC should possess.

 

“At this time, the party needs somebody who is level headed, calculating, respected and ready to lead it to greater heights. If the party gets it wrong at this convention, it could become a challenge in the coming days,” he said.

 

Shango thanked the support groups for the visit and described their activities as a wonderful job and a worthy cause. He said that with the signals from the Progressive Governors Forum on the zoning of the chairmanship position to North Central, the odds are in Akume’s favour and he would coast home to victory, all things being equal.

Read Previous

Osun politics: Is it end of the road for Aregbesola?

Read Next

2023: Atiku, Tinubu’s loyalists in war of words

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *