As the All Progressives Congress (APC) reconciliation committee gets down to business, UJA EMMANUEL (Makurdi), KOLADE ADEYEMI (Jos), ADEKUNLE JIMOH (Ilorin), LINUS OOTA (Lafia), VICTOR GAI (Jalingo), ONIMISI ALAO (Yola), AUGUSTINE OKEZIE (Katsina) and ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE (Kaduna) provide an insight into the nature of the crises in their respective states
The last general election affected different states in the North in various ways. So, it is going to be a mixed bag of fortunes for the reconciliation committee recently set up by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) when it gets to the region, as the party is facing some challenges in some states and little or none in others.
Benue:Not too long after Governor Hyacinth Alia won his election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State, a crack was noticed within the party, particularly between him and the man who aided his emergence as the number one citizen of the state, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume. This became evident as chieftains of the party loyal to Akume, who was the undisputed leader of the party in Benue, began to accuse Governor Alia of abandoning the real APC members who laboured for his victory and patronising PDP members who worked against his election.
Akume had been governor for eight years, a senator for 12 years, a minister under the Buhari administration and now the SGF. So he was instrumental in Rev. Fr. Alia becoming the governor after the tenure of former Governor Samuel Ortom. Before Alia joined the race to secure the governorship ticket of the APC, there was an array of aspirants within the party gunning for the ticket, including Chief Mike Aondoakaa (SAN), Chief Barnabas Gemade, and Professor Terhemba Shija among others.
Yet Alia who joined the party just before the preparations for the election began got the ticket on a platter of gold; against all expectations. The trio of Gemade, Aondoakaa and Shija after the APC primary challenged the outcome up to the Supreme Court but lost.
The crisis within the party became evident with the appointment of key aides to the governor, such as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and the Chief of Staff. It escalated with the appointment of principal officers of the Benue State House of Assembly, where the APC State Working Committee (SWC) headed by Chairman Austin Agade, sent a list to be elected as Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Majority leader but it was turned down. The same trend continued with the nomination of commissioners, chairmen of the 23 local government areas, and heads of agencies and parastatals. As a result, party loyalists cried out that the governor was not carrying them along.
The situation worsened when the state APC chairman, Austin Agada was said to have been suspended by his ward executives for gross misconduct and anti-party activities. The chairman of Guma Local Government Area, Lazuras Asema, a die-hard supporter of Akume told The Nation that the only thing that will guarantee peace is to allow the status quo to remain. Asema said: “Governor Alia joined that party a few months before elections and the party made available all the logistics and structures for him to win. But, now, he wants to dismantle the structures that gave him victory.”
However, the Chairman of the Benue State Traditional Council and Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, has taken the first step in the reconciliation between Governor Alia and Senator Akume, by hosting a peace meeting at his palace in Gboko on Easter Monday, April 1, 2024, to reconcile the two APC leaders.
Plateau:
The emergence of Rufus Bature as the Plateau APC chairman in 2022 signalled the beginning of the current crisis in the chapter. After the state congress, aggrieved stakeholders petitioned the party’s national secretariat. Two parallel congresses were conducted where two chairmen — Rufus Bature and Ishaya Itse Azi — emerged.
While the dust thrown up by the congress was yet to settle, the 2023 governorship primary opened another chapter of grievances for many stakeholders. This was because there was a disagreement over the emergence of Dr Nentawe Yilwatda as the party’s candidate for the election.
After the primary, the 17 aggrieved aspirants threatened to dump the party on allegations of lack of internal democracy. These two scenarios were compounded by the outcome of the last general election where the APC lost out at the presidential poll, the National Assembly, the governorship, and the state assembly elections.
Nevertheless, Bature believes there is no faction in Plateau APC. He told The Nation on the phone in Jos: “In Plateau APC, there is no faction. As far as I know, there is no faction that I am aware of. The position of the APC has always remained, where it was before. We are one and we remain one. The only work the reconciliatory committee has on the Plateau is to talk to those who feel aggrieved by the outcome of the party primaries. If they feel aggrieved, at least they should state their grievances so that the reconciliatory committee can find a way to make amends.”
The factional chairman, Ishaya Itse, said the recent Court of Appeal judgment in his favour has simplified the job of the reconciliatory committee. He said: “I will insist that the NWC base their reconciliation on that judgment as the only way to restore peace in the chapter. I am the authentic chairman and I remain so until another state congress is held.”
Kwara:
There is an uneasy calm in the Kwara State chapter of the APC. The internal wrangling within the party before the last general election appears to have abated. The infighting had led to the defection of some aggrieved members to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) before the presidential election. However, some days after the election, aggrieved members loyal to the then APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu returned to the fold.
But, the returnees are yet to be fully accommodated in the party. One of those aggrieved members told our correspondent: “Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is behaving as if he does not need anybody. I don’t think he is ready for peace. In some local government areas, we have like three or four factions. The chapter is not at peace.”
But, Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, disagrees. He said: “Most of what you are hearing are mere speculations. The APC is not factionalized in any local government area in the state. There is no infighting in Kwara APC. Appointments are currently in abeyance. In the next appointment, you will see that everyone will be properly integrated. I stand to be challenged; there is peace in Kwara APC.”
Adamawa:
Adamawa APC appears calm on the surface, but beneath lies a deep rancour. The only visible crisis is the disagreement over the Numan Local Government exco. One Mr Gentle Pharis was on March 26 sworn in as the council’s APC chairman, while supporters of Ndiako Mariko, who earlier secured a court verdict against his suspension, have insisted that he (Mariko) remains the authentic chairman.
Nevertheless, the disagreement over the chairmanship of the Numan chapter can be easily sorted out. But, trouble is expected to rear its head over the 2027 governorship election because the party’s 2023 governorship candidate, Aishatu Ahmed Binani and National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu are expected to be front runners.
When the APC failed to retain the governorship seat in 2019, the failure was blamed on the internal conflict within the party, particularly as Ribadu and Aisha Buhari’s brother, Halilu Modi, lost the ticket to Jibrilla Bindow. Both reportedly rallied supporters to work against Bindow during the general election which he lost to Ahmadu Fintiri of the PDP.
During the last general election, the same Ribadu who lost the APC governorship ticket to Binani was also believed to have worked with Aisha Buhari behind the scenes to undermine the APC governorship candidate during the general election.
In February this year, the party’s state executive committee met at the state secretariat and blamed Binani for the party’s defeat. They said she was arrogant and highhanded in her approach and that she was fighting everyone, instead of rallying their support.
Kaduna:
In Kaduna State, there is a cold war between Governor Uba Sani and his predecessor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai. The crisis has been simmering for some time but has been carefully managed until now. It came to public knowledge on Saturday, March 30 when Governor Sani revealed, while addressing a town hall meeting, that the El-Rufai administration left a huge debt burden that is currently hindering the implementation of the government’s developmental projects.
The governor told the gathering which had in attendance prominent stakeholders like emirs, chiefs, former military administrators, members of the Elders Forum, as well as former top government functionaries that the state is now paying back the foreign components of the debts in triple folds, considering the current high foreign exchange rate. Sani said his administration inherited a huge debt burden of $587 million, N85 billion and N115 billion contractual liabilities from the previous administration and that he has not borrowed a kobo in the last 10 months of his government.
He explained that seven out of the N10 billion federal allocation for March was deducted to service the debt and that the state was left with only N3 billion. This, he added, was not enough to settle the monthly salary bill. One time Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Lawal Samaila Yakawada told the governor to constitute a commission of inquiry to find out how his processor spent $350 million in foreign and other domestic loans.
One of El-Rufai’s loyalists, Woman Leader Maryam Suleiman was immediately suspended for criticizing Governor Sani over the debt issue. A few hours after the town hall meeting, El-Rufai’s son, Bashir reacted to the governor’s revelation, by accusing him of incompetence. He said the move against the former governor was to cover Governor Sani’s incompetence.
Before the debt controversy, El-Rufai visited Kaduna to condole with the people of Tudun Biri over the erroneous drone attack. But, unlike other prominent politicians and dignitaries, the former governor went straight to the village alongside the former Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, without visiting the Government House.
Kano:
All is not well with the Kano State chapter of the APC. The crisis came to a head when some persons described as imposters by the APC leadership purportedly suspended National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje at his ward in Dawakin-Tofa Local Government Area. Ganduje was purportedly ‘suspended’ because of the allegations of corruption levelled against him by the Kano State government.
Former National Vice Chairman, Salihu Usman believes Ganduje’s current travail may not be unconnected to the political rivalry between him (Ganduje) and his predecessor as governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. While addressing party members from his ward who paid a solidarity visit to him at the APC national secretariat in Abuja, Dr Ganduje equally attributed the unfolding political scenario to a plot by Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf, who was elected on the platform of Kwankwaso’s New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). The ploy, Dr Ganduje said, is to weaken APC in the state ahead of the 2027 general election and other electoral contests.
Usman who spoke during a current affairs programme on Arise TV has enjoined Dr Ganduje and the APC leadership not to shy away from the reality but to take a sombre look at the party’s challenges in Kano, like elsewhere in the country, to find a lasting solution.
Taraba:
Taraba APC appears calm. The party spokesman, Aaron Artimas told our correspondent that the challenge the APC had before the last general election arose because of the conflict of interests of certain politicians. He added: “But, immediately after the elections, they have set aside their differences. Initially, they sought to divide the exco by creating a parallel body. But, the chairman was not recognized by the national secretariat. Immediately after, the exco realized it had just been used to advance certain interests. Members later returned to the fold and we have a full house now. Today, the chapter is united and we have been meeting.
“The chairman of the party had constituted a local reconciliation committee. Just recently, they submitted their report. Sani Sule Sale was the chairman of that committee. They went around and discussed. They didn’t have many grievances beyond what happened. It was done for personal interest and not because they wanted to advance the party’s interest. That so-called faction has collapsed into the party and we are working together. There is no need for reconciliation because Taraba State has only one recognized exco under Sadiq El-sudi.”
Nasarawa:
Similarly, there appears to be no crisis in Nasarawa APC, because of the leadership style of Governor Abdullahi Sule. The party’s Publicity Secretary, Douglas Otaru told our correspondent in Lafia that the two former governors, Senators Abdullahi Adamu and Umaru Tanko Al-Makura have contributed to the peace and harmony within the party. He added: “Governor Sule always consults them before any major decision is taken in the party. So, there is no internal wrangling or acrimony in the chapter.
“The party is united and in support of its leader, Governor Abdullahi Sule. All past leaders, elected representatives appointees and party members across wards and local government area level are loyal and answerable to the governor. There is absolutely no crisis in Nasarawa State APC.”
Katsina:
The Katsina State chapter of the APC is not experiencing any crisis requiring the attention of the recently set up reconciliation committee. Secretary of the Katsina State Central Working Committee, Suleiman Muhammad Namadi, told our correspondent that the reconciliation committee expected to visit the state soon may have little or no work to do. He said the administration of Governor Dikko Umar Radda is carrying everyone along in the scheme of things.
He said: “The Katsina State APC is not experiencing any crises; everyone is happy with the leadership of Governor Radda.’’
The chapter recently dissolved its state and local government stakeholders committees. The party leadership also announced the dissolution of its stakeholders committee at state and local government levels.
