Major cracks are appearing in the All Progressives Congress (APC), as there seems to be a ganging up against the former governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu by notable northern politicians.
The opposition against Tinubu is spearheaded by the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, the former speaker of the House of Representatives and Sokoto state governor, Aminu Tambuwal and the former governor of Kano state, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The various power blocs in the APC have been in a cold war over the party’s structures, and the election of the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives was the last straw.
The APC was formed as a coalition of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and thereafter, a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The CPC came into the merger riding on the popularity of President Muhammadu Buhari without any established structure but they had a large grassroots support. The ACN joined with established political structures, while the PDP faction joined with an army of supporters and strong political structures, all of which consolidated the APC platform.
In the power equation of the party, the ACN provided the national chairman, national publicity secretary and national legal adviser of the party. Going into government, the CPC has the president, Buhari from the north west, while the ACN has the vice president from the south west.
In the elections in the legislature the leaders of the party attempted to balance the power equation of the party between the various power blocs as well as accommodate all competing interests in the party.
When the party supported the candidacy of Ahmed Lawan of ANPP extraction from the north east for the position of Senate president, as well as Femi Gbajabiamila of the ACN faction from the south west for the House speaker. This was vehemently challenged by the PDP faction in the party who were in support of Senator Bukola Abubakar Saraki from the north central and Honourable Yakubu Dogara from the north east.
The mock election conducted by the APC was seen as the handiwork of Tinubu, who is suspected of controlling the leadership of the party.
The current crisis in the party can also be traced to preparations for the 2019 general elections. The power tussle is meant to ‘reform’ the APC which some of the northern big wigs of the party still see as a Yoruba dominated party.
Atiku Abubakar is leading some former and incumbent governors in the north, who include the former governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko of Sokoto state, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state, Tambuwal, Kwankwaso, the former governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state, to wage the new battle in the party.
They were said to have agreed among themselves to cut Tinubu down to size in order to secure the party for both President Buhari and other party leaders.
A source revealed to National Daily that the leaders were consulted by some northern leaders who complained that they cannot trust Tinubu.
The northern leaders also believe that President Buhari may not contest in the 2019 election as there are rumours that he has purportedly signed an agreement with the party to have just one shot at the presidency.
The feeling among the leaders is that Tinubu strategically placed the vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to take over from Buhari in 2019. Osinbajo was the attorney general of Lagos state under Tinubu.
Atiku, Tambuwal and Kwankwaso are all said to be eyeing the presidency in 2019, which is why they are all undermining Tinubu’s influence in the party.
Meanwhile, Tinubu has ordered Saraki and Dogara to apologise to him via newspapers in order to pacify him.
