Search for Consensus Candidates Responsible for Delay in APC National Convention

Chuks Okocha

The search for an ‘anointed and trusted’ consensus national chairmanship candidate and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been identified as the main reason why the ruling party has yet to conduct its national convention and congresses across the wards and 36 states as well as the Federal Capital Territory.

Also, the delay was said to being machinated to give room for proper reconciliation in states like Rivers, Ogun, Kwara and others, where there are still controversies over the revalidaation of the membership register of the party.

Twice last week, the party wrote to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to suspend dates for the wards and states congresses that would lead to the national convention.

On July 6, 2021, National Secretary of the Caretaker Committee, Senator John Akpanudodehehe and four days later, it rescinded the earlier letter.

THISDAY reliably gathered that the indecision on the date for the national convention may not be unconnected to the fact that the leadership of APC has not been able to reach agreement on a candidatethat would be acceptable to all the interests in the party for national chairmanship.
Some members of the APC, like Senator Rochas Okorocha, it would be recalled, has said the only string holding the APC together was the person of President Muhammadu Buhari as the party woulddisintegrate after his administration.

A top source disclosed to THISDAY that the ruling party didn’t want to conduct an elective convention, because of the fear of the outcome could polarise the party and the consequence, devastating.

According to the source, “There are four prominent names contesting for the office of the national chairman, but the top leaders believes that the next chairman must be a person that has the capacity to hold the party intact in a post Muhammadu Buhari era.

“There is the fear that without a consensus candidate for the office of national chairman, the outcome of the convention could leave the party in a position that would post a negative implication as the 2023 general election is fast approaching.

“We have aspirants like former governors and Senators Abdullahi Adamu, George Akume, Al-Mankura and Saliu Mustapha – all of them from the North Central zone”.

The source, however, said the national convention was crucial, because it would help decide the zoning of other offices both in the executive arm and sharing of offices in the National Assembly.

According to the source, the North Central zone seemed to have been chosen, because it was a balancing zone to both the north and the southern part of the country.

It was further gathered in line with the just concluded APC National Youth Conference and the Not-Too-Young to Run Act assented to last year by the president, the party wanted to assuage the youths by ensuring that younger persons were giving opportunity in the administrative organ of the party.

Sources held the view that the party’s hierarchy was not comfortable with former governors as national chairmen, bearing in mind their perceived authoritarian nature and the last experience with Adams Oshiomhole, whose tenure nearly caused problems in the party.

For instance, THISDAY learnt that Senators Abdullahi Adamu, Tanko Al-Mankura, George Akume and Danjuma Goje are either in their late 60s or early seventies, whereas Saliu Mustapha is about 49 years old and is a former deputy national chairman of Buhari’s defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)

In the just concluded APC Youth Conference attended by President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Oshibajo and members of the Federal Executive Council, the conference conveyed the importance of utilising the voting strength of the youths.

At the conference, speaker after speaker underscored the importance of the youths, as they claimed that over 70 per cent of voters in the 2019 general election were young men and women.
That aside, the source said the other reason was that the APC was waiting for the PDP to make a move where its national chairman will be coming from.

“We are not in a rush. Politics is all about calculation. We must know where our major opponent, the PDP is going. You don’t expect us to shoot and box ourselves into a corner. Everything is planning with tactics,” he said.

Indications from some of its state chapters suggested that the party was still neck-deep in the crisis that led to the setting up of the caretaker committee.

According to a major party source, many state chapters were currently enjoying the peace of the graveyard.

For example, the source said the Ekiti State chapter has been enmeshed in a silent war between the governor’s faction and others, leading to suspension and counter suspension of members.

In the same vein, the source explained that the Kwara State chapter has remained in a deep crisis, explaining that the statement credited to the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that there would no congress until everybody was registered, clearly indicated that all was not well with the state chapter of APC.

According to the source, “With former Senate President, Bukola Saraki restrategising to stage a comeback, it is clear that the APC must put its house in order in Kwara, if it must retain its seat in the coming elections. The minister was also quoted as describing the state governor as a ‘one-chance governor’.