APC convention: Will North-East retain chairmanship seat?

As stakeholders in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) prepare for its forthcoming convention, TAIWO AMODU examines developments in the camps of contestants for the post of national chairman.

Ahead the anticipated national convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress, the Caretaker Committee is contending with a fresh hurdle: the zoning arrangement of which of the six geo-political zones will produce national chairman.While there is no formal pronouncement on zoning of party and elective offices in the APC Constitution, all the aspirants for the position of national chairman are from the three zones in the North.

A breakdown of the aspirants shows that two are from the North-West: former Zamfara State governor, Abdul Aziz Yari and Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi. The North-East has three contenders: former Bauchi State governor and former Minister of Aviation, Mallam Isa Yuguda; former Borno State governor and ex-national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff and Sylvester Moniedafe.

The North-Central, however, has the highest number of contestants, with five chieftains of the party, scheming to succeed Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni to run the national secretariat of the APC. The aspirants from North-Central are: Mohammed Etsu; senator representing Niger East, Sani Musa; former deputy national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), Mallam Saliu Mustapha; a former governor of Nasarawa state and senator representing Nasarawa South, Tanko Al-Makura and former Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Honourable. Bawa Bwari.

North-East ambush

Investigation reveal that the battle for chairman, which is almost taken as a three horse race between the main contenders from the North-Central, appears to have taken a fresh dramatic twist as the North East is pushing to retain the exalted seat.

Those behind the fresh move to frustrate zoning of the national chairmanship seat to the North-Central are advancing the narrative that the North-East be allowed to retain the seat, citing precedence. It was discovered that after the removal of former Edo State governor and chieftain of defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), Chief Odigie Oyegun as national chairman, another stalwart from the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), who incidentally was also a former governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole succeeded him to retain the seat in the South-South zone.

The proponents of micro-zoning to North-East also recalled that even an appointive position in the Presidency, the office of Secretary to Government of the Federation, (SGF), was not taken out of the North-East when Engineer Babachir Lawal, was relieved of his position. Boss Mustapha is also from same Adamawa State in the North-East.

ANPP permutation

In the vanguard of the agitation that the office of national chairman be retained in the North East are chieftains of the defunct ANPP.A party source told our correspondent that the leaders of the ANPP  bloc areclaiming that they have not been adequately compensated by the ruling party, despite the bloc’s contribution to ensure the success of the merger deal  of the erstwhile main opposition party, which birthed in February 2013. “Despite the fact that it had governors that cut across the three geo political zones in the North, the defunct ANPP has nothing to show in concrete terms,” a leader from the zone said. Nigerian Tribune checks however revealed that the narrative appears not plausible:  four chieftains of the defunct ANPP held strategic positions in the substantive national working Committee that succeeded the pioneer national executive led by Chief Bisi Akande.  While Odigie-Oyegun (ANPP) emerged as national chairman, another chieftain of defunct ANPP, Buni (incidentally the chairman of the All Progressives Congress Caretaker/Extraodinary Convention Planning Committee) was national secretary. Others were George Moghalu and Emma Eneukwu, national Auditor and national vice Chairman (South-East).

Who does the cap fit in North-East?

Among the three aspirants from the North-East, two of them are former governors, who had political sojourns in the ANPP: Ali Modu-Sheriff, former governor of Borno State and Isa Yuguda, fex-Bauchi governor. Mallam Yuguda was first elected in April 2007, on the ANPP platform. In April 2009, he changed allegiance from the ANPP to the PDP.

Ali Modu Sheriff was two term governor on the platform of the ANPP and later emerged Chairman of its Board of Trustees (BoT).He was chairman of the PDP between 2016 and 2017 when the Supreme Court pronounced a former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi as chairman.

Another aspirant from the North-East, Moniedafe from Adamawa, has his home state under the firm grip of the opposition party, just like Isa Yuguda’s Bauchi. Moniedafe belonged to the defunct ACN. Allies of Modu-Sheriff believe he is the only aspirant among his rivals from North-East with the APC as home state governor puts him in good stead to get the endorsement of Mai Mala Buni, Babagana Zulum and Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, governors of Yobe, Borno and Gombe states, respectively for the office.

Senator Ali Modu Sheriff may however need endorsement of his home state governor, Babagana Zulum and the immediate past Borno Governor, Kashim Shettima. His relationship with the duo is perceived as frosty.

Speaking with newsmen recently, Modu-Sheriff maintained that he has warm relationship with the incumbent governor and KashimShettima.He said: “I am instrumental in what has become of everybody in Borno State today without any kind of contradiction, apart from Zulum, who is not my product, because he was an academician and not a politician. Aside him, everybody in any position today in Borno in one way or the other has benefited from me. And I have no problem with any one of them. Maybe, it is just a perception. I have shared my ambition with everybody in Borno, including Shettima that you are talking about. I have discussed with them one on one.

“The governor is the leader of the party in the state and I have gone and discussed with him about my ambition and aspiration. So, you don’t go out without talking to your home base. In that respect, I have been talking to all of them. I am carrying all of them along in my aspirations. Saying that we are not in talking terms is just perception; it’s not correct. I have no problem with any of them.”

Modu-Sheriff also argued that being a former governor, the forum of APC Governors would be anxious to have him on board as national chairman.”Concerning the governors’ forum, I don’t think there is any governor I haven’t visited as of today. I am making consultations with all the governors. Apart from being leaders of the party in the states, they are leaders of this country in all aspects of life. Anybody who can run a state as being elected by his people to become a governor must be respected. Therefore, I am sure every governor will like his party to always win. He wants to see a chairman that will be feared by the party’s opponents. I am going to work with them as leaders of the states and people that are stakeholders of this party, people who collectively will decide the future of our party with the president on top,” he said.

Conflict of interest? 

As Modu-Sheriff supporters relish the leverage of their candidate being the only one from the APC-controlled states among his rivals from the zone, sources hinted that what they take as asset could also be an albatross. Speculation is rife that the Borno State governor is nursing an ambition to run on same ticket with a certain  presidential aspirant while the immediate past governor and Senator representing Borno Central, Kashima Shettima also positioning himself for the VP ticket in the camp of former Lagos governor and Presidential hopeful, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Yobe governor and Chairman of the APC CECPC, Buni has equally been alleged to be plotting to retain the position of national chairman. Mamman Mohammed, Director General (Press) to Governor Buni, however, dismissed the insinuation while speaking with our correspondent. He said: “It is mere speculation that we longer want to react to. Even some have speculated that he wants to be Vice-President. All these are not true. In fact, we are beginning to see it as witch-hunt.  Governor Buni focus is to continue to deliver on his mandate as Yobe state governor and give the party faithful a transparent national convention.