APC, PDP crisis festers in Benue, Rivers, Enugu, Kebbi, Sokoto

LEADERS of the major political parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are grappling with varying degrees of crises across various state chapters, investigations by the Nigerian Tribune have shown.

Though there in semblance of calm and harmony in some states, there is a cold war and disquiet among party stalwarts over the control of party structures in other states.

The unbridled power tussle is most manifest in Benue, Rivers, Enugu, Kebbi, Lagos and Sokoto where the party leadership has had to wield the big stick by dissolving the state executive committees and replacing them with caretaker committees pending the conduct of congresses to elect new substantive exco members.

In Kebbi State, PDP is beset by multifaceted crises with allegations and counter-allegations among some chieftains of the party in the state.

For instance, a former governor of the state, Senator Adam Aliero has been accused of fraternizing with the APC at the national level preparatory to defecting to the party, with his supporters also being accused of anti-party activities.

In Sokoto, leaders of the major opposition PDP are digging in over who controls the party ahead of the state congress of the party.

The crisis according to a source, in the party is between loyalists of two former governors of the state: Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa and Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

A group led by a former gubernatorial aspirant of the party in the state, Professor Hamzat Muhammad Maishanu had, at a press conference, said the group is rejuvenating the PDP to takeover power in the state from APC in the 2027 election.

In Enugu, the battle for supremacy in APC chapter took another twist at the weekend as the leadership of Ugochukwu Agballa, announced the suspension of 20 members of the party for alleged gross indiscipline and disregard for the party constitution.

The action was a countermove against another faction of the party that earlier announced the suspension of Agballah, alongside other party officials.

The Agballah-led group announced the suspension of all those involved in the earlier action at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the party secretariat in Enugu.

Similarly, the PDP and the LP in the state are quarrelling over the defection of some LP members to the ruling PDP in the state.

In Benue, both PDP and APC are enmeshed in a protracted resulting in the emergence of factions, litigation and threats and counter-threats.

Last week, the national leadership of the PDP embarked on moves to curtail the raging fire in the Benue chapter with the inauguration of a caretaker committee.

The move became necessary as different groups within the party suspended the immediate past governor, Samuel Ortom and his predecessor, Gabriel Suswan.

The situation in Benue APC is also cacophonous as two factions have continued to fight for dominance, thus the decision of the national chairman of the party, Abdullahi Ganduje to replace the state exco of the party with a seven-member caretaker committee.

In Zamfara, the prolonged power tussle in the state chapter of the APC subsists as the member representing Kaura-named-Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency, Honourable Sani Jaji and his supporters recently created another faction within the party.

It should be recalled that Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa had also created his own faction, with the state chapter of the APC factionalised into three factions.

One is believed to be loyal to the Minister of Defence, Honourable Bello Mohammed, another to Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa, while the third is sympathetic to Honourable Sani Jaji.

For Ebonyi, the PDP in the state has been embroiled in crisis which began in the run-up to the 2023 general elections, resulting in its factionalization.

The appointment of an Enugu State indigene, Steve Oruruo as chairman of the caretaker committee to run the affairs of the party fueled a fresh crisis in the party leading to exit of some notable members, including former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim who has since joined the APC.

Before then, the Ebonyi South senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 3, 2024 by-election, Silas Onu had accused two chieftains of PDP as the mastermind of the leadership crisis in the Ebonyi PDP.

In Lagos, the powerbrokers in the state APC, alongside the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), are set to disband all political groups in the state.

According to the source, the decision to disband them was taken to reunite all groups, instill discipline in party members and reposition the APC for victory in subsequent elections.

The source also stated that the GAC, on the advice of President Bola Tinubu, contemplated announcing the dissolution in the first week of August at a stakeholders’ meeting but the action was overtaken by the recent protest against hardship in the country.

The source who disclosed that the dissolution would be announced in a matter of days, added that the disunity and unhealthy rivalry fuelled by political groups partly accounted for the defeat suffered by the party in Lagos during the 2023 presidential election.

In Rivers, the intractable friction within the PDP and the APC is responsible for the continued political tension in the state.

The root of the crisis is the maneuvers of politicians to manipulate and control the machinery of any of the political party that readily yields its structures to such politicians.

Currently, the Rivers chapter of the APC is in a new round of legal tussles over the leadership structure in the state.

This follows the dissolution of the Emeka Beke-led elected state executive committee by the national leadership of the party, with the appointment of a caretaker committee, led by Chief Tony Okocha to replace them.

And to further worsen the situation, the NWC under Abdullahi Umar-Ganduje came out to announce that it would continue to recognise and deal with the Tony Okocha-led Caretaker Committee as its leadership in Rivers.

On the part of the PDP, Wike is again being accused of trying to maintain control of the party structure from Abuja without allowing Fubara any say on how the party is run in the state, though the governor is supposed to be the leader of the party in the state.

In Oyo, there is calm in the ruling PDP and opposition parties like the APC and Labour Party (LP).

For both the PDP and APC, the tenure of their present executive council expires next year, when congresses are to be held to elect new set of excos.

While the chairman of the Oyo APC, Mr Isaac Omodewu died last week, his PDP counterpart, Mr Dayo Ogungbenro has been indisposed for over a year with his deputy, Mr James Olukunle and Secretary, Mr Wasiu Adeleke more visibly running the affairs of the party.

The Oyo APC vice chairman, Mr Olaide Abas and Secretary, Mr Tajudeen Olanite, who were on ground while Omodewu recuperated abroad till his demise, are expected to continue running the affairs of the party till the conduct of congresses next year.

As leader of the PDP in the state, Governor Seyi Makinde has a firm grip on the course that the party takes from time to time, while tendencies in the Oyo APC are to battle for the soul of the party ahead of its next congress.

In Kano, the executive members of the ruling New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) which humbled the APC from power in the 2023 general election, is intact, though the APC and the PDP also remain active.

In the Bauchi State chapter of the APC, all is not too well as the party has been polarised with two factions locked in a battle for supremacy after the 2023 elections.

For the PDP, it has conducted its ward and LG congresses, but the affairs of the ruling party is still being piloted by a caretaker committee.

The Labour Party (LP) in Adamawa State seems to have lost out in the battle for relevance in the state, as many now see the party as an extension of the ruling PDP in the state.

This is because of it seems to be at home with every policy and programme of the state government, no matter controversial.

On the whole, the situation appears calm in the other major parties, as they are said to be putting their house in order ahead of subsequent elections, especially the APC.

In Kwara, the APC and PDP in the state have used party supremacy to hold down members and supporters together, especially, aggrieved aspirants and candidates.

In the case of the ruling APC, the leadership has continued to harp on the need for harmony, while a former governor of the state, Dr. Bukola Saraki is the rallying figure for PDP members in the state.

The Ogun State chapter of the APC is not having any issues or crisis as the party at different levels is at peace under the chairmanship of Chief Yemi Sanusi and leadership of Governor Dapo Abiodun.

For the PDP, a caretaker committee has been put in place by the national leadership of the party to manage its affairs by conducting congresses from the ward to State levels.

In Ekiti state, there is little or no activity among major political parties in the state except the PDP where the party is preparing for a state congress.

The Ekiti state chapter of the PDP has been embroiled in protracted crisis which has defied series of troubleshooting efforts by different stakeholders and organs within the party.

While the party is battling the scourge of anti-party activities from top members and leaders, the issue of congresses to elect new executives from the ward, local government and state levels has also polarized the party in the state.

In the APC, while some members are gearing up and setting out strategies for the 2026 governorship election, the party is at the moment witnessing peace.

In Imo, it may be out of place to say that political parties in the state do not have any crisis.

However, in PDP, trouble started when the national body of the party raised its sledge hammer on some states in the country and ordered the dissolution of the state executive and set up a caretaker committee to man the affairs of the state until a congress is conducted to elect another set of excos of the party.

The APC as the ruling party, much crisis or issue has not yet been heard.

LP since after the last governorship election in the state has engaged in party revalidation new membership exercise across the 305 political wards and 27 Local Government Areas in the state.

READ ALSO: ‘You’re political liability’, Kogi PDP replies Dino Melaye