APC wakes up from slumber amid ADC revival?

Last week, after several months of prevarications and sustained suspense, politicians in opposition parties and some from the ruling All Progressives Congress,  ( APC ) under the platform, National Coalition of Political Opposition Movement in Nigeria, finally birthed in the African Democratic Congress (ADC).  The formal unveiling and inauguration of the interim national chairman and secretary of the ADC enlivened the nation political space, as leading figures and spokespersons of the ADC and the ruling party launched into tirades.

Why we are here?

Chieftain of the erstwhile ruling party, the People’s Democratic Party and two term Senate President, Senator David Mark and former Osun State governor and immediate past Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola were announced as Interim national chairman and national secretary, respectively by former national chairman of the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, who declared that himself and certain members of the ADC took the decision to dislodge themselves as National officers as part of personal sacrifices to save Nigeria’s democracy.

David Mark, in his inaugural speech, enumerated in unmistakable words,  the vision which informed the decision of the political gladiators across the political parties, including some of the leading figures in the APC to coalesce in the ADC: “to  rescue our country and save our hard-won democracy.” The former president of the Senate gave a damning verdict on the Bola Ahmed Tinubu which he accused of hijacking  all democratic institutions  and determined to send the  country on a creeping descent into total civilian dictatorship. He said:”The blatant destabilisation and infiltration of all major opposition political parties is aimed at achieving only one objective, to enhance total state capture and leave Nigerians with no alternative or options in 2027. This coalition is to prevent our country’s descent into a one-party state. We have never seen a government so much at home with corruption, a government that disdains accountability in all ramifications. A government more concerned with the next election rather than the survival of the ordinary Nigerians. A government so totally consumed with politicking that governance is abandoned, while the majority of our people wallow in hunger and poverty.

“We have never seen this level of insecurity across the length and breadth of our nation. Bandits and kidnappers kill Nigerians at will and on daily basis. Yet, this ongoing tragedy has not moved the government to any action that would stop these mindless killings and stem the tide of needless bloodshed. Indeed, the Nigerian people deserve a government that protects them and make them feel safe in their own homes. “

The new chairman of the ADC was equally unsparing of the 10th National Assembly as he dismissed the legislature under the present administration as an appendage of the Executive arm.  “Equally disturbing, is the total emasculation of the legislative institution. Never in our history, have we witnessed a National Assembly where legislators, the trustees of the very bastion of our democracy, saddled with the sacred duty to protect Nigerians from misuse of executive power, are reduced to cheerleaders and praise singers of the President, head of the executive arm. Without doubt, the transformation of Nigeria’s National Assembly to a mere appendage of presidential authority is a dangerous conspiracy against the Nigerian people. “It is the reason why the government is able to get away with various whimsical, unconstitutional policies and actions or inactions that have reduced more Nigerians to abject poverty and widened the boundaries of insecurity and fear.

“It is imperative to state that our democracy has a history, which is the reason why we all affirm that the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain. Today, the labour of our heroes is under vicious attack and our Republic faces a mortal danger. This coalition is therefore for all Nigerians who share in our belief that all of us, the young and the old, man and woman, rich and poor, living with disabilities or not, town dwellers or villagers, we all have the patriotic duty to save our country,” he said.

Nigeria’s future in its past?

While Mark’s speech, which expressed concern over the state of the economy and the  attendant misery resonated with Nigerians, checks however revealed that the  populace is equally cynical about the capacity of those who were gathered at Yar’Adua Centre, last Wednesday and gave a pledge to  turn around their fortunes. Nigerians are miffed that some of the  politicians who squealed against misrule  by the PDP under Dr Goodluck Jonathan and formed the APC, which ultimately, put an end to 16 years of PDP  grip on the nation are in the vanguard of the plot to ground the same government  they helped put in place in 2015. The list included, former Vice president, Atiku Abubakar; former Chairman of the APC, John Odigie-Oyegun; former Secretary to Government of the Federation, Engineer Babachir Lawal;former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai; former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and his counterpart in the Interior Ministry, Aregbesola.

Among those who have also abandoned the APC were former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami ( SAN); need a former Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Dalung. In the mix are also those facing alleged corruption charges, the likes of former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.

Reacting in a frenzy to the adoption of the ADC by the coalition, National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Felix Morka, in a statement, described members of his ruling party and the opposition parties who have joined the ADC as “a coalition of hoaxers and self-obsessed merchants of vendetta, a roll call of Nigeria’s me-or-nothing politicians, who equate their selfish interest with the interest of Nigerians, who cannot bear to be out of the corridors of power and patronage, who are desperate to grab power for themselves by guile and subterfuge, who lay claim to an immoral birthright to power, even while draped in odious record of betrayal of public trust, and rapacious public service.”

One of the presidential spokespersons, Sunday Dare,  also claimed at the weekend  that there was no vacancy in 2027,  at the Aso Rock Villa, the country seat of power.  “The Presidency already rests with the region rightfully due. And that’s where it will be till 2031,” he said. Dare further argued that the ADC lacks the discipline and capacity to record the feat achieved by the APC which dislodged the PDP  in 2015. He said:” In 2013, the merger that birthed the APC was driven by selflessness, national interest, and strategic discipline. The leaders at the time were willing to set aside personal ambitions for the greater good. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, despite commanding the loyalty of several sitting Governors, chose to wait. He bided his time, played the long game, and focused on building a viable political platform.” He boasted that no one among the likely contenders for the ADC presidential candidate is formidable enough to oust the incumbent President Tinubu at the next general elections. “He had never lost an election, and he didn’t have to force his way in. He added: “Today, no one in this coalition commands that kind of loyalty or trust. Not one of them could genuinely unite a ward, let alone a country. No one comes close to parading the democratic credentials of President Bola Tinubu.”

Presidential ticket

Amidst the euphoria at the ADC national secretariat, discerning Nigerians take their optimism as a government in waiting as wishful thinking, not grounded in political reality. Checks revealed that contenders for the party presidential ticket include; Atiku, Peter Obi and Amaechi. The first two were presidential candidates of the PDP and the Labour Party while Amaechi came a distant second at the APC presidential convention where the incumbent President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerged as the ruling party standard bearer.

At the last presidential elections, Tinubu’s closest rival, Atiku polled a total votes of 6,984,520 while the LP candidate polled 6,101,533 to come a distant third.

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 Tinubu scored a total votes of  8,794,726. A successful alliance between the duo could create an upset for the APC in next general elections. Investigation however revealed that no one among the aspirants is willing to let go his ambition. 

Prior to the gathering at the Yar’Adua Centre, Obi  made a pledge  to serve for one term if given the opposition party presidential ticket.Speaking on Channels Television programme, Politics Today on Sunday night, Obi dismissed report of a deal to pair with former presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar as the latter running mate. He said: “ I am going to contest Nigeria’s presidency. I am a member of the ADC but nobody has discussed with me to be VP. I don’t know where that is coming from. You journalists assume a lot.” The former vice president who made a similar commitment  to do one term, prior to last general election has however kept his cards to his chest on his 2027 ambition.

Speaking on the same programme, Amaechi declared that the ADC must be willing to concede its ticket to the South, an arrangement which could preclude the ubiquitous and resilient Atiku from the race. He said: “Nigeria belongs to all of us. We cannot sustain a democracy where one region dominates, while others are locked out. The South has capable leaders. It’s time to restore balance and deliver real results. This election is no longer about party loyalty. It is Nigerians versus the political elite. If you want change, real change, then it’s time to rise. The South is ready to lead. We’re building a platform that gives every Nigerian a voice, and hope.”

Nigerians are not bemused that the trio and  leading figures in the ADC are not willing to walk the talks in subordinating their individual aspirations and nurture a formidable alliance against Tinubu.

Fear over presidential slot misplaced?

Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, interim national publicity secretary of the ADC, in a recent interview,  however declared that what is paramount to stakeholders in the party was how to build the platform to a formidable structure. He maintained that the focus is on nurturing a party  that would inspire the confidence of Nigerians to see it as a credible, alternative platform. He stated: “ I can tell you that at this moment, nobody in ADC is talking about presidential ambition yet. Everybody is talking about building a political party, because we know that what is at stake is bigger than any individual or individual ambition. It is about the people of Nigeria.”