National chairman of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Chief John Odigie- Oyegun, last Tuesday, survived the orchestrated plot for his removal. The aggrieved party chieftains and its ordinary faithful were stupefied as the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party passed a vote of confidence in Oyegun and his team. The NEC was also silent on when the meeting of the highest organ of the ruling party, the national convention, would be convened. Senior Deputy Editor, TAIWO AMODU, unveils the forces that ensured victory for the former Edo State governor at both the National Caucus and NEC meetings.
CONTRARY to expectation of a turbulent and rancorous session, the meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Executive Committee (NEC) turned out to be an anti-climax. The plot to remove its national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, was nipped in the bud and a vote of confidence passed in his administration.
Before last Monday and Tuesday meetings of the National Caucus and NEC of the party, certain leaders of the party had expressed disdain over Odigie-Oyegun’s handling of party matters and were smarting to pull the rug under his feet.
The aggrieved include former Lagos State governor, Senator Bola Tinubu, former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, and certain governors on the party platform working in league with these leaders.
Sunday Tribune findings revealed that in September 2016, Tinubu had demanded the removal of Odigie-Oyegun, as he accused the latter of shoddy handling of petition arising from the controversial primary of the party won by the anointed candidate of the Presidency in the Ondo State governorship election and governor-elect, Rotimi Akeredolu.
Tinubu, in a scathing statement entitled, “Oyegun’s Ondo fraud: The Violation of Democracy in the APC,” said the APC’s democratic credentials had been dealt a big blow by Odigie-Oyegun’s conduct, especially with his handling of the outcome of the Ondo State governorship primary.
He further noted that the APC was a party borne out of the quest for democratic good governance, arguing that the ideology was currently under a critical threat ‘’by those who managed to be in the party but were never part of it.’’
“If the party cannot justly govern itself, it will find it difficult to establish and maintain just government throughout the nation,” he had said.
On October 8, 2016, the APC National Chairman released a full response to the allegations levelled against him by Tinubu, over the outcome of the Ondo State governorship primary election.
Oyegun, in a rejoinder he personally signed entitled ‘The Facts – 2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Election Primaries,’’ described the contents of the widely publicised statement by the media office of Tinubu as “reckless and baseless.”
Reacting to Tinubu’s statement, Oyegun said he was angered by the false accusation of corruption, rigging the outcome of the primary and overruling the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) “vote” on the Election Appeal Committee Report.
He noted that: “This reckless and baseless corruption allegation levelled against me is unfortunate and an insult to my person and my hard-earned reputation which I have strongly maintained. Nobody has the kind of money that can buy my conscience or make me do injury to an innocent man.
“In all the primaries conducted under my watch as National Chairman, I have strived to ensure a free, fair, transparent and credible process. The 2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election was not an exception. There must be internal democracy in the Party and our constitution must be respected by all.”
Oyegun further maintained that he did not overrule any NWC’s vote of “six against five” in favour of cancelling the primary election results and conducting another primary during the 18th emergency meeting of the APC NWC held from Monday, September 19, 2016 to Thursday, September 22, 2016 in Abuja as alleged by Tinubu.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has equally accused the APC under Chief Oyegun and other political parties of lacking in democratic credentials.
Speaking last August as chairman at an interactive session organised by the Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria, at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, the former vice-president submitted that lack of internal democracy has been the major challenge of political parties in Nigeria, since the restoration of civilian rule in 1999.
Apparently reacting to failure of the APC NWC to call meetings of statutory organs of the party, the former vice-president expressed concern that stakeholders in the ruling party were in the dark about development in their party.
“Democracy is not just an idea; it is a cultural practice. For a number of years now we have had political parties, even governing ones, which hardly hold meetings of their important organs, including those meant for the democratic selection of their leadership, or even constitute institutions prescribed in their constitution. In the absence of those meetings and elections, their existing leadership, often under the direction of the Executive at the state or federal level, fill the void. That’s not party building but party bullying.
“And it’s certainly not a way to democratise parties and aggregate their members’ opinions, interests and aspirations.’’
Sunday Tribune checks revealed that the party has no Board of Trustees (BoT) in place in contravention of its constitution while the provision of same constitution which stipulates that convention must be held once in two years has been observed in the breach as no convention of the party has been convened since Chief Oyegun’s emergence as chairman in 2014.
Though not joining forces with Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at a recent forum of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) accused Chief Oyegun of lack of focus. “I think there is no APC member that will tell you he is happy with the state of affairs of the party; there is a lot of work that we need to do.
“The party that hasn’t met for a long time it’s beyond comprehension and I think that we should all quickly put that in order and start to get NEC, caucus and others going.
“We need to start early to get the drive in the party back. Luckily, in spite of the lack of meetings here and there, if you go round the 36 states, it is in just few states, not many states, where you may see internal crisis.
“It’s not that the party, at the grassroots level, had a lot of crisis here and there; it’s just for the administrative aspect and the national executive to provide leadership, ’’ Saraki submitted.
But what was the string pulled by Oyegun led national working committee to ward off the nerve racking impeachment move? How did the same man rally forces to get the party NEC pass a vote of confidence in his team?
Checks revealed that besides certain governors of North-West and North-East who met President Muhammadu Buhari penultimate Friday ahead of the caucus meeting, Senate President, Saraki actually met with President Buhari and was able to convince him why he must ensure that Oyegun was not sacked.
According to a party source, President Buhari was indifferent to report of plot to sack Odigie-Oyegun, until the Senate president told him in clear terms of the danger inherent in losing the party national secretariat to the estranged national leader of the party and former Lagos state governor, Senator Tinubu.
According to the party source, Saraki explained to Buhari that in the event of the removal of Odigie-Oyegun, the next principal officer recognised by the party constitution to replace, him, deputy national chairman, South, Segun Oni, is a die-hard Tinubu loyalist.
Sunday Tribune checks revealed that in the event that the former Ekiti State governor resigns from his position to seek a fresh mandate in his state, the person to succeed him, if Odigie-Oyegun was sacked, Shuaibu Lawan, deputy national chairman, (North) is another loyalist of the former Lagos State governor.
Article 14.2, (i), (ii), (iii) of the APC Constitution, (October 2014, as amended) reads: ‘’ The deputy national chairmen, North/South shall:
(i) Assist the National chairman in the discharge of his duties;
(ii) Perform such function as may be assigned to him, from time to time by the National Executive Committee and National Working Committee;
(iii) Shall act as the national chairman in the absence of the national chairman from his zone.
The party source further revealed that it was that meeting that shaped the position President Buhari to galvanise forces to save Odigie-Oyegun. At the last Tuesday NEC meeting, the party chieftains merely passed a vote of confidence in the duo of President Buhari and Odigie-Oyegun: the former, for his administration of the country and the latter for his diligence in managing the party effectively, despite enormous challenges.
Speaking with newsmen before the NEC meeting, Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong and his Imo State counterpart, Rochas Okorocha, offered an illumination of the likely outcome of the meeting, as they both described the crisis within the ruling party as a storm in a tea cup.
Lalong said: “It was the usual excitement in politics. We all saw that before the caucus meeting on Monday that there were so many issues that people were even thinking that the end of APC has come.
“But for those of us who have been in politics, we know that it is good to develop that kind of atmosphere and finish everything when you get to the meeting.
“As far as we are concerned, APC is one united family and we proved that with the very peaceful caucus meeting on Monday with our well respected president in attendance. He, to all of us, appeared even more healthier now than before and very active.
“The meeting was very brief and as brothers we resolved many issues that mostly centered on encouragement for him to give Nigerians good governance and carry the party along.
“What will be the biggest take away is to roll out a brand new APC devoid of wrangling. I want to assure you that you won’t see a wrangling party after the meeting. From now onwards, it will be focused governance from Mr President and all the governors from the states. We have all resolved to support Mr. President.’’
Governor Okorocha, who incidentally is the chairman APC Governors’Forum dismissed media report of crisis in the party as over exaggerated and further assured that the party would come out of it better united than before .
“This is perhaps one of the most vital NEC meetings that will tell the whole world as to the strength of this party. From the caucus meeting of last night, we can see light at the end of the dark tunnel. APC is coming out of the woods and we are set to take over the nation like we have always done. It is going to get better and better.
“Mr. President is showing the right leadership and taking the very right steps and there is reconciliation going on even with nobody talking about it. There is the spirit of reconciliation and people understand their role.
“Our role is to make this party great and we are all trying to do that. The governors have remained the pivot upon which the wheels of change have rotated. So far, we have kept this party working and after this meeting, our congresses and convention will commence in the early part of next year and all party organs will be strengthened. We are in good mood and high spirits.’’
No date for convention? The expectation of Governor Okorocha and ordinary APC faithful was, however, dashed as the NEC meeting was silent on a date for its convention.
Speaking with newsmen at a joint briefing shortly after the meeting, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and APC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said no date was given for the convention but revealed that there would be another round of meetings.
“There was paper on the line of activities that the party is meant to embark upon. There wasn’t a definitive and conclusive date on the party convention because it is something in the work and judging from yesterday›s meeting, I understand that the party will fine tune this and then there will be another round of meetings where the specifics and details will be approved.’’
For a party without a Board of Trustees in place and no definitive pronouncement on conduct of its convention, less than two years to general election, Chief Odigie-Oyegun and President Buhari have effectively shut out other critical stakeholders in the amorphous ruling party.
With several proclamations for automatic 2019 presidential ticket for Buhari in the air, will the like of Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Tinubu pull out of the party? The answer lies in the belly of time …
and then