By Our Reporters
Nigeria’s political history has a fairly long record of many nights of long knives but pundits of politics were unanimous on this point as regards the National Convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC): Never in recent memory has the nation witnessed the ‘bloodbath’ which flowed from the cloak-dagger politics of consensus which played out at the APC convention on Saturday, 26 March, 2022 at the Eagle Square Abuja.
According to one of a number of political analysts drawn by The Dream Daily Newspaper in a quick, informal straw poll as the event unfolded, what transpired at the Eagle Square, Abuja venue of the convention “was a long night of politicking bordering on straight-faced knavery in which many promising ambitions of both old aspirants and young bloods in the fold of the APC were slaughtered on the vaunted alter of consensus politics, without any sliver of remorse, by the party’s bosses, including President Muhammadu Buhari, all for the long view and preparatory to a gloves-off presidential primaries of the APC.”
The analysts were also unanimous in their drawn conclusion that the APC effectively dropped any pretenses to progressive politics as the party divested itself completely of aspirants with progressive credentials in key offices in the national executive elected at the convention, preferring to hand over these posts to dye-in-the-wool conservative elements who were not privy to its formation towards the 2015 General Elections.
“You tell me, is Abdullahi Adamu a progressive politician? What of Omisore?”, quipped one pundit
In fact, analysts who spoke with Dream Daily Newspaper were vociferous in insisting that the APC has now morphed into the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at its 2014-2015 nadir when a motley of other parties, notably the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and factions from other parties, including from the PDP, coalesced into the APC to wrestle power from the PDP, including at the Presidential level.
Specifically, the public commentators pointed to the emergence – by consensus – of former PDP Governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu as National Chairman, ex-Deputy Governor of Osun State, Chief Iyiola Omisore, as national secretary of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), as indicating that PDP elements were now in firm control of the APC.
Other former PDP stalwarts now elected into the APC NWC are Festus Fuanter, deputy national secretary; F.N. Nwosu, national welfare secretary; Mustapha Salihu, national vice-chairman (north-west); Muazu Bawa Rjau, national vice chairman (north-central); Nze Chidi Duru, deputy national organizing secretary; Ahmed El-Marzuk, national legal adviser; Uguru Matthew Ofoka, national treasurer; Betta Edu, national women leader; Abubakar Maikafi, national auditor.
Other elected executives of the APC included Senator Abubakar Kyari (Borno State), Deputy National Chairman (North); Emma Eneukwu (Enugu State), Deputy National Chairman (South); Salihu Lukman (National Vice Chairman, North-West), Ijeoma Arodiogwu (National Vice Chairman, South-East), Victor Giadom (National Vice Chairman, South-South), Isaac Kekemeke (National Vice Chairman, South-West); Bashir Gumel (Financial Secretary), Suleiman Argungu (National Organising Secretary); Abdullahi Israel (National Youth Leader), Tolu Bankole (Special Persons Leader); Felix Morka (National Publicity Secretary); Bashir Gumel (National Financial Secretary), Ibrahim Salawu (Deputy National Legal Adviser) and Omorede Osifo (Deputy National Treasurer).
The consensus arrangement under which the NWC was produced was no smooth sail, the most contentious on the night being the emergence of Omisore. It took a long time of political brinkmanship on the part of the party bosses to corral Omisore’s challengers into lining up behind him and withdrawing their candidature.
The task of marshalling these pummeled aspirants to the podium to announce their acquiesce in the form of “stepping down” for Omisore was allocated to former Ogun State Governor, Chief Segun Osoba, who, limping on stage on half crutch, called out the obviously embittered contestants to announce their withdrawal.
The biggest scalp of the night appeared to be a former Minister under President Buhari , Alhaji Bayo Shittu, as he was humiliated on the pavilion in the macabre show of stepping down for Omisore.
The most memorably pathetic “stepping down” of the night surely goes to Mr. Dada Olusegun an aspirant for the national youth leader who climbed the stage and conceded to his opponent, Dayo Israel, in hot tears, urged on by the compere of consensus and Minister for Aviation, Hadi Sirika.
Mr. Olusegun, a vocal user of social media, has since become the butt of vicious jokes and banter on Twitter and other social media platforms.
However, some analysts claimed that CPC elements were actually still in control of the APC, insisting that “Adamu is there to do the bidding of President Buhari, primarily to make sure that the president’s preferred aspirant becomes the APC presidential candidate”.
But another commentator stated that “Omisore as national secretary is a big challenge to the president’s plan. We expect him to pursue the interest of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the NWC. I won’t cloak it in anything. Omisore is there to secure the APC presidential ticket for Asiwaju. Expect a big battle over this in the NWC. There is no two ways to it because we now understand that President Buhari is against Asiwaju.”
But some party chiefs who also spoke with The Dream Daily Newspaper allayed the fear that PDP elements were now in powerful positions in the APC NWC.
One of them stated: “There is nothing to fear. The exco members are APC members. I see it as an advantage for our party to even have former PDP leaders in our NWC. They know the inner workings of the PDP and they will strategise to neutralise them. They are not traitors in APC. They are now progressives and loyal partymen and women. It is PDP propaganda machinery that is spreading these lies about them. They are honourable politicians who will work hard for APC and we shall beat the PDP flat again in 2023.”
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