The first meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the ruling party since its decisive election victory should have been a celebration. That celebration is enveloped in a crisis its adversaries had foretold
By Levinus Nwabughiogu
Two reasons principally necessitated the meeting of the NEC expected to get underway later today.
They are polls victory celebration and the crisis that has engulfed the party following election of the presiding and principal officers in the two chambers of the National Assembly.
The celebration is necessary because APC, barely two years old, came from behind and unseated the 16-year-old Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which hitherto held sway in almost every part of the country’s politics.
From the presidency to the National Assembly down to the states, APC, in an aggressive change chant swept the polls thereby producing 59 Senators, over 200 Members of the House of Representatives and also snitched 22 out of 36 states into its kitty.
But this first reason isn’t going to form the basis for the meeting. It is the second one. APC immediately after the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly that saw the emergence of Dr. Bukola Saraki from Kwara State and Rep. Yakubu Dogara from Bauchi State as Senate President and Speaker of the House respectively on June 9 became enmeshed in an internal crisis.
President Muhammadu Buhari; Saraki, Senate President and Dogara, Speaker
Reason: Its preferred candidates; Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe State and Rep. Femi Gbajabiamlia from Lagos State, who emerged through a straw poll conducted in Abuja on June 6 for the positions didn’t win.
To worsen matters, the party also failed to secure the seats of principal officers: Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip for their preferred candidates on June 25.
On a similar note, names of anointed candidates for Majority Leader, Deputy Majority, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip refused to fly as Speaker Dogara reportedly declined to read a letter containing the names of the favoured choices on the floor of the House before both chambers proceeded for the short leave due to end on July 21.
So far, there have been accusations and counter-accusations. The blame game has continued unabated so much that it is threatening the continued functionality of the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun who had obviously been accused of switching sides to Saraki against the interests of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who apparently worked for his elevation as chairman.
Odigie-Oyegun has also been accused of gratification to facilitate the emergence of the Saraki. This was even as the deputy national publicity secretary of the party, Comrade Timi Frank who fired the first salvo of discord called for the chairman’s resignation following his resolve to conduct the straw polls.
While Frank alleged compromise between Oyegun and Tinubu’s camp to hold the mock election that favoured Lawan and Gbajabiamila, the Sarakis felt that the chairman worked against their ambitions.
But Speaking to Vanguard, Odigie-Oyegun who appeared unruffled by the kicks challenged both his accusers and traducers in the gratification poser.
“That is going on all the time. People are trying to push me in one direction or the other, but one thing I have to my credit is my neutrality. I don’t belong to any of the contending power blocs in the party. And of course, that has its price. And that is why you have heard a lot of it directed personally to smear me. I have built a reputation that has lasted for over 70 years. I don’t have to go and be taking peanuts from some political gladiators. So, whatever they try to do, they cannot smear my character. If anybody has given me gratification to do anything, let him come out and say so, where and when and how much.”
But while efforts were being made to resolve the discrepancies, former Interim national chairman of the party, Pa Bisi Akande turned in a letter that seems to have escalated the already bad situation.
Chronicling the processes that led to the birth of APC, Akande in his letter equivocally mouthed a conspiracy against the Southwest by the North.
To this end, the party, understandably at the instance of the national chairman summoned the meeting of the NEC.
Vanguard learnt that the meeting which is an expanded one would afford all aggrieved camps to lay bare their grievances.
According to the APC constitution, the NEC is composed of members of the national executive of the party, zonal leaders, and state chairmen.
Other members of the NEC are: the President, Vice-President, Senate President, Deputy Senate President, who are party members, Speaker, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who are members of the party, states’ governors, who are members of the party, Majority or Minority Leader, Chief Whips and Deputies in the Senate and House of Representatives, who are members of the party.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu
They also include two serving senators – elected on the party’s platform – from each of the six geo-political zones. They are to be nominated by the Senators from their zones. Three House of Representatives members – elected on the party’s platform – from each of the six geo-political zones and to be nominated by members from such zone, six ex-Officio members – one each to be elected by the national convention from each of the six geo-political zones, as well as serving chairman, deputy chairman and secretary of the BoT.
Enquiries by Vanguard indicated that outside the controversial National Assembly election and its spew, Akande’s “hate” letter would also be on the front burner for discussion at the meeting.
As a means to achieve peace, the meeting will afford members the opportunity to meet eyeball to eyeball and discuss issues. Hopefully, this would lead to the resolution of the seemingly soured relationship in both APC and national assembly.
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