* His Ordeal Is A Judgment From God - Bode George
*Pulling ACN Bloc Out Now Will Be Premature- Ubani
Despite
the far-reaching decisions taken by the National Executive Committee
(NEC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) last week, the
crisis rocking the party appears far from being over, Daily Independent
has gathered.
Findings by our correspondent revealed that some
loyalists of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, National Leader of APC, who are
apparently miffed by the latest developments in the party, are
demanding a pull-out of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) fold from
the APC family on the basis that there are plans by some power brokers
to muscle out Tinubu from the affairs of the party.
It
would be recalled that the APC came into existence in February 2013
following a merger that involved the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)
led by Tinubu, Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) led by President
Muhammadu Buhari, All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) led by Ogbonnaya
Onu, and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) led by
Rochas Okorocha, former governor of Imo State.
Following the
multiple litigations and leadership tussle in the party which led to
the suspension of the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, President
Buhari and the NEC last Thursday dissolved the National Working
Committee (NWC) and constituted a Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention
Planning Committee headed by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, to reset
the party.
Though sources said he was not in support of the
meeting, Tinubu, in a statement at the weekend, praised President
Buhari, saying he acted like a true father to save the party from
disintegration with the dissolution of the NWC.
He also appealed to members of the dissolved NWC to sheathe their sword and see the larger picture of the development.
Tinubu
also declared that he had not made a decision on contesting the 2023
presidency, expressing pity for those who insinuate that President
Buhari had ended his purported 2023 presidential ambition with the
NWC’s dissolution.
A key loyalist of Tinubu and former member of
the House of Representatives, who spoke on condition of anonymity with
our correspondent, said all was still not well within the party.
He
said the CPC wing of the APC was trying to hijack the party while
scheming out other political parties that contributed to the success the
APC enjoys today.
“Honestly, if we want to be sincere, APC is
APC. Following the merger, we shouldn’t be talking of ACN, CPC, ANPP,
APGA or nPDP again.
“In 2013, we all agreed to bury our various political parties and queue behind a single political entity called the APC.
“Nigerians believed in us, retrieved their mandate from the PDP and gave it to us in 2015.
“But
if you have been following events before and after the 2019 general
elections, it is very clear that the CPC wing is trying to sideline
other political parties in the arrangement, especially the ACN, which is
the dominant party in the merger.
“They have been playing hide
and seek, but last week they decided to show their true colour with what
happened at the NEC meeting.
“I can assure you that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was not carried along in the whole arrangement.
“I
read his statement on Saturday approving the decisions taken at the
NEC but I must tell you he did that just because he is a loyal party
man and elder statesman who will always do everything to protect the
image of the party.
“But we, his loyalists, have been
discussing. We are unhappy with what is happening and we won’t
hesitate to pull out if we get the green light to do so.”
Also
speaking, Mikhail Balogun, another loyalist of Tinubu, said there were
plans to cripple the ACN bloc led by Tinubu by some powerbrokers in the
APC.
“I don’t think the crisis in the APC is over. Far from it! From what is happening, the Northern plot is on.
“I
have a feeling that the APC is planning to field a Northern
presidential candidate and the nomination of Governor Mai Mala Buni, a
core CPC member, as the Caretaker Committee chairman, is part of the
strategies to realise that plan.
“I have a feeling that the
Yobe governor will definitely conduct a convention that will throw up a
chairman who will deliver a Northern agenda. Let’s just wait and see,”
he said.
Speaking on the latest development, Chief Olabode
George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), said Tinubu’s latest ordeal in the APC did not come to him
as a surprise.
George, who said Tinubu was already receiving
judgment from God, added that the problem of the former Lagos State
governor began when he started laying claims to being the ‘national
leader’ of the party even though he occupied no elective position.
He
argued that in a presidential system of government, the president is
the national leader in a ruling political party and not any individual,
no matter how highly placed.
He said: “From the very beginning, I
used to tell them that the party, APC, is a congregation of strange
bedfellows. When you have a big party like that and someone wants to
hijack it, there will be a problem.
“First of all, it is a
misnomer in a presidential system for a man who is not elected into any
position to come out and say he is the national leader of the party.
“How is that possible? There is only one national leader of the party and that is the president.”
When
asked if Tinubu should pull the ACN bloc out of APC as being canvassed
by his loyalists, George said: “That is his decision. I can’t decide for
him.
“For me, when you start seeing the signal, if he is a very clever person, he will recall himself and have a deep introspection.
“If he thinks he can run Nigeria the way he did to Lagos, he is making a mistake,” he added.
Also
speaking, Monday Ubani, a former Second Vice-President of the Nigerian
Bar Association (NBA), said it would be very premature for Tinubu to
pull out of the APC now.
“It will not be wise for him to pull out
now because unless he has concrete evidence that he has been
sidelined, it is just speculation based on what just transpired
recently.
“Among the political parties that joined forces to form the APC, the ACN led by Tinubu was the major partner in that venture.
“I don’t think it will be right for him to be advised now to pull out. It will be very premature for him to do so,” he said.
1 Comments
Order Dan-gote3Xcement directly from the factory at a promo price of 1,300 per bag & Rice for 10,000 Naira per bag.This is for individuals buying above a hundred bags and trailer loads of six & nine hundred bags.Also get your foreign used EXCAVATOR,TIPPER TRUCK,DREDGER AND CONCRETE MIXER at the best prices and with a high performance quality.Kindly contact the marketing manager Alhaji Shehu Abubakar on 08133549055 for your booking and delivery takes two days.
ReplyDelete