Last Tuesday’s humiliation of the ruling All Progressives
Congress, APC and the ensuing bad blood has drawn
assertions from its foes that the party was only formed to
win power and not to govern.
By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor
Chief Olisa Metuh, the National Publicity Secretary tried to
play down his enthusiasm over the distress of the ruling
party yesterday.
“We want them to survive because the key to the stability of
the country is in the survival of the party because they are in
power,” Metuh said in a telephone discussion. That was a
farfetch from the Metuh of before who before now had been
severally quoted as describing the APC as group of power
seekers only united by a common quest for power.
Last Tuesday as the power quest by the different tendencies
in the party peaked during the National Assembly leadership
contests, references to Chief Metuh’s questions on the
survival of the ruling party inevitably came to mind.
That question was further driven by the APC’s terse rebuttal
of the election of the four presiding officers, none of whom
got the endorsement of the party.
Senator Bukola Saraki emerged as Senate President despite
the party’s inclination for Senator Ahmad Lawan while even
more agonising for the ruling party, Senator Ike Ekweremadu
of the PDP returned to office as the Deputy President of the
Senate. It was the first time in the Fourth Republic that a
bipartisan leadership had been thrown up in the Senate.
In the House, the party’s favourite, Femi Gbajabiamila lost to
the unofficial candidate, Yakubu Dogara while the favoured
candidate for deputy speaker, —Moguno was edged out by
Lashun Yusuf who strode to office on the back of the
rebellion spearheaded by Dogara.
The APC’s pain was manifest in a terse press statement
issued by National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed
in which the party threatened sanctions against those who
masterminded the rebellion.
“The APC leadership is meeting in a bid to re-establish
discipline in the party and to mete out the necessary
sanctions to all those involved in what is nothing but a
monumental act of indiscipline and betrayal to subject the
party to ridicule and create obstacles for the new
administration “ it said.
The harsh response of the party inevitably drew references
to the situation four years ago when leaders of the APC
allegedly lured rebel members of the then ruling PDP to a
similar rebellion against the official candidates of the party in
the House of Representatives leadership contest.
The rebellion of four years ago was what paved way for the
humiliation the PDP suffered in the recent general elections.
But their rage on Tuesday evening, APC leaders refused to be
bothered by such references asserting that the
insubordination and treachery of the rebel APC members
must be sanctioned.
“A strong word of rebuke must be passed to them,” a
national officer of the party said that night.
Even yesterday morning when the remaining senators-elect
who were in the frontline of the battle against the
emergence of Senator Saraki were sworn in by their foe, that
disdain was very apparent. One of the leading pro-Lawan
senators refused a handshake from Senator Saraki after the
senator was given the oath by the new Senate President.
That development has now led to fears that the party could
break up sooner than later given the schism that has been
established.
The point of schism could start in the National Assembly. If
the party decides to encourage the impeachment of the
elected presiding officer it would further sharpen divisions
that would inevitably lead the two senior presiding officers,
Saraki and Dogara back into the PDP fold.
Yesterday, the PDP in unpretentious assertion of its
complicity in the pains of the ruling party admonished the
APC to eat humble pie.
“Nothing can be more astonishing than the whining by the
APC that the PDP at the last minute expressed its
preference for Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu
Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House of
Representatives respectively after it had earlier stated that it
was not interested the positions. This calls to question the
capacity, experience and skills of APC leaders on political
matters and we have no apology whatsoever for their naivety.
“The APC is merely suffering the consequences of the greed,
lust for power and inordinate ambitions of their leaders. They
should note that Nigerians have since moved ahead with the
new leaders in the National Assembly and stop wasting their
energy on propaganda and blackmails to heat up the polity”.
Remarkably, President Muhammadu Buhari has not toed the
line of the party in threatening fire against the presiding
officers. While claiming his vexation with their rebellion, he
nevertheless acknowledged that the election of the new
officers was constitutional, a direct opposite from party
officials who had sought to reverse the election.
Party members, who were on the losing side have barely
been able to hide their indignation of the aloofness of the
president to their predicament. Many have also questioned
the actions of the National Assembly, Chief John Odigie-
Oyegun in the matter and fumed that the national chairman
has been unable to show leadership in the face of the
contending aspirations of power mongers in the party.
Indeed, it is that continuing quest for power that is going to
further test the party. Saraki’s ambition for the office of
Senate President was opposed by many party leaders simply
on the fear that he would use that platform to further his
alleged 2019 presidential aspiration.
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