circle, all appears not to be well with the All Progressives Congress
as a crisis over power sharing and control is brewing in the party.
Investigation bySaturday Metro showed that the five governors, who
defected to the APC from the Peoples Democratic Party, were locked in
a supremacy battle with some leaders of the three political parties
that merged to form the APC.
The parties that merged to form APC are the Action Congress of
Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party and the Congress for Progressive
Change.
Saturday metro's investigations in Abuja on Thursday showed that the
looming crisis was threatening the nationwide membership registration,
which the party had scheduled for early this year.
To forestall problem, however, the party has set up reconciliation
committees in some of the affected states.
The governors, who left the PDP for the APC, included Alhaji Muritala
Nyako (Adamawa); Dr. Rabiu Kwankwanso (Kano); Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko
(Sokoto); Alhaji Abdufatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Mr. Rotimi Amaechi
(Rivers).
It was gathered that besides the struggle for position between the
defected governors and 'old' members of the fast growing party, the
APC was also contending with various crises in the states it is
currently controlling.
The tussle for power in the APC states is principally between the
governors and those who are against their total control of the state
party structure.
It was learnt that the problem had manifested in Kwara, Kano, Sokoto
and Adamawa states among others.
Findings showed that the outcome of the party's reconciliation
efforts would determine when the membership registration would hold.
The defected PDP governors that are said to be engaged in power
struggle with old APC members include Nyako, Kwankanso, Wamakko and
Ahmed.
In Kwara State for instance, members of the parties that merged to
form the APC have described the leader of the PDP defectors, Senator
Bukola Saraki, as a burden instead of an asset to the APC. Saraki is
the political godfather of the state governor.
The members are of the opinion that the party does not need Saraki to
win elections in the state. A former governorship candidate of the
defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Dele Belgore, is the leader of
the APC members opposed to Saraki's take-over of the party.
A leading member of the Belgore group, Rev. Bunmi Olusona, said this
in a statement, in Ilorin on Thursday.
In the statement titled, "Issues before the John Oyegun mediation
committee," Olusona stated, "We aver that we do not need Bukola
Saraki to win elections in Kwara. In fact, the coming of Bukola Saraki
is a huge burden on the Kwara APC.
"We now have a daunting task of convincing Kwarans that we remain a
part of their hope for change. Without federal support, Bukola Saraki
cannot win any election!
"We will never accept the leadership of Bukola Saraki and we will
never accept any arrangement that cedes the party structure to any new
entrant into the party."
Another prominent member of the Belgore group, Dr. Saad Omo-Iya, also
explained the group's stand in an interview with one of our
correspondents.
Omo-Iya said, "Saraki is a soloist and (a) despot. Some of us cannot
work with him. That is why we are in the APC. Now that he has come
to the APC, and it is being speculated that APC has handed over the
party structure to him, that means some individuals own that party.
"It equally means that the party is no longer a party. It is like a
property of some individuals. That does not really reflect democracy.
Basically, looking at it, you can see that there is no basis for
further relations."
He said that the structure of the party should not be handed over to
an individual, adding that registration of members should be free and
fair.
However, Mr. Yemi Afoloyan, a former state Secretary of the Saraki-led
PDP faction, toldSaturday PUNCHin an interview that claims that Saraki
was a despot were untrue.
He described Saraki as a grass-roots political leader, who stepped
into the shoes of his revered father, the late Chief Olusola Saraki.
Afolayan said, "One of the best things for Kwarans and the APC in the
state is the handing over of the APC's structure to Saraki. We have
the election winning machinery and we win and deliver wherever we go.
We have come to the APC with an election-winning machinery and we are
sure the machinery will not fail.
Source www.PUNCHng.com
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