Politics
Between APC And PDP
Activities leading to the
2015 general election are gradually gathering momentum. One of these is the coming together on November 26,2013 of the All Progressive Congress (APC),the New People’s Democratic Party (NPDP) and five of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) seven aggrieved governors known as the G7 governors.
When the political drama started last three months, precisely on August 31 2013, many thought that the governors were jokers, but little did they believe that it may turn the political wheel of the nation to another direction.
The journey started after the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) election which Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State won with 19 votes against 16 by Jonah Jang of Plateau State.
It later progressed when five governors elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) staged a walk out at the Eagle Square, Abuja, venue of the partys special national convention.
The walk out obviously was due to a culmination of factors after series of attempt were made at appeasing the two parties.
These governors, Babangida Aliyu (Niger),Sule Lamido (Jigawa),Abdufatah Ahmend ( Kwara),Aliyu Wamako (Kano)were not happy with the leadership of the National Chairman of the party,Alhaji Bamagar Tukur.
These five governors moved to Shehu Yar’Adua centre to join Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi and Murtala Nyako(Adamawa) who were not at the convention.
After the walk out, the governors started to consult some prominent members and the founding fathers of the party with the view to settling the problems .They met the former President, Chief Olusengun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangid, Alex Ekwueme and many others.
But as the group made each move, those behind the picture and walking behind the actors thwarted all efforts and caused more problems which widened and escalated the problem in the party.
While these were going on,the APC,a new political party which emerged as a result of the fusion of four political parties took the advantage to woo the aggrieved governors and the end result of that romance of some months ago became a marriage.
The APC leaders led by Lagos State Governor Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former head of state and presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Gen.Muhammed Buhari toured some states with a view to wooing the Governors to come over to the party.
When the group arrived Rivers State early last month, their arrival generated another problem between the Rivers State Command of the Nigeria Police Force and Governor Amaechi.
The Police had to stop a large crowd of PDP party faithfuls at the entrance of the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa from going into the airport to welcome the visitors. That later resulted to the Governor trekking about five kilometer to the presidential lounge of the airport. However, before this encounter, the Police in Rivers State had carried out series of confrontation against the state government to the extent of blocking the entrance of Government House and preventing the governor from entering into his official residence.
The five governors may have different reasons for joining the APC,but among them was to save and strengthen democracy.
In his own view , Governor Amaechi said the Federal Government’s lack of commitment to the commencement of Train Seven of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) is a major constraint to the socio-economic development of Rivers State.
Chibuike Amaechi who stated this Thursday in his broadcast to the people of Rivers State, said the step which was taken by the Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke would deny Rivers people tens of thousands of jobs and also discourage investments in the state.
The governor said the minister insisted that investors should go and invest in the Brass NLNG project rather than in the NLNG Train Seven project in Rivers State.
The governor while justifying his decision to leave the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for All Progressive Peoples Congress (APC), also accused the Federal Government of sidelining Rivers State in boards and other federal appointments at the federal level. “Rivers State is treated with levity. Out of the several councils of universities, no Rivers person was found worthy of becoming a University Council Chairman”, he fumed.
He also mentioned total absence of federal presence in Rivers State as another major ploy against the state, adding that the good governance tour in the state exposed the total lack of federal presence in the state which he described as the cash cow of the federation.
Abandonment of work on the East-West Road, deliberate delay of work on the Port Harcourt International Airport, the third busiest airport in the country, when work on other airports have been completed, and commissioned, and the poor state of Bonny-Bomu road leading to the only functional LNG project, he said shows the lack of interest of the Federal Government on its projects in the state.
The governor remarked that “no personal interest or ambition can be higher than the welfare of the people that gave him their mandate without condition”, he said. He accused the Federal Government of ceding oil wells belonging to Rivers State to Bayelsa, Abia and Akwa Ibom States.
“Even after we got a judgement that the oil wells were wrongly ceded to Akwa Ibom State and should be returned to us, only dry wells that were no longer producing oil were returned”, he said.
“In the specific case of the Soku Oil Wells, despite a decision reached that the monies should remain in an escrow account till all matters concerning it are resolved, the Federal Government continues to pay neighbouring Bayelsa State the revenue meant for Rivers in a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul”, the governor maintained.
Governor Amaechi who also noted that internal party democracy had been sacrificed on the altar of personal greed and injustice declared that it would be impossible to achieve set goals and aspirations of the state under the PDP as presently constituted.
The Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly Hon. Leyii Kwanee supported the Governor for his action and decision and said the Ogonis have not benefited from the PDP-led government as he accused the party of marginalising the Ogonis by not implementing the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
“As an Ogoni man, I’m so pained that Mr. President and the PDP-led government, for the past two years have not been able to implement the UNEP report. It is a sufficient anger,” Kwanee stated.
Hon. Kwanee who is also the member representing Khana Constituency 2 in the Assembly, condemned Ogoni sons in Abuja who had not used their friendship with the President to influence him to implement the report.
One thing that is clear and certain now is that the coming together of the APC, the new PDP and five governors have threatened the PDP’s existence. That move is destined to change the face of politics permanently and for good.
It would also end the issue of impunity and rivalry and ensure competition for the good of the people thereby empowering the electorate to choose who leads them in their respective states, Senate, House of Representatives and State Assembly rather than imposing leads by political godfathers.
Although, the situation may create two party system, it will as well strengthen and deepen democracy in the country.
The situation may change for the PDP that once enjoyed the monopoly both in the Senate and House of Representative.
Hon. Sokonte Davies,representing Bonny/Degema Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, confirmed that the PDP is now in minority in the lower chamber and if the two other governors join with their supporters in the Senate and House of Representatives,the PDP may no longer be the largest party in Africa.
APC leaders listening with rapt attention to Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (right), during their visit to Rivers State, recently.
A senator who represented Taraba Central, Mr Abubakar Yusuf, has declared that the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu are not yielding the expected results.
His comment is one of the strongest internal critiques yet from within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The comment underscores the growing dissatisfaction within sections of the ruling party over the direction and impact of the administration’s economic reforms amid rising living costs and fiscal pressures across the country.
Mr Yusuf, who served in the Senate between 2015 and 2023 under the platform of the APC, made the remarks during an appearance on national television.
Responding to a question on whether the administration’s economic direction, often referred to as Tinubunomics, was working, Mr Yusuf answered in the contrary.
“For me, it is not working. I am a member of the APC. I would be the last person to hide the facts”, he said.
He said while the government might be operating diligently within its policy structure, the framework itself is ill-suited to Nigeria’s current realities
“Within the policy framework, yes, they are doing their best, but it is not the framework that is suitable for Nigeria at the point in time that President Asiwaju came into power,” he said.
Mr Yusuf criticised the immediate removal of fuel subsidy on the day the president was sworn in, arguing that the decision lacked sufficient consultation and planning.
“I am one of those who say President Asiwaju ought to have waited. Not on the day he was sworn in to say subsidy is gone. On what basis?”, he asked.
He urged broader engagement before major fiscal decisions are taken.
“Sit down with your cabinet, sit down with your ministers, sit down with your advisers,” he said, dismissing the argument that subsidy removal was justified solely on grounds of corruption.
The former lawmaker identified “structural flaws” in the country’s budgeting system, particularly the envelope budgeting model.
“One of the basic problems is that before you budget, you should have a plan. The envelope system we have been operating has been you budget before you plan. That has been a major issue”, he said.
He argued that allocating spending ceilings without aligning them to concrete development strategies inevitably weakens implementation and delivery.
“If you give me an envelope which is contrary to my plan, whether it is plus or minus, there is no way I am going to implement my plan. It is bound to fail,” he said.
Mr Yusuf called for the scrapping of the envelope budgeting system, noting that he had consistently opposed it even during his years in the National Assembly.
“It is not good for us. It is not going to work well for us,” he said.
He further blamed poor capital releases and persistent deficit financing for undermining budget performance over the years.
“We could not meet 60 percent of our capital budget in all these years. No releases. If you make a budget and the release is very poor, there is no way the budget will be executed”, he stated.
According to him, weak fund disbursement mechanisms and reliance on deficit financing have entrenched a cycle of underperformance.
“Our budget ought to have been a surplus budget, but all our budgets have always been deficit financing budgets,” Mr Yusuf added.
The Nigerian House of Representatives has resolved to reconvene for an emergency session tomorrow February 17, 2026, to deliberate on issues arising from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) release of the timetable for the 2027 general elections.
The decision was disclosed in a statement issued by the House Spokesman, Rep. Akin Rotimi, who described the electoral body’s announcement as one of “constitutional and national significance.”
INEC had fixed February 20, 2027, for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
According to the statement, members of the Green Chamber were notified of the emergency sitting through an internal memorandum from the Speaker’s office.
The session is expected to focus on legislative matters connected to the newly released timetable, reflecting the House’s resolve to act promptly on issues affecting the nation’s democratic process.
Rep. Rotimi noted that all related businesses would be treated with urgency and urged lawmakers to prioritise attendance in view of the importance of the deliberations.
INEC had on Friday formally unveiled the comprehensive schedule for the 2027 polls, including timelines for party primaries slated for July to September 2026, as well as the commencement of Continuous Voter Registration in April 2026.
The development comes amid ongoing consultations and proposed amendments to the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections.
As the controversy over the transmission of election results continues across the country, the Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), a pro democracy organisation in the country, has criticised the National Assembly for not giving express approval to real time transmission of elections results.
To this end, the group is calling on all civil society organisations in the country to mobilise and push for a better Electoral Reform in the country.
This was contained in a press statement titled, “Defence For Human Rights and Democracy Demands Real Time Election Transmission of Result”, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt.
The group described the refusal of compulsory real time transmission of result results by the Senate as undemocratic, adding that the situation will give room for election manipulation, rigging and voters apathy.
It said that the provision of mandatory real time transmission of election results would have significant improvement on the nation’s democracy.
According to the statement, “Since the return of democracy in 1999 to date, it is 27 years, so our Democracy has metamorphosed from being nascent and as such significant improvement should have been recorded.
“Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is really disappointed at the National Assembly, especially the upper chamber (Senate) for not approving ‘Real Time Electronic Transmission of Election Result’.
“This undemocratic act of theirs, if not tamed, will give room for election manipulation and rigging’”.
Signed by Comrade Clifford Christopher Solomon on behalf of the organisation, the statement further said, “The Defence For Human Rights and Democracy unequivocally supports real time transmission of election result”, stressing that his group will resist any act by the National Assembly to undermine the nation’s democracy.
“DHRD,unequivocally supports ‘True Democracy’, which is Government of the people, by the people and for the people.
“Therefore, anything that will crash the hope of Nigerians to Freely, Fairly and Transparently elect candidates of their choice in any given election should and will be vehemently resisted because good governance begins with leaders elected through credible process. By so doing, leaders have entered a social contract with the citizens to equitably manage their affairs and abundant resources”, the statement added.
It urged the National Assembly to revisit the issue in order to avoid civil unrest.
According to the DHRD, “To avoid civil unrest,voters apathy, election rigging and manipulation, rather to promote citizens participation, advancing our Democracy and entrenching free, fair, credible and acceptable electoral outcome, the National Assembly should amend the electoral act in a manner that will deepen our democracy and boost citizens confidence.
“On this note, The Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is calling on all other civil society organisations (CSOs) to mobilise, organise and push for a better electoral act amendment by the National Assembly”.
By: John Bibor
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