Politics
2019: APC And The Power Game
The five letter word, power can be so seductive and intoxicating that once a person gets it, he hardly let it go. Some kill, maim or carry out any scheme just to hold on to it as experienced in Africa.
The average politician who finds himself in an executive office and tastes its sweetness, does not like letting it go without a fight or being disgraced out of office.
Even when they are no longer in office, they still dictate who gets what, because to them, it is the easiest way to stay relevant and act as godfathers to the powers that be. Although, they cannot be under-estimated, their influence is so far- reaching that in their struggle to hold on to power, they don’t care if the structure that they have spent years to build crumbles.
Here in Nigeria, the political impasse between factional leaders of the various political parties has become so nuseating that one wonders why the quest for elective office has become a battle between nations. The crisis of the Peoples Democratic Party between 2013 and 2017 should have been a lesson to would-be politicians in Nigeria that internal strife needs to be settled amicably before it engulfs the party even at the national level.
Today, the All Progressives Congress (APC) seems to have bitten more than it can chew as the crisis in Rivers and Zamfara States has ensured that for the first time in four years, it would not be able to field candidates for the National and State Assembly elections as well as that of the gubernatorial.
The seeming crisis which started in 2016 between factions of the party later culminated in a court action which the party has to live with today. In Rivers State, prior to the purported APC ward congress held in May 2018, one Ibrahim Imah and 22 others who had paid for the nomination forms but were denied their rights to contest filed a suit in Port Harcourt to seek legal redress having been hindered and denied the opportunity to participate in the congresses before Justice Chiwendu Nwogu.
The suit apparently spurred Justice Nwogu to issue an interlocutory injunction restraining the APC from going ahead with the congresses. Rather than contest the restraining order, the party proceeded with the congresses, thereby incurring the wrath of the court which on May 30, 208 nullified the entire congresses. While the suit was still in court, the two factions; the Rotimi Amaechi and Magnus Abe factions went ahead to conduct primaries for the governorship, state and federal legislative seats ahead of the 2019 elections.
Also, an Abuja High Court judgement barred the APC from fielding candidates in Rivers and Zamfara States following the inability of the ruling party to resolve its internal conflicts and respect its own rules on the conduct of its primaries.
It is not only the APC that is facing legal challenges as even parties such as the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for now has no presidential and vice presidential candidates. However, an Appeal Court in Abuja yesterday recognised Donald Duke as the candidate . In Imo, Ogun and Enugu States, the APC is still factionalised with some members opting to join other political parties where they feel their interest will be protected.
These crises are due to the failure to create a level playing field for all aspirants in the party. The APC prior to 2015 had been boasting that it is the only democratic party that has nothing to do with godfatherism and impunity in the conduct of its affairs but today, the same party members who were complaining that its main opponent, the PDP is not democratic cannot even put its house in order.
Power is transient but it seems most politicians hardly recognise this fact. However, to keen political observers, it is a battle for supremacy and who will be the ultimate godfather of Rivers State politics. And there is equally the fear of, the unknown gripping the political gladiators, as they do not want to fizzle out of the power game. For example, if the Amaechi’s faction wins the battle, the Abe’s faction will go into political oblivion and if Abe wins, Amaechi’s influence would have been curtained and his political career totally destroyed. So having tasted power, none of the factional leaders, is ready to come to a compromise.
Mr Rotimi Amaechi had tasted executive power for eight years, and was even a Speaker for eight years. As a Speaker, he was so influential that some Commissioners, Assembly members and local government chairmen including board members of parastatals and companies got their appointments or won their elections through him.
The implication of the power play is that Amaechi cannot afford to lose out to Magnus Abe as the stakes are too high. The same thing applies to the incumbent Governors of Ogun and Zamfara States.
As it stands now, the APC is in a dilemma as its loss is a plus for its main rival, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers and Zamfara States.
The leadership of any political party is supposed to be made up of men and women of integrity but when the National Working Committee of a party in question ceases to be neutral, eventually the outcome of its decision will be contested in the law courts. Political parties should always strive to act with decorum and fairness to all party members and learn to obey its own rules and guidelines to avoid embarrassment and crisis, the type which is clearly staring the APC in the face.
One lesson the gladiators of all the parties that have crisis which cannot be resolved internally should learn is that in the next dispensation, they should let every vote count so that all their members would have a sense of belonging in the democratic process.
Tonye Ikiroma-Owiye
Politics
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar
A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.
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