APC: Buhari, Tinubu In Game Of Wits

Loyalists of President Muhammadu Buhari, those of Senate President Bukola Saraki and the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Bola Tinubu are locked in a game of wits over the control of the ruling party.
National chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, is at the centre of the intrigues, which have left party faithful in confusion so far.
Party nsiders, who confided to newsmen, are however, wondering whether President Buhari would allow Tinubu get the better of the national chairman, whom they believe offended the former Lagos governor by switching to the side of the President shortly after the former backed him to emerge as chairman.
Some of them are also curious about the position of the President on unfolding drama involving the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the affairs of the party, with which is alleged to have the fingerprints of the former Lagos governor over it.
Equally, some party faithful are asking whether the president will allow the incumbent National Working Committee (NWC) which has supported him go without having a hand on the next occupants of top party seats.
Though President Buhari had asked Tinubu to reconcile the warring factions in the party, sources had confirmed long before now that the president and Saraki are aware Tinubu does not hide his key ambition of seeing Odigie-Oyegun removed as chairman.
Indeed, a source had claimed that Tinubu’s main motivation for taking over the reconciliation job was because of the opportunity he could see Odigie-Oyegun out of the national chairman’s post.
Investigations by our source confirmed that Tinubu had told the NWC to start preparing its hand over notes and set the stage for congresses and convention.
At the very first interaction he had with the NWC, Tinubu was quoted as telling the Oyegun-led NWC that extension of tenure is not written in the party’s constitution.
Even at that, there were no visible plans on the ground to suggest the NWC, whose tenure lapses in April, had commenced plans for a national convention.
It was gathered that the EFCC, which was acting on a petition against the chairman and members of the NWC, had visited the party secretariat twice in the last one week and also invited the party’s Chief Accountant for questioning.
Sources said the plan of those who invited the EFCC into the unfolding saga was to force out Odigie-Oyegun, using the report of the anti-graft agency, which they believed would be “damaging.”
Sources hinted that the EFCC had already questioned the payment of the sum of N600 million to the account of a member of the NWC besides other discoveries.