When in July 2018, former Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki, former Kwara State Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed, former APC spokesman Bolaji Ahmed and their supporters in Kwara State left APC and joined PDP, their names still existed in the register of their respective wards owing to the fact that the membership register of the APC was yet to be updated since the initial registration exercise in 2013.
It is the same story with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in Adamawa, Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso in Kano, Dino Melaye in Kogi, Sen. Monsurat Sunmonu in Oyo and Sen. Suleiman Hunkuyi in Kaduna. They all have their names still in the APC register two years after exiting the party.
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In June this year the party’s National Executive Committee, in what seems like a political surgery, dissolved the Adam Oshiomhole NWC and appointed a 13-member Caretaker and Extraordinary National Convention Committee, headed by the party’s former National Secretary and now, Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni.
The committee was mandated to reconcile aggrieved stakeholders, party chieftains, groups and all members with grievances within a period of six months.
Buni and members of the committee drew their plan to commence the process of calming nerves, dousing tensions and settling the storm that engulfed the party, to reclaim the people’s trust, renew their hope, rebuild the party and save it from imminent disintegration.
The process of starting the task before the committee became an area of concern to every political scientist, analyst or active politician keenly following developments in the APC, as it will have great influence in determining the success or otherwise of the committee. Therefore, when the committee started with a visit to Chief Bisi Akande the pioneer interim APC chairman, it became obvious that, it was on an objective and transparent business of rebuilding the party.
The committee’s second port of call was to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He occupies the title ‘Leader’ a non-elective post of the party. He is no doubt a very key and influential stakeholder of the party who enjoys large followership especially in the South-west geo-political zone. He was the leader of Action Congress, one of the three political parties that merged to form APC.
Insinuations were rife that the dissolution of the Adam’s Oshiomhole NWC was targeted at Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his 2023 presidential ambition and may shun the Buni committee. However, the timely visit and readiness of Tinubu to receive the committee further stamps the acceptability of the committee among all factions including the Tinubu/Oshiomhole loyalists.
The constitution of reconciliation committees for the various states did not only speed up but also eased the work of the committee. Buni said the committee had in the last three months reconciled life threatening challenges for the party in 11 states across the country.
In spite of these achievements, APC still has leadership and factional problems in Zamfara between Sen. Kabiru Marafa and former Governor Abdulaziz Yari’s camp and rifts in Ekiti, Niger and Kwara states that need to be settled before going to the convention.
Meanwhile, as party faithful and stakeholders express appreciation with the achievements recorded, they wondered over the fate of the proposed national convention considering the time factor and the yet to be updated membership register.
The membership register is no doubt another excruciating challenge to the APC. What register is the party using for the next convention to elect new national officers? What happens if the antiquated membership register is used and Atiku, Bukola Saraki, Kwankwaso and Dino Melaye stormed the convention claiming right to vote because their names are still in the register? What is the fate of those who joined APC from either PDP or other political parties but whose names are not in the register?
For most observers, the damage done to the party was so enormous to be resolved in just six months, just as the challenge of an up-to-date membership register.
The challenge of completing a good job including an acceptable and all-inclusive convention and a rushed poorly finished work that would not stand the test of time due to lack of time, lies with the party’s National Executive Committee to decide.
Dennis Olusola, Lagos. ([email protected])
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