After PDP Convention, All Eyes on APC

With the Peoples Democratic Party national convention successfully concluded, all eyes are on the ruling All Progressives Congress, writes Chuks Okocha.

The much-expected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention has come and gone. The massive interest it generated among Nigerians and even within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is understandable as many see the PDP as the only party that stands the chance of wrestling power from the ruling party at the centre and to give it a good fight in the states.

However, the convention did not happen without the controversies and intrigues that usually headline such high profile political event in Nigeria, especially one that holds far-reaching implications for not just the political players, but also for the entire country as 2023 draws ever closer.

In any case, there were many who never expected it to happen, given the manner Prince Uche Secondus was sent out of office and the coterie of court orders as the suspended Chairman reneged on the lifeline given him by the party to organise a convention by October.

There was no 100 percent guarantee that the convention would hold, as the Court of Appeal siting in Port Harcourt fixed Friday, October 29 for ruling on the order of injunction sought by the suspended party Chairman to stop the convention billed for October 30 and 31 2021. The ruling that fateful Friday afternoon, therefore, came as a huge relief to the PDP as most chieftains and delegates were already in Abuja. Although Secondus vowed to challenge the appellate court’s ruling at the Supreme Court, the important thing is that the PDP has held its convention, which Nigerians have adjudged as transparent and credible.

Even the National Chairman-elect, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, admitted in his acceptance speech that “Many people imagined that this convention would lead to the break-up of the PDP”, saying “those people were dreaming in wonderland.” Also, in congratulating Ayu and PDP leaders, former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, said the party had “disappointed the evil wishers.”

Worthy of note is that only three offices – Deputy National Chairman (North), Deputy National Chairman (South), and National Youth Leader – were contested. Ayu and 17 others of the 21-man national officers emerged unopposed. By Sunday afternoon, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who lost the keenly contested for the position of Deputy National Chairman (South) to Ambassador Toafeek Arapaja had reached out to congratulate the winner, just as others tòok their losses in good faith.

Also, in a statement, Oyinlola thanked the party’s founding fathers, leaders and his supporters for their love, saying “I pledge to continue to play my role as a leader and strengthen my support for the PDP and its organs.”

The Chairman APC Needs

However, come sun, come shine, the APC is statutorily bound to conduct a convention to elect new national officers. If findings so far are anything to go by, the party’s guidelines for the convention are expected early this month of December

Analysts and sources within the party say the APC was coming out to quieten their PDP noisy neighbours by sourcing a kind of leadership that would unite APC’s feuding factions, revive the confidence of Nigerians in the party, and generally give the beleaguered party a breath of fresh air.

They say the onus is now on the party, President Muhammadu Buhari, and the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led National Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee to rise to the challenge of leadership to reign in the contending forces and make the party’s convention happen without running into mutual attrition.

The two main contenders
So far, several names have been propping up as aspirants to the exalted office. The frontrunners include Saliu Mustapha, a representatives of the younger generation and Senator Sani Musa from Niger State . And of course the class of former governors like Senator Tanko Al-Makura, Senator Abdullahi Adamusee, Senator Kashim Shetima, Senator George Akume, Senator Danjuma Goje, and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and Senator Abdulaziz Yari, who are all former governors and serving or former senators.

Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff: Sherrif is former governor of Borno State, North East zone. Although a founding member of the APC, he defected to PDP in 2014 after a failed bid for its chairmanship, alleging that Oyegun was imposed on the party. He was drafted in by powerful forces in the PDP to complete the tenure of ex-Governor Adamu Muazu, but ended in a bitter legal battle with the PDP that nearly sank the party as he sought to sit tight. He is not coming with the blessing of his governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, and many see his initial dumping of the APC and PDP debacle with his PDP benefactors as a huge minus. However, Sheriff said the party needs a strong man to wield it together.

Then of course, there is the youthful Saliu Mustapha. With age on his side, if he become the new chairman of the APC, he is bound to use that as an advantage to sway the youths on his side and the APC.

Mustapha is also seen as the bridge between the old and the young.
The aspiration of Mallam Saliu Mustapha’s to become the next national chairman of APC ,should not raise any eye brow. He has paid his dues in political party administration, starting the All Peoples Party (APP) in 1999 to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2003.

He was among those that followed President Muhammadu Buhari when they formed the Congress for Progressive Change ((CPC) and to the legacy party, the APC. In all his sojourn in the political terrain, he held various position getting to the position of the deputy national chairman of the APC

But apart from all his sojourn in the executive cadre of political party administration in Nigeria, spanning more than 20 years. The big question is, who is Saliu Mustapha?

Mallam Saliu Mustapha was born on 25th September 1972 to the humble family of Alhaji Issa Mustapha, a well respected indigene of Ilorin East Local Government Area, Kwara State.
He is an extremely competent politician of note who is driven by a belief in the need for purposeful and progressive leadership. For him the basic concept of social justice must be at the core of all vital decision making policies that will ultimately impact on the lives of the people.

A highly principled man of good character and undeniable integrity his discipline and intuitive sense of equity, ethics and good governance has seen his rapid rise to the top of his profession ,in addition to his significant accomplishments in other unrelated sectors. Propelled by an innate sense of duty and responsibility, it was only natural that this exceptional and worthy son of Kwara State would ultimately live a life exemplified by service and dedication to others.

After many years as a practical student of the political terrain ,under the outstanding guidance and tutellage of none other than President Mohammadu Buhari, Mallam Mustapha formally embarked upon a life of public service when as an idealistic young man he served as an Aide to the Senior Special Adviser to President Obasanjo on Intra Party matters, from 2001-2002. By 2002 he was already the Protem National Publicity Secretary of the Progressive Liberation Party (PLP), after which in 2003 he became the First National Chairman of the Progressive Action Congress (PAC).

As a result of his deep and abiding passion and determination to support growth and positive change in Nigeria, Mustapha naturally became a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) following the merger of numerous political parties of which his party the CPC was a major player. It is there that he continues to contribute significantly by promoting policies and programmes of the APC both at State and Federal level.

Senator Musa, the serving senator representing Niger East Senatorial District parades excellent professional and educational credentials. He believes he is the right man for the job. Exhibiting an unblemished record in his distinguished career both in the public and private service, since 1986, Senator Musa is a passionate ICT oriented person. To his credit, he developed and promoted Electronic Voting for the first time in Nigeria. This manifested in the introduction of Card Reader and Permanent Voters Card (PVC), the revolutionary steps is the instrumental to the transformation of political party election in Nigeria by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2015 and 2019.

An astute politician, he proudly said that his political career is just as accomplished and rich with experience as his academic and business pursuits. “I am a member of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and was in 2014 an aspirant for the Niger East Senatorial Dostrict; member, Niger State Gubernatorial Campaign Committee in 2007, a delegate to the National Convention in 2007 as well as a gubernatorial aspirant in Niger State in 2007.

In 2015, Musa went through a trying period for which he believes he will yet be recommended for National Honour. He narrated the incident. “My integrity was brought to test in 2015 when I was arrested and detained and later induced with financial and material gift to compromise the 2015 general election by revealing the confidential information on the Card Reader, but for my believe and stand for the nation, I refused to compromise and the success of the 2015 general election was celebrated across the globe. My zeal and determination is always to get the best for Nigeria and Nigerians.” It is no longer news that our political parties and institutions are captives of the oligarchy and serve mostly their interest and that of the few rich allies and powerful politicians. Our leaders failed to unite and inspire our diverse peoples as a nation.

There is Senator Tanko Al-Makura: Al-Makura who is a serving Senator and former governor of Nasarawa State. Many see him as a quite political bulldozer the APC needs now. When denied the PDP ticket in a controversial manner in 2011, Al-Makura picked the ticket of the newly formed CPC and routed PDP and its federal might, defeating incumbent Governor Aliyu Doma in the PDP endemic state.

Thus during APC’s formation, he was the only Congress for Progress Change (CPC) governor, the legacy party that produced President Buhari brought to the negotiation party. Many see this as a plus for him.

They equally point to Al-Makura’s experience in political party administration, having served as the Youth Leader of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the old Plateau State during the Second Republic and as the State Secretary of the National Republican Convention (NRC) from 1990 to 1992.

He is equally considered a deft politician loyal to his party. Pundits point at his refusal to defect to the PDP and his survival of several impeachments attempts in hands of a House of Assembly then dominated by the PDP with 20 lawmakers as opposed to CPC’s four lawmakers. By 2019, Al-Makura had fully undone the PDP and consolidated APC in Nasarawa. Not only did the party win the governorship seat, APC broke a protracted jinx in presidential elections since 1999, as Buhari defeated PDP’s Alhaji Atiku Abubakar by 289,903 votes to 283,847 votes. APC equally won the three senatorial seats for the first time since 1999.

A peculiar advantage Al-Makura has over his co-contestants is the unflinching support of his governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, who ironically, has been championing the lawmaker’s emergence as APC’s next elected National Chairman.