Despite Inauguration of New APC Chairmen, Crises Persist in 13 States

*Lai Mohammed, Ngige, Okorocha, Wamakko, Abe’s factions spit fire

Our Correspondents

Despite last Thursday’s inauguration of the state chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 34 states at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja, the tussles over the control of the party structures have remained unabated in no fewer than 13 states, THISDAY investigation has revealed.

The affected states include Zamfara, Sokoto, Delta, Rivers, Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Ogun and Kwara.
Others include Osun, Kano, Bauchi and Kebbi states.

Various factions of the party led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige; former Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha; former Governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aliyu Magartada Wamakko; former Governor of Kebbi State, Senator Adamu Aliero, and Senator Magnus Abe, have faulted the action of the national leadership of the party.

Abe’s faction in Rivers State has warned that the division in the party and the recognition of the faction led by the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi could lead to the exclusion of the party in the 2023 general election like in 2019.

The ruling party did not inaugurate the leadership of the party in Sokoto State, which is being contested by three factions led by a former governor of the state, Senator Wamakko; a member of the House of Representatives representing Illela/ Gwadabawa Federal Constituency, Hon. Balarabe Salame, Speaker of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, Hon. Muhammad Aminu Achida; and Senator Abubukar Gada, who leads his faction.

While Wamakko leads one faction, Salame and Achida are in one faction.
THISDAY gathered that Wamakko has six National Assembly members, a senator, and 13 members of the state House of Assembly in his faction.

But Salame, Achida and Gada’s factions have the backing of chieftains of the party based in Abuja.
When contacted, the Chairman of Wamakko’s faction, Alhaji Isa Sadiq Achida told THISDAY that nobody can truncate the will of the people of the state.

He further explained that those ranting that Wamakko has hijacked the party cannot win even an electoral ward for the party.
“The truth is that if you remove Wamakko from APC in Sokoto, the party is dead because Wamakko is the party and the party is Wamakko,” he stated.

On his part, another factional leader of the party in the state, Salame alleged that Wamakko sat down in his house and wrote the names of the executives and submitted it to the party headquarters.
He further alleged that the party lost the governorship election in 2019 “because of Wamakko’s handedness. He imposed an unpopular candidate, which made us lose the governorship seat.”
In Zamfara State, the APC faction led by Senator Kabir Garba Marafa had described the recognition of the faction led by Governor Bello Matawalle as an act of impunity by the national leadership of the party.

In a statement issued by the factional Publicity Secretary, Mr Bello Bakkyasuwa Maradun titled: ‘We enjoy watching APC’s parade of madness,’ the faction stated that the action of the party’s caretaker and extraordinary convention planning committee would cause chaos in the party.
He predicted that APC would soon collapse because of impunity thriving in it.

“The saying ‘the wages of sin is death’ applies perfectly in the most recent action of the APC Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of presenting certificates to their selected chairpersons of state chapters of the party. As one of the many factions across the country with legitimate grounds for agitation, the Senator Marafa-led faction of APC in Zamfara State sees this action as desperate and negates all principles of strategic thinking for building an enduring party that can weather the storm of 2023 as President Buhari rightly warned.”

In Delta State, members of the party opposed to the faction led by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, have also kicked against the inauguration of Mr Omeni Sobotie as the state chairman.

According to them, the so-called inauguration ceremony that took place in Abuja on Thursday was merely a sham as it did not follow due process, including the proper administration of the oath of office and oath of allegiance before competent officials.

Eminent chieftains of the party allegedly “shut out” of the process of the different party congresses by the Omo-Agege group include Dr Cairo Ojougboh; the 2019 APC governorship candidate, Chief Great Ogboru; former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly and Executive Director at NIMASA, Chief Victor Ochei; and the National Women Leader, Dr Mariam Alli.

The (factional) state Deputy Chairman of the anti-Omo-Agege faction, Hon. Elvis Ayomanor told THISDAY in Asaba that the national secretariat of the party Abuja has not confirmed Sobotie as the authentic chairman of the state chapter of the APC because the appropriate Oath of Office was not administered to him and his counterparts from other states.

A factional chairman of the party in Rivers State, Golden Chioma, has also faulted the inauguration of the chairman of the faction loyal to the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi.
Chioma said what APC needed was an inclusive party and not a divisive party.

The APC chieftain told THISDAY that the party leadership at the national level ignored a faction to protect the interest of the other faction, stressing that one individual cannot continue to control party structure in the state.

Chioma who belongs to Senator Magnus Abe-led faction further urged the party leadership to avoid making the same mistake that led to the experience of 2019 where APC was removed from the electoral process over the internal crisis.

“We are not asking for anything, but an inclusive party. The division in my APC in Rivers State is the oldest in the country.

“If you remember, in 2019, the party did not present any candidate based on this same division. So, we need to do something different. We need to be more inclusive and not divisive,” Chioma added.
A faction of the APC in Anambra State led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, has also rejected the inauguration of Mr Basil Ejidike as the state chairman.

The state secretary of the party, Mr Chukwuma Agufugo, who belongs to Ngige’s faction, has dismissed Ejidike’s executive, saying it would not stand.
Agufugo said Ejidike and his co-travellers have violated the order of the court, describing it as contempt, and vowed that they must pay for it.

Also, the factional Publicity Secretary, Mr Okelo Madukaife insisted that Ejidike and his executives remained rejected.

He said it was not true that the executives of the Anambra State chapter of the party had been inaugurated.

He said: “Our dynamic chapter of APC congratulates the national leadership of our great party for the wisdom contained in the decision not to swear in anybody as Chairman of Anambra State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC).

“This noble decision validates the position of the mainstream of our party in Anambra State that 2018 officials remain in charge of our affairs until congresses can hold as leadership abhors a vacuum.”

In Imo State, a faction of the APC led by Senator Rochas Okorocha said it would rely heavily on the ruling of the Appeal Court of November 6, 2020.

The chairman of the faction, Mr Dan Nwafor told THISDAY that the recognition of the Governor Hope Uzodimma’s faction, which has Macdonald Ebere as chairman was contempt of court.

A former Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party in Enugu State, Mr Ben Nwoye, has also argued that Mr Ude Agaballa, another factional chairman, who was inaugurated in Abuja, was not sworn in.

In an interview with THISDAY, Nwoye who said he monitored the inauguration, explained that the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led reconciliation committee had listened to the complaints, reports, and petitions of aggrieved party members, adding that when Agballa’s name was mentioned in Abuja, he was directed to go back because he did not win any congress.

Nwoye noted that Agballa was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who only came in August 2021 and expressed his interest to join the APC.

The Chairman of APC faction loyal to a former Governor of Ogun State Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Chief Derin Adebiyi, told THISDAY that his faction would hold a meeting to determine the next line of action.

The APC had sworn in Chief Yemi Sanusi, Chairman of a faction loyal to the state Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun.

Deputy Chairman of the faction led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Kwara State, Hon. Sunday Oyebiyi told THISDAY that the inauguration of Prince Sunday Fagbemi was an exercise in futility, which would not take the party anywhere during the next elections.
“It is a kangaroo outing that would not bring out the result to the party leadership both at the national secretariat and state chapter of APC.

“The development shows that the national leadership of APC is unserious one and when the time comes, all of them will see it.

“I know it is not only in Kwara State but some other states where injustice is greatly pervaded by the governors over the control of the party and when the time comes, they will all see the outcome of their actions,” he explained.

THISDAY gathered that in Kebbi State, a faction of the party led by Senator Adamu Aliero, representing Kebbi Central, which lost out during the inauguration, has vowed to resist the alleged imposition of party leadership in the state.

A faction of the party loyal to the Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, in Osun State, has also refused to recognise the new leadership of the party in the state.
Meanwhile, efforts by the national caretaker committee led by Governor Mai Mala Buni to reconcile and put an end to the crisis rocking the Kano chapter of the party has hit another brick wall last week.

THISDAY investigation revealed that the peace meeting was the second in one week brokered at the instance of Buni-led APC to reach a compromise on the leadership of the APC in Kano.
However, the peace meeting which was held on Friday night in Abuja ended in a stalemate as the leadership tussle rocking the Kano State chapter of the party continues.

The peace meeting could not resolve the leadership tussle as the Ibrahim Shekarau faction insisted that it should be accorded recognition having been pronounced as the valid leadership by a court judgment.

Investigation further revealed that efforts to prevail on the Shekarau faction already accorded recognition a court to accept the harmonisation deal by the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje faction was rebuffed by Shekarau’s team.