As Adamu, Ayu Face Survival Battle…

In what appears to be another round of protracted political battle, barely a year after their election into office, the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu and his People’s Democratic Party’s counterpart, Senator Ayiochia Ayu, are both in the eye of storm. Emameh Gabriel reports:

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came out of its national convention last October unscathed to the amazement of many, after months of leadership tussles that eventually led to the sack of the party’s former national chairman, Uche Sencondus.

Ayu officially became the PDP’s national chairman through the party’s old tradition of consensus building. Ayu and 19 of the 21 new officials emerged by consensus after a high level horse trading at the geopolitical/zonal caucus levels, underlining the strong desire of the major opposition party to portray a veneer of unity and stability, and give order to an otherwise very difficult situation.

Just few months after its presidential primary, the party is again enmeshed in an atrocious internal wrangling among factions, underlined by the conflict between the vice presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar and Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, who is bent on removing the National Chairman of the party, Ayu, as the only condition to keep him and his supporters in the party.

If the plot against his removal comes through, it would mean that the party had successfully removed almost all its national chairmen from office before the expiration of their tenure since inception, though with the exception of Ahmed Ali.

From its pioneer chairman Solomon Lar, to Barnabas Gemade, Audu Ogbeh, Ahmadu Ali, Vincent Ogubulafor, Okwesilieze Nwodo, Bamanga Tukur, Ahmodu Sheriff and Secondus, only one PDP chairman,  Ali, served out his tenure and stepped down without rancour. Since then, no one has that feat in the party’s 24 year-old troubled existence.

Since the presidential primaries of the party, all has not been well, as all prescriptions intended to bring peace between Atiku and Wike has fell on deaf ears as Wike has remained adamantly unyielding.

Similarly, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) is also not spared as it battles to save itself from an intending implosion over its choice of a all Muslim ticket and an alleged plot by a faction believed to be loyal to the national leader and presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to unseat the national chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

The APC has also in its eight years of existence, produced five National Chairmen namely Bisi Akande, John Oyegun, Adams Oshiomhole, Mai Buni and Adamu.

Just last week, indications emerged that Adamu may be axed as governors elected on the platform of the APC and other stakeholders had hatched a sinister plan to indict him so as to justify his ousting if it eventually comes through.

Adamu was elected in March as the APC National Chairman despite a strong opposition against his candidacy by governors elected on the platform of the party. 

Adamu who had the blessings of President Buhari came from behind to beat Tanko Al-Makura, a former governor of Nasarawa State and a serving senator, who had the backing of APC governors and major stakeholders. The closest rival then to Al-Makura, was George Akume, a serving Minister and also a former governor of Benue State.

The APC that has been widely commended for putting its act together since after its presidential primary, but the latest calls by various factions in the party for the removal of Adamu, has raised some questions about a smooth ride for the party going into the general election next year.

 In the PDP, former vice president Atiku Abubakar and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State are the main actors in the centre of the controversy.

Wike, who contested the PDP presidential primary in April this year lost to Atiku after coming second in the contest, was said to have been promised the vice presidential slot by Abubakar to compensate him for his efforts. This was also supported by majority of the party leadership, including governors elected on the platform of the PDP.

But against their position, Atiku went for Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, a decision that didn’t go down well with Wike and his faction.

According to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State,14 out of 17 members of PDP panel preferred Wike as VP candidate.

Ortom, who disclosed this during an interview on national television said the Rivers governor should have been consulted before Okowa was announced as the vice-presidential candidate.

He said: “Of course, three names were presented. In the order of preference, Wike, Okowa and governor Udom – all of them are qualified. But the preference was Wike – 14 members (referring to the committee) out of 17. This is the point we are making.

“Three of them were qualified but governor Wike was eminently qualified – 14 out of 17 members chose him. All these things were said during our meeting. We said that for the PDP to win, we needed governor Wike.

Wike has since then been seen in deep romance with the governors of the ruling APC and other stakeholders of the party, mostly during the inauguration of his projects in Rivers State. 

Lately, there has been pressure on Ayu to resign in line with an alleged agreement he entered into prior to his emergence to step down if the presidential candidate emerges from the North.

The Wike’s camp has insisted on the resignation of Ayu as a major condition to support Atiku in the 2023 presidential poll.

But Ayu, according to a tweet by his Media Aide, Simon Imobo-Tswam, last week said he won’t resign. The tweet reads: “The PDP National Chairman, Dr. Iyiochia Ayu, has not resigned and has no plan of resigning.

“For clarity and emphasis, he was elected for a tenure of four years.”

Similarly, a faction in the APC are also demanding the resignation of the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu. The party has however debunked reports of plots to remove Abdullahi Adamu from office.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, in a recent statement said the report was being sponsored by opposition political parties.

The statement followed fresh media reports claiming that there were plots to remove Adamu from office.

“The attention of the APC has been drawn to opposition-sponsored media reports on plots to remove the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

“The reports are based on the imagination of its sponsors ostensibly unnerved by the remarkable achievements of Mr Adamu since assuming office as the national chairman,” the party’s spokesperson said.

Morka said the APC and its leaders were currently focused on the important task of building a strong and vibrant electoral campaign ahead and would not be distracted by ‘boring chirps of idle speculators.’

According to him, ”the opposition PDP was quite welcomed to continue to dissipate its energies on innuendos and chasing after phantom plots in APC rather than concentrate on mending its broken and acrimonious house.

”The APC National Working Committee (NWC) remained united under Adamu’s leadership as the party’s national chairman, with the singular commitment to winNing 2023 General Elections.”

But a chieftain of the party who doesn’t want to be mentioned confirmed to THISDAY that there is an ongoing plot to remove the national chairman of the party and be replaced by Akume.

When asked if it was not too early to remove him, he said: “No it’s not too early. Politics is at play. Akume is likely to emerge.

“Adamu drew the first blood against Asiwaju and there are consequences for every action. For now we need to placate the “Christian block”, he explained.

Adamu was reportedly part of the northern cabal who attempted to jeopardize the zoning arrangements of the party during its last presidential primary election.

Adamu had during the build up to the APC presidential primary election named Senate President, Dr Ahmed Lawan, as President Muhammadu Buhari’s choice to fly the party’s presidential flag.

Adamu made the announcement at the meeting of National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja, leaving the party almost in chaos. This was against initial plans by the Mai Buni-led Caretaking Committee that the party’s ticket  be zoned to the South.

His announcement of Lawan as Buhari’s choice was also against the position of 11 APC northern Governors, who endorsed that power must shift to the South after President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure.

Adamu told the National Working Committee that he arrived at the choice of Lawan after consultation with President Buhari.

But President Buhari stepped in immediately to save the situation via a statement he issued few hours before the primary to clear all doubts about where he stood on the choice of a presidential candidate for his party.

He declared before the party’s governors of northern states that he has “no preferred candidate,” and has “anointed no one,”.

Rather, the President said he was determined to ensure that “there shall be no imposition of any candidate on the party.”

“You were elected as I was,” said the President who explained that he had a clear mind about what he was doing and asked the APC governors to feel the same way.

“Have a clear mind as I have. God gave us the chance; we have no reason to complain. We must be ready to take pain as we take the joy. Allow the delegates to decide. The party must participate, nobody will appoint anybody.”

Adamu, like Ayu who selfishly manipulated the zoning of the PDP presidential ticket to the North even against the agitations from the South that it was the turn of the region to produce the next president, faces an uphill battle to remain relevant in the scheme of things as both parties square up against each other at the polls in February, 2023.

Tinubu is known to be a good but quiet fighter who wins at all cost. Wike, the man who wants the head of Ayu before considering working for his party, seems determined to have his pound of flesh from Atiku. But will the APC or the PDP risk changing the goal post in the middle of the game going by what is happening in the two parties? Only time will tell.