Villa May Placate CPC Bloc With APC Chair

Indications have emerged that the Congress for Progressives Congress (CPC) bloc may get the nod of the Presidency to produce the next national chairman of the party.

Feelers from the Presidential Villa show that the slot might be given to the bloc which was under the control of late former president Muhammadu Buhari.

Although defunct as a party, the CPC was one of the political parties that merged to form the

Apc In February 2013 Ahead Of The 2015 General Elections.

Days before his passing, the former president had told LEADERSHIP through his media aide, Garba Shehu, that he remained a member of the APC even though he would not compel any of his CPC loyalists to follow his political decision.

So far, former Nasarawa State governor, Tanko Almakura; former Plateau State, Joshua Dariye and Prof Kailani have been consulting and lobbying party leaders for support ahead of the July 25 National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting which is projected to produce a new chairman of the party, after Dr Abdullahi Ganduje recently resigned.

Although the NEC would decide who the party chairman becomes,  President Bola Tinubu’s position will be pivotal to the position taken by the party organ.

It was learnt that the political family is being considered for the APC national chairmanship position against the backdrop of ensuring its integration in the party which will help to stave off the lure from some of their former members in the ADC.

So far, the camp has been split between those who moved to join the ADC and those who stayed back.

Some of those who dumped APC for ADC are former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, former attorney general and minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, former secretary to government of the federation, Babachir Lawal.

Those who have stayed back in APC are Nasarawa Governor,  his predecessor and leader of the CPC bloc, Tanko Almakura; minister of communication, Shittu; former director general of Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, and Farouk Aliyu, Okon Obon-Obla, among others.

Others like former minister of communication and digital economy, Sheik Ali Pantami, have been taciturn.

A party source, however, told LEADERSHIP Sunday that while the Villa had not taken a final position on the matter, it seems tilted towards giving it to the CPC bloc.

The source, who was directly involved in the last chairman tussle, also hinted that some party governors were also pushing for a minister from the North Central to get the position.

“The reality is that deliberations are still ongoing. There have been various proposals on the table. Some governors are pushing for a Christian minister from the North Central to get the position.

“But that is being countered by those who think doing that will alienate the Muslim voters there who argue that the zone already enjoys a major Christian appointment there.

“There are also those who are proposing that the current acting chairman should be allowed to continue and conduct a national convention that would usher in a new party leadership.

“But over all, there is a strong sense that the villa is leaning towards the CPC bloc of the party to ensure their integration in the party and starve off the antics of their former members who have joined the ADC coalition,” the source said.

But the Presidency told LEADERSHIP Sunday, that it was still in mourning mood after Buhari’s demise.

When asked about the presidency’s posture on the matter, the special adviser on policy communication to the president, Daniel Bwala, said, “The Villa is mourning the passing away of former president Muhammadu Bihari.”

However, a former minister of communication, Adebayo Shittu, said as much as there was an APC chairmanship contest from the CPC bloc, they were more interested in a committed APC chairman.

Shittu, who is from the CPC camp, who spoke with LEADERSHIP on the issue, said, “I know of a CPC person who is contesting for national chairman and I know he is committed to APC. I am in APC I am not leaving the party or involved in any counter activity. We are working hard and I am sure that the person who is contesting is very committed to the APC.

“On the issue of what happens next if he does succeed, I can say nothing will happen. What matters is that an APC person becomes national chairman. We don’t want to be the chairman of the party because we are CPC. That is not the issue. We are in the party as members. As far as we are concerned there is nothing like CPC.

CPC has since been dissolved. As far as we are concerned it is only opportunists that will say as long as they don’t have something they will have to exit APC.

But there is nothing like that as far as we are concerned,” he said.

On his part, former director general of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu, said he is hopeful that for the first time one person from the defunct CPC’s tendency will be graciously nominated by the President to be APC chairman.

The foundation APC member said, “We have prominent qualified chairmanship members especially from the North Central like Senators Tanko Almakura and Saliu Mustapha.

“They have paid their dues, foundation members and are committed to President Tinubu’s 2nd Term Bid.

“Our loyalty to APC and President Tinubu will remain unshaken whether we one of us is nominated or not. However, it will be honour well deserved if given the opportunity to transform APC into true progressive party,” he said.

Speaking also to LEADERSHIP, former chairman of the Special Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, said, “It has become imperative to give all the tendencies inherent in the APC—arising from the merger of the three legacy parties and a faction of APGA—a sense of belonging, to enhance inclusivity and deepen the harmonization of disparate interests, which would promote cohesion.

“Doing this would stem and mute the noise of individuals who are aggrieved because of selfish interests, from digging in and finding an opening to achieve their nefarious aim of exploiting the sidelining of the CPC tendency within the decision-making organs of the party at the national level and in almost all the states of the country.

“When you juxtapose what I am trying to drive home with the present composition of the National Executive Committee of the APC, you would understand the point I am making. In the present National Executive Committee, there is only one person from the CPC tendency, which clearly shows how marginalized it is.

“Take my state, for instance—there is nobody from the old CPC who is presently in the State Executive Committee. Even at the local government and ward levels, I do not think, throughout the 18 local government areas and the over one hundred electoral wards in the state, the representation of the CPC tendency makes up to even one percent,” Obla said.

He however said the prospect of CPC bloc getting the position is bright and well-founded because it is anchored on justice and the need to promote inclusivity and integration of all the groups.

“Since this historic merger, one of the tendencies—the defunct CPC—has seen its fortunes dwindle in the APC. A cursory look at the National Executive Committee and most State Executive Committees shows that those who belonged to the CPC are negligible in number, barely countable, and in many cases, completely absent.”

He said the APC has produced about six national chairmen since 2013 and one of them have emerged from the CPC tendency.

“Chief Bisi Akande was the first National Chairman, serving from 2013 to June 2014. He belonged to the defunct ACN tendency.

“He was succeeded by Chief John Odigie Oyegun, who served from June 2014 to 2018, also from the ACN bloc.

“Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who succeeded Oyegun, served from 2018 to July 2019. He, too, hailed from the ACN bloc.

“Governor Mai Mala Buni then assumed the role of Acting National Chairman from 2019 to March 2022.

“At the National Convention, a candidate from the CPC bloc aspired to become National Chairman. However, the powers that be at the time opted instead for Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who had joined the APC from the PDP. He served from 2022 until August 3, 2023.

“He was succeeded by Dr. Umar Abdullahi Ganduje, who joined the APC in 2014 as part of the New PDP bloc that defected.

“Taking the foregoing into consideration, it is imperative and indeed a desideratum that someone from the CPC tendency be considered for the position of the next National Chairman of the APC. Doing so would give members of the CPC bloc a sense of belonging. More importantly, it would help to unite the party and mobilize its membership in preparation for the 2027 general elections,”he said.

Reacting also, a former national chairmanship aspirant, Sunny Moniedafe, said the national chairmanship should not be a question of political bloc but an adherence to the zoning arrangement.

Moniedafe who said the president should stop playing god over party affairs, should allow the party chairmanship go to the North Central zone as originally designed by the party.

He said, “it’s not about the CPC bloc or any bloc. The  party leaders in their wisdom, zoned the position to the North Central. Since that is the case the party should be allowed to produce the chairman from the zone.

He added that he was displeased with events going on the party, adding that it appears only those who criticised the president in the past appear to be enjoying the administration.

 

We’re Ready To Work With Chairman From Any Bloc – Adamawa APC

The publicity secretary of the APC in Adamawa State, Mohammed Abdullahi, said the issues surrounding the emergence of national chairman of the party can not be easily predicted.

Abdullahi said the matter is a product of consultations and to be determined by the Mr President who is the overall leader of the party.

He admitted that there was too much pressure from the North Central to produce the national chairman to enable them complete the tenure of former national chairman Abdullahi Adamu.

He stated that the party is ready to work with any national chairman that emerged under any bloc of the party.

 

CPC bloc doesn’t exist, just zone to north central – Plateau APC

Plateau State spokesman of APC, Alhaji Shittu Bamaiyi, said  as far as they are concerned “there is no CPC bloc in our lexicon.”

According to him, their desire is for the APC national chairman’s position “to be zoned to North Central.”

 

National leaders will decide on the bloc – Oyo APC

The APC in Oyo State declared that the issue of rotational of the national chairmanship of the party among the blocs can only be handled by the national leadership of the party.

The party’s publicity secretary, Olawale Sadare, in an interview with LEADERSHIP in Ibadan, said that the party at the state level could not determine which among the blocs should produce the next national chairman of the party.

Olawale said “it is the national leadership of the party that will determine who becomes the national chairman of the party.

“The issue of the national chairman of the party cannot be handled at the state level. The national leadership will determine which bloc will produce the next national chairman”.

 

Zoning Is National Party Affair, Not States — APC Bauchi

Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State, Muhammad A. Hassan Tilde, has said that decisions regarding the zoning of party leadership positions fall under the authority of the party’s national level.

Speaking with our correspondent yesterday, Tilde clarified that it is the responsibility of the APC national body to constitute a zoning committee that determines how leadership positions are shared across the geopolitical zones.

“It is not our duty at the states levels. The national leadership used to forms the zoning committee, and it is this body that handles the sharing of positions, which, as of now, the committee hasn’t even been constituted,” he stated.

“For instance, in Bauchi at the state party level, we’ve only made a few changes — the Treasurer moved from Kirfi to Zaki, and the Secretary from Shira to Giade.”

Tilde further emphasised that each state has representatives involved in the national decision-making process, including Bauchi, which currently has Senator Abubakar Mai Kafi serving as National Auditor and Alhaji Siradu Dada as Ex-Officio member at the national level.

“These are the individuals who have the mandate to participate in zoning deliberations at the national level,” he explained.

According to him, the purpose of zoning is to promote equity and avoid the dominance of one region over others in leadership positions.

He also reiterated that all legacy parties that merged to form the APC are now fully integrated, and no one group has more rights than another.

“The era of legacy parties is over. We now operate under one APC. The ACN, CPC, and ANPP no longer exist as separate entities. We have one flag, one logo, and one united party,” he stated.

 

Any Person Can Aspire To Be Our Chairman – Rivers APC

The Chief Emeka Beke-led faction of the APC in Rivers State, said any bonafide party member can  aspire to lead the APC at the national level.

APC spokesman in the state, Hon. Darlington Nwauju, who disclosed this in a chat with LEADERSHIP Weekend in Port Harcourt, said every Nigerian has right to seek for any position in the country.

Nwauju said: “When you discuss or you want to analyze politics and political alignment or realignment, it is that it is captured under political association. People agree to associate at every point in time.

“Like I said before, everybody has the right to aspire. Aspiration is part of political engagement. Association is also part of democratic engagement. The two are birds of the same feather; they work pari pasu.

“You cannot divorce one from the other. If you have a political association or any other thing, you have a right to desire for anything, you have a right to aspire for anything.”