APC convention fallout: Odigie Oyegun faces tough challenges ahead of 2015 The opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) held its long-awaited National Convention at the popular Eagle Square, Abuja at the weekend where former Edo State Governor Chief John Odigie-Oyegun emerged by consensus as national chairman. What credentials does Oyegun have to lead the biggest opposition party in Nigeria into the 2015 election year? Sunday Trust takes a look at this and the challenges before him. Erstwhile Governor of Edo State, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun made history at the weekend as he emerged the first substantive National Chairman of the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC). Oyegun emerged by consensus at the first APC National Convention held at Eagle Square in Abuja. Before his emergence the APC had been run by an interim executive since its formation last year. It was not completely an easy sail for Chief Oyegun who faced initial stiff opposition from his kinsman, Tom Ikimi, who was reportedly absent at the venue of the convention. This followed some political horse trading that saw two other aspirants for the chairmanship position, Chief Sam Jaja and Timipire Sylva, agreeing to back down, thus leaving Oyegun and Ikimi to do the contest. While announcing his withdrawal from the contest, Sylvia said he took the decision in order to maintain party unity, adding that he would throw his weight behind the party’s choice. Other officers who also emerged through the same process were Deputy Chairman, South, Segun Adebayo Oni; Deputy Chairman, North, Lawal Shuaibu; National Secretary, Alhaji Mai Mala Goni and National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Muhammed. According to reports, heavy rain and wind disrupted the voting process for the party offices while voting was in process. Consequently, ballot boxes were reportedly scattered by the heavy wind, even as canopy and the public address system were destroyed by the rain, sending everybody scampering for shelter. When the rains and storm were over, Chairman of the APC election sub-committee, Alhaji Kawu Baraje announced that Oyegun was the only candidate for the chairmanship position following the withdrawal of the other contestants, including Chief Ikimi. Not oblivious of the onerous responsibility ahead of him, an elated Chief Oyegun in his acceptance speech acknowledged the enormity of the responsibility before him but pledged not to approach his task with kid gloves. “I am humbled by the great honour you have conferred on me and the sacred trust you have reposed in me. And with extreme humility, I accept this responsibility that you have entrusted to me, to lead our party onto the next phase of its evolution and onwards to the fulfillment of its destined mission as the liberator of the Nigerian people.This is a heavy responsibility, but I assure you it is a responsibility I will not take lightly. I pledge to do my utmost, God being on my side, to justify the faith and confidence you have reposed in me”, Oyegun said. Sounding philosophical in his acceptance speech entitled: “We must set forth at dawn”, Oyegun said: “Tonight I say to Nigerians your wait is over. Your prayers have not been in vain. Help is on the way. The APC is here! In 2015 Nigerians will finally have the opportunity to kick out a long-ruling party that has, among other things, failed to provide them with stable power supply, failed to provide them with security that will enable them sleep peacefully on their beds at night, failed to provide employment for millions of Nigerian youths, and failed to stem the tide of corruption that is robbing Nigeria’s children of their future. “In 2015, the All Progressives Congress will provide Nigerians with a visionary, dedicated and people-oriented leadership that will liberate the nation from PDP’s rule of poverty and oppression. Under the stewardship of the APC, Nigeria will progress and Nigerians will thrive. This is our sacred pledge to Nigerians tonight…” The new APC helmsman has been a leading figure in Nigerian politics for a long time. He was once regarded as a super Permanent Secretary during the military era that ushered in the current democracy. Oyegun was the first chief executive of Edo state under the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (PDP) during the aborted 3rd Republic. Earlier in the current dispensation, he pitched tent with the defunct All Peoples Party which later transformed into the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). As a member of the ANPP he rose to become the running mate to the Presidential candidate of the party, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, who is a former governor of Kano state and is now a ministerial nominee. With the merger of political parties he followed his party into the APC, where he has now become the National Chairman. While in ANPP he did not command much respect among party faithful in Edo state. The then state governorship candidate of the party during the 2012 governorship election Chief Solomon Edebiri was not even his candidate, and he did not help campaign for him. Instead he worked for the current governor of the state Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as the polling agent of the then Action Congresses of Nigeria. As a chieftain of the APC he was among those who were not happy with the outcome of the ward and state congress of the party in the Edo which led to many party members defecting to the PDP. Before the defection of APC members into the PDP the state governor was given some conditions that would make them remain in APC. One of such conditions was that the governor must apologize to Chief Oyegun for the ‘shabby’ way he was treated. The apology did not come and some of Oyegun loyalists especially among the Benin people dumped APC for PDP. It was, therefore, not surprising that governor Oshiomhole initially did not support his candidacy for the chairmanship of the party. He preferred instead the candidacy of the former Minister of External Affairs, Chief Ikimi. But a lot of things worked against Tom Ikimi. First was that he was national chairman of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) and the role he and his party played in the annulment of June 12, 2003 Presidential election is believed to have worked against him. Analysts have questioned how a June 12 apologist could emerge national chairman of the APC a day after the nation marked another anniversary of June 12. How could the likes of Chief Bola Tinubu and South West members of the party explain that to their people? This is more so that the South West is the home of Chief M.K.O. Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12 Presidential election and one of the strongholds of the APC in the country. Governor Adams Oshiomhole has already reacted to the emergence of Chief John Oyegun. Oshiomhole’s Special Assistant on Media, Prince Kassim Afegbua, Ohhiomhole said the emergence is a welcome development and that the governor actually supported his candidacy “without which he wouldn’t have got the job.” When reminded that Oyegun and his group were among the people that were opposed to the APC ward congress in Edo state Kassim Afegbua said: “All that is over now. Oyegun is an astute politician and accomplished public servant who is expected to use his wisdom to stabilize the party in the country.” Edo state APC chairman, Anslem Ojezua described the emergence of Oyegun as a victory to the people of Edo state. Describing Oyegun as man of integrity who will consolidate the effort of the party to bring change to the people of Nigeria, Ojezua said: “I feel elated that we have produced the first national chairman of the APC.I think it is a historic occasion. You know the way these political organizations are structured. What I think he needs to do is to use his experience and provide the right leadership, and with the help of other elected officers I don’t see how he cannot do it.” He said Oyegun is one of the forward looking leaders that are ready to make the necessary sacrifice to run the affairs of the party to have the advantage to take the government at the centre. He advised the new APC chairman to carry all the members of the party along as he takes office because that will help in the party’s growth. APC chieftain, Buba Galadima, described Oyegun as a seasoned politician who can handle the affairs of the party, adding that his experience in administration as a civil servant and a governor would would perform wonders. For the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the emergence of Chief John Oyegun as national chairman of the opposition All Progressive Party (APC) does not in any way pose a threat to the ruling party. National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, who congratulated Oyegun over his emergence, however, expressed the hope that he would bring his wealth of experience and maturity to bear in administering the opposition party. “We do not see his emergence as being a threat. We hope he will bring his maturity to bear in administering the affairs of the APC based on his issue-based orientation, especially towards ensuring a more stable atmosphere in 2015. “We hope the new APC leadership will ensure an issue-based opposition that will purposefully and constructively engage and challenge the PDP with decency and maturity as prescribed by democratic tenets and principles,” Metuh said. Maintaining that Nigerians deserve a vibrant and patriotic opposition driven only by national interest, Metuh charged the new APC leadership to “put the unity and welfare of Nigerians ahead of other considerations and jettison all divisive tendencies, including unguarded statements that overheat the polity and pitch Nigerians against one another.” Metuh asserted what he called the pre-eminent position of the PDP and its widest acceptance among Nigerians across board despite the APC new leadership which he maintained pose no threat at all. “The ruling party remains the only party that has continued to be committed to the national interest, as well as providing level playing ground for all Nigerians to achieve their aspirations irrespective of religious, ethnic and gender considerations”, he said. The Challenges before Oyegun Even with the success of the convention where only few offices were contested for, the new leadership of the party would have a lot to contend with to build the kind of party whose front line concern is how to unseat the PDP in next year’s general elections. As Oyegun resumes in office, what would have been his first assignment has largely been taken care of with the zoning of offices to zones and the added responsibility for states within the zones to sort candidates for national offices out themselves. This will definitely minimize the suspicion that usually subsists the setting up of National Working Committees after such contests which have the tendency to distract the leadership from carrying out its functions. But still, there are a lot of contending issues. Oyegun and his team are coming at a time when the build-up to next year’s general elections has started and will definitely have no time to waste but will have to hit the ground running. Bearing this in mind, political parties prefer to hold their conventions long before the year for general elections so as to afford the leadership the time to study before leading the party to a major contest. But the APC does not have that luxury, as it would be going into a crucial election in Ekiti State, barely a week after it has put in place a new leadership. A month after that also, it would have to take its machinery to Osun for a similar election.The enormity of the expectation is better appreciated when viewed against the backdrop of the fact that the Ekiti guber election, being its first major assignment, would go a long way in defining the character of the new leadership. One major task for Oyegun is how to resolve the issue of the state congresses in the various states of the federation, including that of his home state Edo). At the last count, no less than eight state chapters of the party have split owing to the manner the state congresses were conducted. This has also led to defection of prominent members of the party in many of the states.The states include Plateau, Taraba, Katsina, Edo, Benue, Ogun, Kaduna and others.The congresses in Kaduna and Katsina had to be rescheduled many times and even when it was held in Kaduna, the process resulted in further crisis as a group within the party, which disagreed with the processes had gone ahead to form a faction. The same happened in Taraba, where there are now two parallel factions of the APC in the state, as well as in Benue, and Ogun states.In Ogun State, the party has many times found itself on the verge of losing a large number of followers due to the unresolved differences between the state governor, Ibikunle Amosun and the former governor of the state, Segun Osoba. In Benue, Alhaji Usman Abubakar, also known as ‘Young Alhaji’ with other prominent members of the party, had to leave the party in annoyance due to what they termed the ‘unacceptable’ manner, the leader of the party in the state, George Akume is running the affairs of the party.In Plateau, there is a petition challenging the new leadership that was thrown up as a result of the state congress which is yet to be resolved. In Edo, the manner the state congress was conducted has generated bad blood leading to the defection of prominent members of the party to the PDP. Oyegun would be required to treat these cases dispassionately to assure members that he is firm about addressing the issues and not cause further friction. Analysts believe that his emergence may likely change the face of politics in Edo state as he will certainly work hard to bring his former party loyalists who had defected to the PDP back to the APC bearing in mind that that the National Chairman of a party should be able to deliver, both at the state and national elections. One of the defecting APC members who did not want to be named said in politics anything is possible. According to him in politics what is permanent is interest not friends. He said the group has won the first battle which is to ensure the emergence of Oyegun as chairman of the party. “Having secured that, what is left is to get the governorship ticket of the party in 2016 governorship election and once that is guaranteed we may as well return back to the APC and end the wind of defection which may likely lead to the death of APC in Edo State if not checked”, he said. But the leader of the APC defectors Pastor Ize Iyamu said he has left APC for PDP and there is no going back. He spoke through his spokesperson, Thomas Sado. Another problem is that though the legacy parties could be said to have successfully merged, allegiance of party members are still traceable to the blocs of the defunct parties. These problems vary from one geopolitical zone to another. While in the South West, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) dominates the affairs of the party to the chagrin of the other defunct parties like the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), it is the other way round in the North where the former members of the CPC and ANPP hold sway. How the national chairman navigates through the contours of the legacy parties to give members a sense of belonging would serve to enable them forget the divide. Owing, also, to how the party came on board, there are suspicion by groups and individuals that certain persons are out to dominate the affairs of the party to the exclusion of others. This was said to have led to a recent faceoff between former governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff and his erstwhile counterpart in Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Oyegun, who is seen as an elderly politician and who had been governor long before many of the current leaders of the party, is expected to use his experience and wisdom to avert this kind of crisis. Though it is clear that his emergence is due to pressure by leaders of the party and that the state governors in the party would have preferred someone younger, analyst say it would be costly for Oyegun not to factor in the influence of the governors as he steps out to lead the party. The governors would definitely want to decide who gets the party’s ticket in their respective states so as to determine who succeeds them. Where the interests of the governors and that of the other leaders of the party seem to clash, as it is in the case of Adamawa would be a major challenge for the new leadership. Party insiders also say the party would have to find a way of ensuring party discipline and practice internal democracy to stave off the impression that it is run by a few individuals. Perhaps, the major challenge for Oyegun would be how to handle the issue of the presidential primaries as the party has a surfeit of aspirants to choose from. How Oyegun handles all these would not only define his leadership abilities but determine the strength of his character.
Posted on: Sun, 15 Jun 2014 16:55:49 +0000
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