There are strong indications that a
fresh power tussle is brewing in the All Progressives Congress over the
chairmanship of its Board of Trustees.
Saturday PUNCH reliably learnt
on Friday that the tussle was between former Vice-President Atiku
Abubakar and a former Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande.
Investigations showed that the tussle
was part of moves by the power blocs in the APC to influence decisions
in the party by taking control of its various organs.
Saturday PUNCH had last week
reported that two power blocs led by Atiku and a National Leader of the
party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had engaged in a fierce battle to control
the party.
It was learnt that the two camps believed that the BOT chairmanship would go a long way in assisting them to control the party.
The chairman of the BOT, according to Article 13.2 of the APC constitution, shall be elected by the board members.
Both camps, investigations showed, had started reaching out to members of the board, who would elect the chairman.
It was learnt that Akande was being
backed by Tinubu, who is not happy with Atiku’s role in the National
Assembly leadership elections.
The struggle for the chairmanship of the
APC’s BOT, investigations revealed, became intense following the
National Assembly leadership elections on June 9.
Atiku was reported to have supported
Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu
Dogara, during the elections.
Tinubu and the party’s National Working
Committee were said to have backed Senator Ahmad Lawan and Mr. Femi
Gbajabiamila for the senate presidency and the speakership.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar
Both candidates lost to Saraki and Dogara during the elections.
Investigations revealed that the
emergence of Saraki as the senate president would enable the Atiku camp
to take control of the party’s National Executive Committee.
The Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are members of the NEC.
Tinubu is believed to be in control of the party’s NWC as many of its members are said to be close to him.
The contest for the control of the BOT is still open to the two camps.
The media aide to Tinubu, Mr. Sunday
Dare, could not be reached on the telephone as it indicated that it was
switched off while a text message sent to his telephone was not replied
to as of press time.
But a close associate of Akande, Mr.
Adelani Baderinwa, told one of our correspondents that he was not aware
that the former governor of Osun State was being nominated to be the
chairman of the BOT of the ruling party.
Baderinwa, who was the former chief
press secretary of Akande when he was the governor, spoke on the
telephone with our correspondent in Osogbo on Friday.
He, however, said his former principal
had everything needed to function very effectively in the office if he
was elected the BOT chairman.
He said, “Chief Bisi Akande is eminently
qualified to be BOT chairman of the APC. He was a chairman of the
Alliance for Democracy; he was the chairman of Action Congress of
Nigeria and was the Interim Chairman of the APC.
“Before this, you will remember that he was a deputy governor and later he became the governor of Osun State.
“If you are talking about Nigeria, he
knows Nigeria very well and his integrity is unquestionable and he is an
experienced politician.”
When contacted, the Managing Director of
the Atiku Media Office, Mr. Paul Ibe, said he was not aware that the
party had announced a vacancy for the position in question.
He, however, said the former
Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, had all the qualities to occupy the
position should the opportunity present itself.
He said, “Like I have said elsewhere
before, we are not aware that the APC has thrown open the race for the
chairmanship of the party’s BoT.
“But if in the wisdom of the party, it
elects to appoint Abubakar as the Chairman of its BoT, the Turaki
Adamawa will be amenable and well disposed to it because he is eminently
qualified to offer his services to the party at that level.”
