APC NEC meeting and implications of NWC dissolution ahead 2023

The decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) to dissolve the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at its meeting on Thursday, June 25, 2020 is proof to the rightness of the saying that if you look closely, there is always something to learn and gain from every negative situation.

For the over two years that the APC was led by the former National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, contrary to the constitution of the party which stipulates that the NEC which is the second highest decision making body of the party must be called according to Article 25 (B) (i) and (ii) of the party by the National Executive Committee (NEC) every quarter, Oshiomhole never called any.

So, it was not surprising that when the court appointed Acting National Chairman of the party, Victor Giadom, who also enjoyed the support of the presidency, called the party’s NEC meeting for Thursday, many of the members of the National Working Committee, especially those loyal to Oshiomhole insisted that the meeting should not hold as Giadom lacked the powers to so call.

Many political watchers had reasoned that instead of opposing the NEC meeting because it was called by Giadom, which their National Working Committee under Oshiomhole failed to call in the first place, what members of the NWC ought to do is to sit back and reason how they got to a point where the Deputy National Secretary of the party could transform himself from that position to the position of the Acting National Chairman, for him to now be in a position to be calling for a NEC meeting.

The current crisis rocking the APC, which incidentally is the ruling party at the centre, was not caused by Giadom, but by Adams Oshiomhole’s ambition to continue to call the shots in his home state of Edo, where in 2016, after serving his two term as governor of the state successfully imposed one of his favourite aides, Godwin Obaseki, to succeed him against the wishes of many Edo indigenes and residents, but he had his way as he rode roughshod over the people and got Obaseki into the Government House.

Shortly after Obaseki mounted the mantle of leadership in the state that it became clear that rather than having a successor, Oshiomhole was actually working towards a third term in office through having a stooge who will continually do his bidding, but in Obaseki he was mistaken.

It was not long after he mounted the saddle of leadership that Obaseki broke himself free from Oshiomhole’s cord and started to be his own man. But, not happy with this development and wanting to bring Obaseki back under his control, Oshiomhole ignited some feud in the government and by the time the governor responded in his own way the crisis between them became public knowledge.

It was in an attempt to show who was stronger at the home front that his home ward of Etsako Ward 10 suspended him from the party, it was ratified at both the local government and state levels and subsequently sent to the NWC for action, but expectedly they sat on it and some members of the party had to approach the court for that to be effected.

When it was ratified by a court pronouncement, though appealed against, Giadom in line with the party’s constitution that the highest ranking member of the NWC from the zone of the chairman will act in his absence, sought the intervention of the court to act as chairman, because the Deputy chairman (South) Niyi Adebayo had been appointed a minister and the court approved his application.

So, when Oshiomhole lost his position eventually through the decision of the Court of Appeal, Giadom naturally sought to effect his rights as granted by the court earlier and when this was opposed by other members of the NWC, he went to court again to renew the order and it was granted.

In the interim, the NWC of the party appointed former Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, who was earlier appointed by Comrade Oshiomhole as the Deputy National Chairman of the party without the approval of NEC, according to laid down rules to act in his stead, but because he was sick and in hospital, Hilliard Eta, Assistant National Chairman, South South was appointed to act in his stead.

So, when President Muhammadu Buhari after meeting with Giadom and listening to superior legal opinion decided to go with the Giadom leadership and approved the NEC meeting, other members of the party and NWC ought to know better than to start opposing it.

However, despite the opposition to the NEC meeting it was well attended by about 16 governors of the party and majority of those who should be in attendance and far reaching decisions were taken.

The governors of Nasarawa, Niger, Jigawa, Plateau, Imo, Kogi, Yobe, Gombe, Osun, Ogun, Lagos, Kwara, Kebbi, Kano, Kaduna and Ekiti were physically present.

Members of APC NEC Membership of the National Executive Committee (NEC) includes the National Chairman, Deputy National Chairman (North), Deputy National Chairman (South), National Secretary, Deputy National Secretary, Six National Vice Chairmen, National Legal Adviser, Deputy National Legal Adviser, National Treasurer, Deputy National Treasurer, National Financial Secretary, Deputy National Financial Secretary, National Organising Secretary.

Others are Deputy National Organising Secretary, National Publicity Secretary, Deputy National Publicity Secretary, National Welfare Secretary, Deputy National Welfare Secretary, National Auditor, Deputy National Auditor, National Women Leader, Deputy National Women Leader and National Youth Leader. Others include Deputy National Youth Leader, Special (Physically Challenged) Leader, Zonal Secretary, Zonal Youth Leader, Zonal Organising Secretary, Zonal Women Leader.

Included also are States’ Chairmen of the party, President, Vice President, Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Governors, Majority or Minority Leader, Party Whip and their Deputies in the Senate and the House of Representatives, two serving senators from each geo-political zone, three members of the House of Representatives from each geo-political zone, six Ex-Officio members from each geo-political zone, serving Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Secretary of the Board of Trustees (BoT).

Oshiomhole, Giadom lose out as APC dïssolves NWC

Some of the decisions reached at the NEC meeting includes “The withdrawal of all cases in Court, The dissolution of NWC, The establishment of Caretaker/Convention Committee and the ratification of the Gubernatorial Primaries in Edo State.

In dissolving the NWC, the NEC appointed the former National Secretary of the party, who is now the serving the governor of Yobe State, Governor Mai Mala Buni as the chairman, All Progressives Congress APC’s caretaker committee and they are to as soon as possible organise an extraordinary national convention.

Though the appointment of Buni may seem logical, having served as a member of the same NWC, many political watchers have however reasoned that the best option for the party would have been a clean break from the past, and handing the position to a neutral person without interest within the immediate past executive.

They nevertheless expressed suspicion over the intentions of the President in appointing a man who was with him in both the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), into such position.

They also reason that the coming of the governor to the present position despite his busy schedule may not be unconnected to strategically planning ahead for the 2023 agenda, when the North is still proposing to retain power after the two term of four years each of President Buhari.

Those who think along this line are of the opinion that if the President did not harbor any ulterior motive, the reasonable thing to do would have been to appoint someone from the South, preferably South South in line with the constitution of the party to complete the tenure of Adams Oshiohmole.

It should be noted that while the North continues to clamour to have more time in power, some southern politicians have also been clamouring for power to return to the South and some power brokers in the South within the party are already being mentioned among those angling for the position of President.