Is this the beginning of the end for APC?

Less than two years on power stool, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is seriously being rocked by internal crisis that is threatening its very existence. The APC, an amalgamation of political parties that was formed in 2014, seized power last year from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP that presided over the reins of power for 16 straight years.

Before the formation of the APC, a good number of PDP chieftains had crossed over to the then opposition party to strengthen it for the presidential election last year. The intractable disagreements between the then President Goodluck Jonathan had caused bad blood, resulting in the exodus of about five governors on the platform of the PDP. The current minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, was the arrow head.

Today, it appears that the reasons for the disintegration of the PDP in the Jonathan era, is rearing its head in the APC. At that time, Jonathan was accused of high-handedness, dictatorial tendencies, imposition of candidates and taking critical decisions all alone without involving certain power brokers in the party. Jonathan paid direly for it eventually.

President Muhammadu Buhari appears to be treading that same path of destruction or so it seems. The president has been severally accused of taking many faulty steps that have brought him in conflict with some chieftains and other stakeholders of the APC. It started as a rumour that he no longer enjoys a rosy relationship with the National leader of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and that he may have side-lined those who worked for his electoral victory and had brought in certain aliens to come reap where they did not sow. But these rumours were confirmed when Aisha, the First Lady, came out recently during an interview session with the BBC Hausa Service to pour her frustration with her husband’s administration.

Shortly after Aisha’s comments, Rochas Okorocha, Imo State governor and chairman of APC Governors’ Forum, had urged the President not to sweep under the carpet the observations made by the First Lady. Okorocha followed up by convening a meeting between the President and the governors.

At the meeting, the APC governors pointedly told the President that they were being sidelined when decisions are being taken by Aso Rock in matters of deciding who should benefit from Federal appointments in their individual states. Particular reference was made of the ambassadorial nominee list already before the National Assembly. Rising from the meeting with the President and vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Okorocha was said to have addressed the state correspondents where he was quoted to have said that the APC had taken responsibility for Nigeria’s economic downturn; the confession came after months of buck passing and blame game.

The frosty relationship between the Buhari-led Executive arm and the Legislature has so degenerated to the point that both arms now work at cross-purposes.

Recently, the National Assembly rejected Buhari’s request to borrow $30million. The rejection came a few days after it (Legislature) unilaterally amended the Code of Conduct Bureau and Code of Conduct Tribunal Acts, removing the powers from the Presidency. Observers see these as dangerous developments for a party that has not lasted up to two years in power.

While at the National Assembly to broker peace between the Buhari-led Executive and the Legislature, Okorocha said the party has not managed properly its victory as there were hunger and serious hardship in the country.

The Imo State governor noted that there was anger among members of the ruling party, the APC.

He, however, assured that in the next few weeks, President Buhari would be bringing the members of the party together to ensure amicable resolution of the problem threatening to tear the party apart, adding that the party will soon be rebranded.

While critics believe that lack of tact in handling the economy resulted in the recession, APC government said it was squarely the fault of the out gone PDP administration. Analysts say the open fight between the President and the APC governors is a dangerous sign that portends grave danger for the broom party.

“Whenever a caterpillar vehicle is approaching, the vibration of the ground is felt several metres away. That is what is happening with the APC at the moment. The sound we hear now is that of discord and disagreement. It is setting a stage for the implosion of the party,” Tony Aneke, a public affairs analysts said.

According to Aneke, “Things are happening very fast. Within a space of one month, the president’s wife has spoken to him through public medium; the governors on the party’s platform have spoken to him on the same subject matter and don’t forget that Tinubu is totally frustrated, scandalized and embarrassed by what is going on in the party. When he told John Odigie-Oyegun to resign over the crisis arising from the Ondo governorship election primaries, he must have spoken out as a result of some happenings in the party.”

An analyst, who would not want his name in print, wondered why the APC should be interested only in snatching power from the PDP without any effort to perform the duty of office.

“I am at a loss why the APC should get power that it is not ready to use for the benefit of the country. PDP managed to last for 16 years; the way APC is going, I doubt if it can last more than one term of four years. The signs are ominous, and the signs are everywhere. It is obvious that the party, the executive (presidency) and National assembly are working at cross possesses,” the analyst said.

Observers say that unlike in the early days of the Buhari administration, when many party faithful were seen singing the praise of the President and brandishing the APC flag, today it appears that people are no longer keen at speaking in favour of the party.

Aneke volunteered a reason, thus: “People, generally human beings, identify with heroes. It is not usual to see people queue behind failure. People identify with success, hence the saying that success has many relatives. The tragedy of APC situation is that the party came to power on the crest of vaunted promises and braggadocio. And it did not even take off before it crash-landed almost immediately. Truth be told, with what we have seen already, it is a sad story, even worse than that of the PDP.”