APC: Disaffection fuels move for new parties

The move by some politicians to form a new party less than one year after the inauguration of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, analysts say, is a mirror of loss of confidence in the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government by many Nigerians.

Two months to the first anniversary of the administration, talks about forming new political parties, alignment and re-alignment of forces have become deafening, raising concerns over the possibility of the ruling party staying beyond one term in office.

Recently, some members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who were aggrieved over the emergence of Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman of the party and other unsavory developments in the umbrella party left to align forces with their ilk in the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the APC to form a new association to be known as Peoples Mega Party (PMP).

Perry Opara, the protem chairman of the proposed party, said: “The major people who are in the party are former members of the PDP who are disenchanted by the high level of corruption, high level of impunity and high-handedness in the PDP. They have decided to form something very new and they are of the opinion that they should hand over the party to younger elements who are less corrupt and who can fight for the interest of the people. There are also disenchanted people from the APC that feel that they want a new place and that is what it is.”

It would also be recalled that Kawu Baraje, a former acting chairman of the PDP who announced the formation of a faction of the PDP, leading six governors of the party to eventually align with the APC in 2013, recently issued a note of warning to leaders of the APC, saying the issues that made him leave the PDP have started to rear their heads in the APC.

Baraje, carpeting the APC, said the party has lived below expectation since it took over the reins of government nearly one year ago.

“If I have to be grateful to any political party, I think, it is the PDP and if I can leave that party, then you will know that the party had gone seriously against my principles of life,” he said.

According to him, “If I can leave the PDP because of impunity, lack of respect for the rule of law, then do I want to continue in another party that way? But it has not got to that level. That is why we are sounding a note of warning that gradually some of these problems are creeping into the APC.”

Those who have followed the politics in the APC-led government since May last year would not see the ominous signs of implosion all over the party as anything strange.

Baraje pointed to the frosty relationship existing between the Executive and the Legislature, noting that such state of affairs was dangerous to any party that hopes to make any appreciable mark in society.

According to him, the division in the party has made it lose most of the rerun elections that have been conducted since it formed government at the centre.

“Most of the distractions were created by APC itself. For instance, Senate President Bukola Saraki, who is heading an important arm of government, is not getting the necessary support from the party,” he said.

“We have participated in rerun elections, both at the state and national levels, and the APC has lost majority of those elections, not because of lack of popularity but because of lack of enough presence.

“Some of us, with our experience, expected the national presence of our party much more during reruns, but we do not see that happening.”

A political affairs analyst, Anthony Arung, said: “The talk about formation of new parties is too early in the day. It is a sign of dissatisfaction and lack of internal democracy in the APC. Nigerians are highly disappointed in the APC. They are not getting what they expected. Again, the party appears to be going the way of the PDP in terms of impunity. Look at the case of Saraki for instance, the party’s stalwarts wanted to foist leadership on the National Assembly which was resisted by the members.

“Today, we can see what Saraki is going through. If he didn’t undermine the powers that be, nobody will be talking about false declaration of assets. But the question remains, why is his matter coming up after four years he left office?”

Arung further said: “I tell you that if elections were to be held today, the APC would be thoroughly defeated by even unknown parties. The suffering is too much in the land. As it is today, the PDP has failed; the APC appears failing; maybe Nigerians need a new party to take them to the Eldorado.”

“It is too early for APC to start losing members or the kind of disaffection that is tearing the party apart. PDP was able to hold on for 16 years because despite the larger-than-life attitude of some leaders, they remained together. It was during the Jonathan period that it experienced the mass exodus. But this APC disintegration is coming too early in the day. It tells you that the people did not prepare for leadership. They were only interested in getting the power from Jonathan. In all departments of governance, they have failed,” he further said.

Ebenezer Babatope, a former minister of transport and currently a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said there was no need for new parties now.

Babatope said: “Founding new parties is not what we need at this point in time. What we need now is to put our efforts together to see how we can rescue our country from the level of poverty that is crippling the land. We don’t need new parties now. As for those decamping from the PDP, they have a right to go wherever they want to. I remain a PDP member to the extent my strength can carry me.”

Dauda Birma, a minister of education under General Sani Abacha military junta, also believes there’s no need for new parties.

Birma said: “Let me tell you, it doesn’t make sense at all to talk about forming new parties at this time. There are several parties that can be used to anybody to achieve whatever they want to achieve. If their interest is to serve the country, let them join the existing parties to use such platforms to serve.

“Politicians are very good at blackmail. They will be flaunting the idea of new party, but at night they go somewhere to collect money. Many of them are not sincere at all and Nigerians must not allow themselves to be deceived.”

Birma, a former presidential aspirant on the platform of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), further said: “For now, I have not seen anything that would make me to withdraw my support for President Buhari. At the time of election, although I was not in his party, I voted for him, and also influenced a lot of people to vote for him because I believed in him. I will keep on supporting him. If by his conduct and performance, he says he will run again in 2019, I will support him, but if he does not live up to expectation, I will advise him to withdraw.”

Remi Sonaiya, a professor and presidential candidate of KOWA Party in last year’s election, advised those contemplating for new political parties to take advantage of robust platform her party provides.

Sonaiya said: “There is absolutely no need for more parties. They should explore the ones on ground like KOWA Party. I don’t know how Nigerians got this mentality of thinking that we only have two political parties. It is very wrong and dangerous. During the last general election, I continued to plead with the media to let the people know that the contest was not only between Buhari and Jonathan or APC and PDP. Agreed that we may not have the kind of money they have to get our programmes on the television, radio and pages of newspapers, but we have something to offer more than any of them. But nobody listened to us. Now we can see what they can offer. If people were given the opportunity to know about us, may be, the story could have been different.”

“I think, there is the need to really let people know the parties in existence. Again, people are planning new parties because they are seeking their own interest not the interest of country and the people,” she said.

Although Nigerians went for a change, following the frustration from the past administration, the current situation of things in the country shows they are not yet out of the woods because the change they hoped for remains a mirage.

Baraje aptly captured the mood of the moment when he said: “I belong to the group that is not satisfied with the performance of the party. We are not happy with the performance of our party.

“I am not a prophet of doom, neither am I a political prostitute. Are you happy going to queue up for up to two to three hours? Are you happy that electricity is not functioning well and people sleep in darkness?

“What we are saying is that majority of Nigerians are not happy and we need to make them happy.”