Challenges ahead of APC caretaker committee

The Mai Mala Buni-led National Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has finally announced that the party’s national convention will hold in June, exactly one year after the National Working Committee (NWC) was dissolved due to the crisis that threatened its existence. Although the timetable is yet to be released, TONY AKOWE examines what the party leadership needs to do before the convention

 

WHEN the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was dissolved on the orders of the National Executive Committee (NEC), which is the highest decision-making body of the party, a National Caretaker Committee was set up with the mandate to conduct a special national convention within six months to elect a new NWC. After six months without being able to achieve its mandate, the tenure of the Mai Mala Buni-led committee has been extended. As time given to the committee was winding down, there were speculations that it asked for an extension of time. This was confirmed late November when the party’s NEC extended the committee’s tenure by an additional six months, with a new mandate to conduct a membership registration and conduct elections into the various offices of the party from the polling unit level to the national level.

But, it is not yet Uhuru. Many politicians, especially from the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) joined the party within the last six months. But there are fears by some members, especially at the ward level that this new wave of defections may compound the woes of the party, as those joining would want to have control of the party structures in their localities. Aside from the crisis that saw the disbandment of the NWC, credit must be given to the National Caretaker Committee for being able to restore some element of peace and for winning some critical elections during the year.

However, one thing the party must do before the national convention, which has now been scheduled to hold in June, is to carry out a constitutional amendment. The current APC constitution no doubt gave the national chairman so much power to act almost as a sole administrator. Many members have utilised the loopholes in the constitution to foment trouble, such as the one that saw it losing some critical elections without anyone being punished for it. For example, the party’s constitution provides for three modes of selecting candidates for elections. These are the direct, the indirect and the consensus options. During the last general elections, the NEC gave states the option of choosing the mode of primary they prefer and this was the crux of the crisis that rocked the party ahead of the elections. As the party looks forward to electing a new leadership that will lead it into the 2023 elections, this is one area that it must deal with and probably adopt one mode of the primary. In other words, without a constitutional amendment to address many of the lapses in the document, the achievement of the caretaker committee may be eroded by crisis prior to 2023 general elections.

Another issue that needs to be addressed quickly as the party moves into this critical stage of rebuilding is the issue of zoning of both party offices and political offices. At the moment, it is not yet clear whether the presidential ticket will be zoned to the South or thrown open to all aspirants, including those from the North where the present occupant of the office comes from. There are many northerners within the party who are currently warming up for the presidential contest, while many southern leaders in the party are insisting that the next president must come from the South. Former Zamfara State Governor Ahmed Yerima is one of those that has publicly been quoted as saying there was no written agreement among party leaders in 2014 about power rotation or zoning. Some southern leaders like former Ogun State Governor Segun Osoba has insisted that there was an agreement on power rotation in 2014 and that it must be respected in the interest of fairness and justice.

Whatever the party arrives at, it must be done before the national convention, so as to know beforehand where the national chairman of the party will come from. For instance, former Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari has intensified his campaign to become the next national chairman. During the Oyegun/Oshiomhole era, the Deputy National Chairman (North) was chosen from Zamfara State in the Northwest. Will other states in the North allow the Northwest to produce the next chairman and in particular Zamfara State? As the incumbent President comes from the Northwest, will others allow the same zone to take the chairmanship slot? The party must be able to resolve these issues before the June convention.

It must also be able to carry out comprehensive zoning of party offices in a way that will reflect equity and fairness to all the zones. At the moment, under the caretaker committee, the chairmanship position is held by the Northeast, while the secretary position is held by the South-south, which is a complete reversal of the old arrangement which produced John Odigie-Oyegun and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. While Odigie-Oyegun and Oshiomhiole from the South-south held the position of chairman, Buni who now heads the caretaker committee and hails from the Northeast was national secretary. How the party will resolve this issue is also crucial to the peace that the party is seeking. It must be said that the failure of the party leadership to adhere to warnings of not embarking on a the election of new leaders at the various levels few months to the general election cost it so much, as it was not able to resolve the crisis that followed the various congresses.

There is no doubt that the President who is the leader of the party and the NEC has shown trust in the capacity of the National Caretaker Committee to effectively lead the party until the emergence of a substantive leadership. The extension of the tenure of the committee is an indication of this trust. Sen. John Akpan Udoedehe, the Secretary of the Caretaker Committee believes that the extension of time for the committee shows that trust. He said: “When we came on board six months ago, after understudying the state of the party, the committee leadership set its agenda for driving its actions accordingly. The agenda include the need to resolve all pending and emerging internal crisis within the party at all levels and to create a harmonious working atmosphere for the general convention; the need to get all ongoing litigations against the party, as well as among members – with bearing to party issues – withdrawn and terminated; and the need to expand the party membership base via the revalidation of the party membership; registration of new members; and update of the party membership register.

He added: “The committee from the outset was saddled with the task of preparing and leading the party’s campaign in a number of critical elections for positions at the state and national levels. To this, the committee had to commence preparation from the outset. The committee saw also the need to resolve the ownership tussle surrounding the building that houses the national secretariat. On the issue of conflict resolution, the committee did set up several high-profile reconciliations teams across chapters that were battered by internal crises and has recorded a good number of resolutions that have improved the party’s stand and cohesion since then. However, we have also recognised that conflicts and conflict resolution in a large family like ours would always be a continuous exercise and as such the committee has laid a structure for continuous recognition of crisis where they exist and their resolution as much as it is possible.”

The party is, however, set to begin its long-awaited membership registration which is expected to begin on January 25, 2021. This is expected to be carried out before the commencement of ward and local government congresses through a fair and transparent process of electing officials for the various organs of the party that will culminate in the national convention. The national secretary said the party was working to create a member-centred party structure that guarantees the full participation of all members and accord privileges to strengthened members’ trust, beliefs and engagements in all party activities. However, not oblivious of the likelihood of crisis during the exercise, he said that the party recognises the need for continued conflict resolution and have decided to vigorously pursue reconciliation on all fronts to emerge as a stronger party ahead of the congresses and the 2023 general elections.

In view of the task ahead, the National Caretaker Committee announced it will engage some competent party leaders to serve in actualising the various programmes. It also promised to release a detailed timetable of activities leading to the national convention. It must, however, be able to look beyond personal interest, while putting party interest first. While announcing the membership registration, the national secretary said: “Our party’s membership registration/revalidation will be followed by activities for the party’s leadership reconstitution at all levels, from the ward, local government, and state to national level. Ahead of those exercises, the committee will release a detailed timetable for all activities very soon. Ahead of the congresses and national convention, competent party leaders will be invited to serve in committees to ensure that the mandate of the NEC is achieved before June 30, 2021 deadline.

“As a party, we want to assure all our members that our commitment to lead the process of political change in Nigeria is unwavering. Our ability to constantly strengthen the structures of our party is part of our change credentials. Other important requirements, which will include the review of our rules and other operational requirements, which are needed to make our party and our elected representatives more accountable to Nigerians will be considered and all the necessary steps required will be taken. A democracy is as strong as the political parties it produces. We are rebuilding our party, the APC, to strengthen our democracy.