From Romanus Ugwu and Fred Itua, Abuja
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) seems not only to be sitting on a keg of gunpowder, but also risks implosion over sundry issues, particularly the outcome of the recent threat by its 22 Senators on the verge of dumping the ruling party for the opposition.
Already, the development has resulted in heightening the anxiety that has recently enveloped the party and forced the National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, to undertake a peace mission to the Red Chamber to pacify the aggrieved members.
Adamu had described the planned mass defection of members of the party as unfortunate and worrisome, admitting that it was giving the leadership of the party serious concerns.
“It is an unfortunate development when it happens, but this is the season for all manner of behaviour in the political space. And Nigeria is not an exception. In every election year, this kind of thing gives cause for stakeholders to sneeze. This is what we are experiencing. Nigeria is no exception and the APC is no exception.
“I don’t give a damn what is happening in other parties. I care about what is happening in our party, but you and I know that it’s not just the APC that is having this experience; because we are the ruling party, yes our problems are more prominent in the public glare,” he said.
However, despite the intervention by the chairman of the ruling APC and another peace mission led by the Senate Chief Whip, Dr Orji Uzoh Kalu to the presidency, the adamant senators elected on the platform of the party are still bent on leaving en masse to opposition platforms.
Senate Leader from Kebbi State, Yahaya Abdullahi, has already resigned his membership of the APC a fortnight ago and defected to the opposition PDP.
His counterpart from the state, Adamu Aliero, also dumped the party for the PDP.
At the plenary two weeks ago, three APC senators defected. They are Isa Kaita (Katsina North), Lawal Gumau (Bauchi South), and Francis Alimikhena (Edo North).
The defecting Senators, in their separate letters read by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, had cited internal crises within the local chapters of their party as reasons for their actions.
Kaita specifically pointed out that his resignation from the APC was borne out of the marginalisation of critical stakeholders by the state government and leadership of the party in Katsina State, “where small people like me do not have a chance.”
Alimikhena explained that his decision to resign was as a result of, “continuing and multifaceted crisis that has bedevilled the APC in his senatorial district, lamenting that; “this has created parallel executives that has undermined internal discipline, cohesion and focus.”
The President of the Senate, who appears to also be a victim of the current post-primaries controversies, is also lamenting.
He said: “Some of us participated in the congresses for their Senatorial districts, some of our colleagues went for governorship of their states, and four of us went for the presidency of our great country.
“We have recorded different results from those activities, but as politicians, it is never over until it is over. We should continue to support the political system that we believe in.
“Those of our colleagues who have recorded successes, we wish them more successes in the general elections. And those of us who have not succeeded as much, we are hopeful that between now and then, the situation may be better.
“But on the whole, our commitment to ensuring that this democracy benefits from legislative interventions of the National Assembly should remain our focus.
“As a Parliament, we still have issues that require our legislative intervention. The security of our country still needs our attention and, therefore, I urge all of us to continue from where we stopped before we went on recess, in giving due and desired attention for the improvement in the security of our citizens.
“The electoral process may have thrown up certain issues that the National Assembly could also look at and address, because the electoral act itself, even though a good document, is not a perfect document. So, it needs some refinement from time to time to improve our electoral process.”
However, despite the precarious situation facing both the leadership of the party and the embattled senators, the party has declared that the new Electoral Act has made it impossible to favour the senators by replacing their names with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Speaking to Sunday Sun, the APC Deputy National Organising Secretary, Nze Duru, argued that the Electoral Act only provided two windows for substitution of candidates with the electoral commission, lamenting that the windows in the past have been reduced to the two options of withdrawal and/or death of the winner of the party’s primaries.
“The situation is no longer the same. The new Electoral Act has reduced the options for substitution of the candidates that emerged from the validly conducted primary. It is either that the person withdraws or he dies. In the past, it was a seasonal habit to jump from one party to the other, especially that did not get the ticket.
“We wish that those of them that did not get the ticket to come back had secured the ticket, because we know that the older you are in the parliament the more experienced you are and the more you command respect not just among your peers, but also the new ones in the chambers.
“But all we could do is to give them assurance that it is better to remain in the party regardless of whatever situation. It was even part of the assurance Mr President gave to them recently. I can also tell you that there was no issue of ticket barter with the senators,” Duru said.
However, the last may not have been heard of the dicey situation facing the ruling party, considering the take it or leave it condition the embattled legislators gave the leadership of the party.
A chieftain of the party who does not want his name in print told Sunday Sun that the party’s leadership may not have exhausted the options in the attempt to pacify the aggrieved lawmakers.
He admitted that the biggest threat the situation posed on the APC is the fact that the party may lose the majority members’ status in the upper chambers if the 22 senators defect to the opposition party.
He emphasised that since the APC Senators at the chambers currently stood at 62 while the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has 38, if 22 senators defect, the ruling party will automatically lose its majority seat status.
“The apprehensive situation within the party is understandable and that was why our national chairman had to make that visit to the upper chambers. The truth is that we all know that it is impossible for 22 Senators to defect to the opposition parties, however, should they execute their threat by joining the main opposition party, the PDP, what it means is that our party will seize to be in charge of the chambers. The implications will certainly be unthinkable and monumental,” the chieftain said.