R to L: Buhari, OyegunBy Simon Ateba/Lagos
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday tried to cast the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as a united party with loyal members.
In a statement, presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Mr. Buhari who was in Akure, commended the Ondo APC gubernatorial aspirants “for their loyalty to the party and supporting Chief Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the party’s candidate for the November 26 elections in the state”.
Speaking at a meeting with the gubernatorial aspirants, APC elders in the state, and national officers of the party, President Buhari said the unity of the party was crucial for the outcome of next Saturday’s election.
“I am very pleased that those of you who lost the primaries are still very much in the party.
“That you lose elections doesn’t mean you should walk away, you keep on trying. I went to the Supreme Court three times in my bid to become the President of Nigeria.
“I like your high spirit and your commitment to the party and I hope your constituencies are taking note of that,’’ the President told the aspirants shortly before departing for the Democracy Park in Akure for the grand finale of the Ondo APC gubernatorial rally.
The President, who was accompanied to the meeting by the Senate President, APC National Chairman, several APC Governors and Ministers, told the party faithful in Ondo that he looked forward to a successful election next week.
But those in the corridors of power and with street knowledge in Ondo have told TheSimonAtebaNews that the unity and loyalty of party members Mr. Buhari was praising on Saturday was only visible to himself and his public relations handlers.
To many others, the rift between President Buhari and Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC national leader, has blown wide open in Ondo and is signaling something awful for the ruling APC ahead of 2019 when many are predicting that the ruling party would implode.
Mr. Bola Tinubu, arguably the most influential politician in the southwestern part of Nigeria backed Mr. Olusegun Abraham during the APC primaries. But the Abuja cabal supported by Mr. Buhari backed Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu.
On the eve of the elections, the list of delegates was allegedly manipulated to favour the Abuja candidate who eventually won, according to the Tinubu camp.
Ever since, Mr. Tinubu has called for the chairman of the party to resign and he has purportedly vowed to defeat the candidate of his own party, although not officially.
Mr. Tinubu’s supporters are said to have moved to the Alliance for Democracy, AD, and are backing Mr. Olusola Oke who dumped the APC for AD.
While the APC was battling its own demons, a controversial ruling, quickly used by the electoral body recognised Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim – a controversial businessman respected by no one and who cannot win his own polling unit – as the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, candidate.
By making Mr. Ibrahim the PDP candidate, many saw it as away of breaking the stronger party and paving way for the Abuja candidate to emerge winner on November 26.
The PDP has asked for the postponement of the election until its original candidate is reinstated by the court.
But it is not likely INEC was ready to postpone the election.
Many see the APC battle in Ondo as a way of making Mr. Tinubu irrelevant in the Southwest after he fell out with President Buhari.
To Mr. Tinubu’s supporters, he was used to install Mr. Buhari as the APC presidential candidate in 2015 and then dumped after election victory.
With Mr. Tinubu aggrieved, speculations arose that he and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar may form a new party and wrestle power from Mr. Buhari in 2019.
Mr. Atiku has dismissed such speculations, arguing that he was not leaving the APC, although many say his oil business has been crippled to incapacitate him.
With serious rift within the APC, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna has emerged as the strongest supporter of President Buhari although close party members refer to him as a snake who is positioning himself for the presidency in 2019 when Mr. Buhari may not be able to recontest.
Using some southwest politicians aggrieved with Mr. Tinubu, (former Lagos state governor Babatunde Fashola, former Ekiti state governor Kayode Fayemi) and Mr. Buhari’s long time friend, Mr. Ibikunle Amodun, Mr. El-Rufai and the Abuja cabal, sources say, are fighting Mr. Tinubu with the greatest ferocity.
But many warn Mr. Buhari to keep some distance from ambitious El-Rufai who is eyeing Aso Rock for himself.
With APC so much divided, many say the party may collapse even before 2019.