There are strong indications that a fresh power tussle is brewing in the
All Progressives Congress over the chairmanship of its Board of
Trustees.
Saturday PUNCH reliably learnt on Friday that the
tussle was between former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and a former
Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande.
Investigations
showed that the tussle was part of moves by the power blocs in the APC
to influence decisions in the party by taking control of its various
organs.
Saturday PUNCH had last week reported that two power
blocs led by Atiku and a National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola
Tinubu, had engaged in a fierce battle to control the party.
It was learnt that the two camps believed that the BOT chairmanship would go a long way in assisting them to control the party.
The chairman of the BOT, according to Article 13.2 of the APC constitution, shall be elected by the board members.
Both camps, investigations showed, had started reaching out to members of the board, who would elect the chairman.
It
was learnt that Akande was being backed by Tinubu, who is not happy
with Atiku’s role in the National Assembly leadership elections.
The
struggle for the chairmanship of the APC’s BOT, investigations
revealed, became intense following the National Assembly leadership
elections on June 9.
Atiku was reported to have supported Saraki
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara,
during the elections.
Tinubu and the party’s National Working
Committee were said to have backed Senator Ahmad Lawan and Mr. Femi
Gbajabiamila for the senate presidency and the speakership.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar
Both candidates lost to Saraki and Dogara during the elections.
Investigations
revealed that the emergence of Saraki as the senate president would
enable the Atiku camp to take control of the party’s National Executive
Committee.
The Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are members of the NEC.
Tinubu is believed to be in control of the party’s NWC as many of its members are said to be close to him.
The contest for the control of the BOT is still open to the two camps.
The
media aide to Tinubu, Mr. Sunday Dare, could not be reached on the
telephone as it indicated that it was switched off while a text message
sent to his telephone was not replied to as of press time.
But a
close associate of Akande, Mr. Adelani Baderinwa, told one of our
correspondents that he was not aware that the former governor of Osun
State was being nominated to be the chairman of the BOT of the ruling
party.
Baderinwa, who was the former chief press secretary of
Akande when he was the governor, spoke on the telephone with our
correspondent in Osogbo on Friday.
He, however, said his former
principal had everything needed to function very effectively in the
office if he was elected the BOT chairman.
He said, “Chief Bisi
Akande is eminently qualified to be BOT chairman of the APC. He was a
chairman of the Alliance for Democracy; he was the chairman of Action
Congress of Nigeria and was the Interim Chairman of the APC.
“Before this, you will remember that he was a deputy governor and later he became the governor of Osun State.
“If
you are talking about Nigeria, he knows Nigeria very well and his
integrity is unquestionable and he is an experienced politician.”
When
contacted, the Managing Director of the Atiku Media Office, Mr. Paul
Ibe, said he was not aware that the party had announced a vacancy for
the position in question.
He, however, said the former
Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, had all the qualities to occupy the
position should the opportunity present itself.
He said, “Like I
have said elsewhere before, we are not aware that the APC has thrown
open the race for the chairmanship of the party’s BoT.
“But if in
the wisdom of the party, it elects to appoint Abubakar as the Chairman
of its BoT, the Turaki Adamawa will be amenable and well disposed to it
because he is eminently qualified to offer his services to the party at
that level.”