APC CONVENTION AND SOME TRIVIAL OVERTONES

By: Reporter

The All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairmanship race has preoccupied the attention of observers since the preparations for the national convention started. The event which has been reported from different views of the officials of the party is in the news again to have some irrelevant overtones.

Is there any likelihood that the abortive tenure elongation plot has been replaced by a plot to have a National Working Committee that can overwhelm the incoming National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC)? Some concerned party members think so.

As the APC prepares for its national convention scheduled for Saturday (June 23), irreverent undercurrents spurred by the abortive tenure elongation plot appear to be at work still. In due course, current fears may soon turn out to be either justified or not.

Altogether, some 160 aspirants are now jostling for positions and lobbying the 6,800 delegates for support. The chances of former Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, appear bright. Yet, there are suspicions that other interests may be working on a long-term plan to dilute or neutralize his powers as APC’s national chairman.

Indeed, for a party with such large followership, as the APC has, it would be naïve to assume that everyone genuinely subscribes to the high ideals it pursues. Nonetheless, it would be a sad development for numerous progressive-minded members who had witnessed the unfolding narrow agenda before, to now be subjected to yet another manipulative agenda. Even people outside the party were shocked when some elements once hatched plots to water down the influence of the party leader who created the template for the APC and its eventual electoral victory.

Nevertheless, the needless intrigues surrounding the tenure elongation plot aimed towards artificially sustaining Chief John Odigie-Oyegun in office as National Chairman evolved until it was effectively checked.

Following the failure of the effort invested in the tenure elongation plot that would have seen Oyegun in office till well after next Saturday’s national convention, three broad tendencies seem apparent across the party. The first comprises those who feel concerned about the capacity of the party to conduct two conventions in a matter of few months and still keep its cohesion. Then, there are those who had hoped that having pocketed the national leadership of the party, they’ll subsequently sail through the primary of the party, waving a banner of conquest. Yet, there are others who hoped that the few months’ grace would afford the party the time to craft a better reward system and sort out itself properly.

Looking back now, most party members would readily agree that President Muhammadu Buhari saved the party’s soul and ensured its survival by the decisive act of declining to endorse Oyegun’s tenure elongation and then, speaking against the idea.

As commendable as this appears to be, it is not without consequences. From the perspective of many party members, especially those who do not feel enamoured by Oyegun, one major consequence, they say, is that the chairman and his loyalists felt so hard done and were ready for the house to collapse; hence, the shoddy congresses in various states. Even in Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s base, Lagos State, an attempt was made to encourage a parallel exco. It is also felt that several governors had been initially conscripted into putting pressure on President Buhari towards adopting Oyegun, but the entire game plan unraveled woefully.

Now, without a tenure elongation plot, the incoming national chairman’s seemingly wide powers can be effectively checkmated by an NWC dominated by irreverent thoughts. Currently, filling of the position of APC’s National Chairman seems very settled, with maximum support for ex-governor and labour leader, Oshiomhole.

Provisions of Article 14 in APC’s constitution accords the National Chairman much powers and influence, as it states that the National Chairman shall: be the Chief Executive, Accounting Officer and shall preside over the meetings of the National Executive Committee and the National Working Committee of the party; provide good and effective leadership to the party; uphold the Constitution and defend the name, policies and programmes of the party; be a signatory to the accounts of the party; direct the due execution of the programmes of the party; give lawful directives to all officers, organs, and members of the party at all levels; have a casting vote in the event of a tie in the meetings of the party over which he presides; ensure the implementation of the directives of all superior organs of the party, namely the National Convention, the Board of Trustees, the National Executive Committee, the National Working Committee and the National Caucus; and perform such other functions as may be assigned to him from time to time by the National convention, Board of Trustees, National Executive Committee and/or the National Working Committee.

Conscious of the National Chairman’s wide and deep authority, perhaps, one body through which his influence can be tactically eroded is the National Working Committee. According to some, the very influential former governor from the Southsouth and his loyalists may have perfected plans to dominate the NWC and invoke its powers whenever such is desired.

Article 13.4 of the APC’s constitution outlines the roles and powers of the NWC as follows:

“The National Working Committee shall be responsible for the Administration of the Party and putting into effect the decisions of the National Executive Committee. To that end, the National Working Committee shall carry out the day to day running of the affairs of the party.

“It shall in particular: prepare the agenda for the National Convention subject to ratification by the National Executive Committee; prepare and submit reports and budgets for consideration of the National Convention subject to the ratification of the National Executive Committee; provide financial guidelines for the approval of the National Convention subject to the ratification of the National Executive Committee; propose policies and programmes for the Party, which shall be considered by the National Executive Committee and approved by the Board of Trustees; propose to the National Executive Committee, Party electoral Regulations, to govern the conduct of elections to all party offices at every level and to 30 govern the Procedure for selecting candidates for elective offices, subject to the provisions of this Constitution; invite such person(s) as it deems necessary, desirable or expedient, to attend meeting(s) and take part in deliberations provided that such invited person(s) shall have no voting right; have power to make Standing Orders for the approval of the National Executive Committee and ratification by the Board of Trustees; deal with any other matters referred to it by the National Executive Committee or the Board of Trustees; deal with appeals and other problems referred to it by the State Working Committee, and or coming from the zones and states of the federation; establish Ad-hoc and, or Standing Committees of the Party and appoint members to such Committees; examine the actions, policies and programmes pursued and legislations made by the Governments of the Federation from time to time in order to determine whether or not they are in accordance with the manifesto and the Constitution of the party and if not to make recommendations to the National Executive Committee for its action; recommend for approval by the National Executive Committee, the proportion of income from subscription from each Ward, Local Government Area/Area Council and States that shall be remitted to the National Office.

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