All may not be well within the camp of Nigeria’s main opposition party, APC, as its governors are now at loggerheads with the leadership of the party over a premature power sharing formula being pushed by the national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
This development, which apparently is a fall out from the way and manner the running mate of APC Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari was picked has thrown up fresh challenges for the party.
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The National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun whose position appears to have been hijacked, has been making frantic efforts to bring all the warring groups to a reconciliation table.
However, the party appears to have split into pro and anti-Tinubu forces as the governors, especially those from the north have roundly rejected Tinubu’s formula in which he demanded juicy government positions as condition to give full financial backing to Buhari’s campaign since he was not allowed to emerge as Vice President.
The governors, who have been holding series of meetings in Abuja on the matter are said to be angry that Tinubu was still pushing for other strategic positions, being eyed by some of them, even after the Vice Presidential slot was conceded to him.
The former Lagos state governor, is said to have met Buhari and requested that in addition to the Vice President slot, he should be allowed to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives, which he has reserved for one of his friends from the South South even without consulting the APC governors from the area.
Tinubu was said to have also demanded that he be allowed to produce key ministers as well as the review of oil licenses to incorporate his interest.
Also, there are apprehensions that APC governors from the South south, north central and South East, namely Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state, Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state, Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State, Ahmed Abdulfatah of Kwara state and their Imo counterpart, Rochas Okorocha may have been schemed out following fears that they will secretly work in favour of President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 general election.
Sources within the party confirmed that these governors are being closely monitored adding that the appointment of Amaechi to lead Buhari’s campaign was to put him under check.
In Tinubu’s watch list also is Lagos state governor Babatunde Fashola who has been schemed out following his perceived disloyalty for challenging Tinubu’s choice in the APC Lagos state governorship primaries.
Tinubu’s demands have not gone down well with APC governors and other key party stakeholders from the north as they interpret them as outright greed and move to appropriate the party for his personal gains.
In the current power play, the three former PDP governors who left for the APC appear to have completely lost out as none of them or their followers have been accommodated in the power sharing so far at the party and government levels.
The governors were said to have met with Buhari on the matter during which they demanded that the Presidential candidate take his rightful position as the leader of the party and cut Tinubu to size before it becomes too late especially as Tinubu is perceived by the public as the “leprous finger” in the APC.
Sources privy to the meeting said the governors made it clear to Buhari that they did not leave the PDP to become subservient to Tinubu, who they noted was not sure of delivering Lagos state in the Presidential election.
The internal wrangling have degenerated into a cold war that led to the shelving of series of events lined up by the party last week. A party source who, pleaded anonymity confirmed that there are disagreements in the ranks but noted that they will be settled amicably.
