2024: Between ruling APC and opposition PDP, LP, others

In this piece, Vincent Egunyanga takes a cursory look at the various political parties and how they fared in 2024 at all levels of leadership
Almost two years after President Bola Tinubu’s mounting the saddle of leadership in the country, the political landscape has been replete with alignments and re-alignments to have credible oppositions and relevance. Not only this, but there has been a series of internal wrangling among the so-called opposition parties, which, unfortunately, have underscored the seemingly invincibility of the ruling party.
Again, this has led to a series of carpet-crossing, party disloyalties, and betrayals, particularly among some notable opposition parties. Perhaps all these are diminishing the opposition parties’ preparations for the next polls in two years’ time.
The ruling party is the All Progressives Congress (APC), which controls the Executive and Legislative Houses of the National Assembly, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. It also has the majority at the subnational level—the state governors.
It should be remembered that in 2023, the governorship elections only took place in 23 states, which produced 15 APC governors. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won in eight states, and the Labour Party (LP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won one state each.
However, governorship elections were held in Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Osun, and Ondo states because of the off-cycle elections.
As of November 12, 2024, after the off-cycle elections in some states, the APC has 21 states, the PDP 12 states, and the LP, APGA, and NNPP have one state each.
This means that in 2024, the ruling APC consolidated its strength, becoming the largest political party in Nigeria.
The party also controls an overwhelming majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives as more Senators and members of the House of Representatives from other parties, especially the LP, decamped to the APC.
This led to insinuations and allegations in some quarters that the APC-led administration was planning to make the country a one-party state.
However, the ruling party has debunked this at many fora. A member of the APC from Edo State, Abdul Oroh, said it was not possible to make Nigeria a one-party state. ‘It will not be good for our democracy. It cannot work in Nigeria. Some people tried it in the past but failed,’ he said.
Executive Secretary of Yiaga Africa, Sampson Itodo, also said, “It is very unhealthy to have a weak opposition. Democracy is about competition and competitive ideas. You need strong political institutions to hold the executive and the incumbent to account.
“When you eliminate opposition in a democracy, you will have an emerging one-party state. And when you have a one-party state, the chances of accountability are diminished because no one is watching.”
The APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, had boasted that his party would take over Oyo, Osun, and Anambra states in the next governorship elections.
A member of the APC in Kano State, Alhaji Musa Shanono, attributed the party’s successes so far to Ganduje’s experience and sagacity.
Shanono said, “Throughout his eight-year tenure as governor of Kano State, the state had peace. There were no cases of Boko Haram, terrorists or bandits’ attacks, or kidnappings as we have them in the neighboring states of the North East and North West.
“Since Ganduje became the National Chairman, the party has not lost any elections, having won governorship elections in the Kogi, Imo, Edo, and Ondo states.
“Ganduje, a personality of impeccable integrity, has brought his political sagacity and experience to bear as the National Chairman of APC. He has restored peace in the party and has caused no more internal crises than we had before and still has in other political parties.
“There has been peaceful coexistence and unity between the party and the government. He has brought a robust relationship and harmony to the party, the Executive, and the National Assembly. He has been able to maintain party discipline.
“His leadership style has attracted many politicians to the ruling party, making the APC the largest and the biggest political party not only in Nigeria but also in Africa.”
It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu recently congratulated Ganduje on his 75th birthday on December 25, saying in a statement by one of his media aides, Bayo Onanuga, that ‘The President acknowledged Ganduje’s exemplary stewardship as National Chairman, which had led to electoral victories.
He noted that Ganduje and his team’s efforts continued to strengthen and unify the party, driving it toward national development goals.”
Expressing gratitude for Ganduje’s policy suggestions, support, and dedication, Tinubu encouraged him to continue his work with the same passion and commitment. He highlighted Ganduje’s commitment to promoting constitutional democracy and his years of public service at various levels.
“President Tinubu recalls Ganduje’s dedication to public service, including his early role as one of the pioneer civil servants managing the affairs of the Federal Capital Territory and his subsequent work as commissioner in Kano State in the 1990s.
He is confident that Ganduje will continue to contribute successfully to the progress of the party and the nation.
*Major opposition parties: PDP, LP and the NNPP
In 2024, the opposition parties tried to remain relevant despite the difficulties of being in the opposition.
The biggest opposition party in the country remains the PDP, with the LP becoming a third force because of its performance at the 2023 general elections. By 2024, the LP had almost become a ghost of itself as most of its members across the country, especially at the National and state Assemblies, had defected to the ruling APC.
The party’s good showing and excellent performance at the 2023 general elections have not been reflected in its character, as it performed very poorly at the governorship polls in Kogi, Edo, Ondo, and Bayelsa states.
At the 2024 off-cycle governorship elections, the PDP lost Edo State to the ruling APC; the same happened in Ondo State.
The PDP has not recovered from the crisis that engulfed it since the presidential primaries, which brought up former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s standard bearer in the 2023 Presidential poll.
The primaries led to five of its then-state governors, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Samuel Ortom of Benue, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, working against the party in the 2023 general elections.
The party also has a divided National Working Committee (NWC) as its leadership level. This division has affected the party’s performance at the off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states, among other places.
A former National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbodiyan, was optimistic that the party would not go into the 2027 general election in crisis, adding that all issues would be resolved after the National convention of the party slated for a later date in the year.
The LP is also experiencing a severe internal crisis. The party has two national chairmen, Julius Abure, and Lamidi Apapa, and the stance of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the ‘Obidient movements’ is not helping matters.
The crisis does not augur well for democracy, according to the Executive Secretary of Yiaga Africa, Itodo.
He said, “The opposition parties also have to think deeply about their roles in a democracy. I am disappointed at some opposition parties because, when you look at other climes, opposition parties are driven by strong ideas. Strong ideas do not just drive them, but they also help them understand the concept of governance. And they don’t play to the gallery.”
“There is a lot of playing in the gallery in our space. And that is unfortunate. Because of some critical questions, you expect opposition parties not to ask and put the fire under the feet of the incumbent. They have abdicated their responsibility to civil society and the media to perform their functions.”
He continued, “And they just sit aloof. When there is a result, they are the first to capitalise on it. Opposition parties must rise to engage governance from a data-driven point of use and evidence.
“They should also provide an alternative if you are not providing options to how you would do things better, rather than all this bickering.
“And when you look at these opposition parties, many are nothing short of special purpose vehicles. They are not engaging in constructive debates. Some of them have yielded their platforms for external forces captured by forces. I am embarrassed to see a lot of the leadership tussles that you see within those parties, for parties that have been in the political space for over 20 years still dealing with basic issues of building internal consensus within parties or even in leadership selection. How is it that at a time in our history, the three major political parties are having a leadership crisis.”