By David Lawani

Now that a date has been declared for the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Convention, what is next? How will the party distribute the positions to represent all the six geo-political zones and Abuja? How will they be distributed according to the party’s constitution? These and many questions attest to the task staring the APC in the face in the difficult days ahead.

There is no gainsaying that APC is under a trial. Nigerians are patiently waiting for the outcome of the ruling party’s convention. President Muhammadu Buhari, as the leader, has so far, downplayed partisanship by allowing the organs of the party to function as they should.

When the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC was sacked by the highest organ of the party, the National Executive Committee (NEC) by President Muhammadu Buhari in June 2020, many party faithful believed the end of political wrangling in the party had finally come. But time without number, the internal crises have subsisted.

The installation of the National Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), led by the former APC National Secretary and incumbent governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, which was expected to have corrected the wrongs of the previous NWC, however, partially met some demands and needs of the party, until it suddenly took the bold step of declaring February 26 as the convention date, despite many unmuted fears before now.

Declaring the date for the convention open for February 26, Buni had held the view that elections should not be a do-or-die affair like aspirants of the party have made their supporters conclude.

“We should promote peaceful elections and service delivery against personal gains,” the rather reticent Yobe governor said.

But what he meant was a rather caution to political leaders, who according to him, must be wary of the quest to contest and win at all cost, even though some of them are not sufficiently on the ground.

This area calls for total concern of all, he noted, adding that candidates should be people who had been tried and tested.No doubt, who becomes the presidential candidate of the party will certainly have a lot to do with whoever will emerge as the national chairman of the party. Different aspirants have lined up, majorly from the North-Central of the region.

However, the party recently denied insinuations of zoning the national chairmanship to the North-Central, even though tentatively, aspirants to the seat from the region have started warming up for it. Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, Isa Yuguda, Senator Al-Makura, Sani Mustapha, Sunny Mony Dafe, Abdul-Aziz Yari, Abdulahi Shinkafi, among others are inclusive.

Former governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is a National Leader of the party, is unarguably a contender for the number one seat as president.

His political son, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, is also angling for the presidential ticket of the party. Both are reputed contenders, even though they are the same.

When Tinubu visited the president in the Villa, he told newsmen that his intention is a life-long ambition for the position. The vice president is yet to openly make his intention known to the public, but how will he be able to face his mentor, Tinubu?

Political pundits are divided as to whether Osinbajo will contest or not. It is even also rumored in some quarters that Tinubu may eventually have a rethink on contesting for the nation’s number one seat, considering his age and health. All these permutations are what to come in weeks and months leading up to the national convention.

National Convention signifies a huge event for a political party. All the party representatives from the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), are expected to serve as delegates of the party to the convention. The intricate confusion dominating affairs of the party remains an inconclusive matter.

For example, in states where there are factions, how will the delegates present themselves? Who will be the authentic delegates? Won’t these delegates’ controversy breed more confusion for the party? Won’t this attract more litigation that the party has been running away from all this time?

It is a season of politics, and such expectations are in the offing for the party. How will the party handle the combustion within it? The CEPCC led by Buni has stayed more than it was expected to in the office and there has been a ratchet of litigations and petitions.

The party couldn’t do a lot of things because some assume leaders, it appears, do not want the structure of the party to slip off their watchful eyes.

They believe it will be deadly for such to happen. The contention for the control of the party structure has proved so difficult to conjecture

In terms of preparation for the convention, a senator and Ekiti State governorship aspirant, Bamidele Opeyemi, disclosed to ThisNigeria shortly after his screening at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja that he has the full confidence that the convention will be smooth, and that as to the crises rocking some of the states, modalities had been provided to tackle them.

Bamidele said the party is aware of and is seeking to take control of the challenges before they consume the party and its members now that it is preparing for its convention.

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According to him, “I do not doubt that the convention will hold as scheduled. But whether or not there are crises within the party, I want to say that our party is not just an institution or structure, it is a party of human beings, in order words, of people. When you talk about the party, you are talking of people who subscribe to ideological and political philosophy under the umbrella of APC.

“The fact that there is the crisis in the party, is also a reflection of the fact that it is human beings that are there. There will always be disagreements. We all disagree to agree. And sometimes, within the context of disagreements, there are differences of opinion.

“The leadership of the party will continue to make efforts to reconcile people, views, perspectives, and specific ideologies within the party. And I am sure the leadership of the party took all of this into consideration before fixing a date for the convention.”

He added, “The national leadership of the party under Mai Mala Buni is working so hard to resolve a lot of this crisis and to ensure people and factions within the party are reconciled in the states where these exist.

“I do not doubt that between now and 26 of February, whatever is left to be done will be done as much as possible for meaningful reconciliation.

“We cannot wait until everything would have been sorted out before we fix a date for the convention. All hands will be on deck to make sure we make a success of the day,’ he noted.

“Also, another angle to this whole issue in the party bothers on the stronghold the governors are maintaining against all odds in the party. It is no debatable assertion that the structure of the party rests within the confines of the governors.

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“They call the shots of all happenings within and around it. They will decide the direction of the tide, irrespective of the yearnings of the people because there is so much money to fly about. The people are hungry.

“So, the only way to check their control is to withdraw their voices from circulation and that automatically gives more power to the governors to do as they wish or like.”