APC Chairmanship: Who Are the Candidates?

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  With the near completion of the registration of new members and the revalidation of old members, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will soon enter the next stage of her survival struggle and that stage is who becomes the new national chairman of the party?

  Though the party has not come out to officially zone the various offices to each of the six geopolitical zones of the country, stakeholders from the northern part of the country, in anticipation that the presidential candidate of the party might be zoned to the south, are already jostling to support the aspirations of several chairmanship aspirants from the north.

  So far, the three zones of the north: Northeast, Northwest and North central have been jostling to have one of their own emerge the new national chairman of the APC.

  Many political juggernauts such as Ali Modu Sherriff, Clement Ebri, Abdulaziz Yari, Senator Kashim Shettima, Alhaji Salihu Mustapha and the immediate past governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Tanko Al-makura, among others, have indicated interest to lead the party.

  But most political analysts believe that what the party needs is a strong and visionary leadership with the needed political capacity to heal all wounds and refocus the party.

  Of these, the North Central seems to be most vocal, and perhaps, favoured. But everything will depend on the individual the APC governors will throw their support behind. The governors, generally, are the most important stakeholders in the present political dispensation. Be it in the PDP or the APC. From whichever prism anyone views the governors, they remain a strong interest group that would be very difficult to dislodge.

  It has been said time and time, that the governors, due to their support base in terms of funds and control of the emergence of delegates in any party election, will at all times be the decisive factor. It has been said at several fora that, whomever they support will eventually carry the day.

  From that standpoint, therefore, the emergence of the next national chairman of APC will depend on where the governors swing their support especially, now that President Muhammadu Buhari is perceived as weak. A quick reminder that the eventual ouster of the former National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole was when the party governors pulled their last joker through the Court of Appeal.

  A quick background checks of the aspirants, which could show who might likely become the national chairman if and when the dice is cast.

  In the aspiration of a former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, good as he might be, has no incumbent governor in his state, who will sit among the APC governors to speak for him in their meeting whenever the need arises.

  His records that eventually led to the APC kissing all elected offices in the 2019 elections will also certainly speak again him. It was due to the jostle for power and control of the party structures in Zamfara State that led to the emergence of PDP’s Bello Matawalle.

  The APC power structure is yet to forgive him and therefore might not trust him with the office of the national chairman. He has sworn political enemies in the likes of Adams Oshiomhole and Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Both are the same camp, as Yari as the national chairman might not be in the presidential aspiration of Bola Tinubu.

  Then come Senator Al Makura. He is from Nasarawa State and a serving senator. The odds are largely in his favour, being a trusted ally of President Buhari, who has the support of his governor in the state.

  Stakeholders and groups within the APC have continued to throw their weights behind Al-Makura’s aspiration to lead the party with Governor Sule in the forefront of his campaign, contrary to practices, where sitting governors were always opposed to having the national chairman from their own state.

  Flagging off the APC membership revalidation exercise in the state in Gudi, Sule said, “If Nigeria would be kind to Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Nasarawa State is the only place to look at. Today is history for us …and I think for this, I will always identify with distinguished Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, the architect of modern Nasarawa State from the time he brought CPC, the only state as part and parcel of the alliance that formed APC today.”

  As at 2011,when the CPC was birthed, Nasarawa State is the only CPC in the country and eventually had a foothold to the formation of the legacy party, APC.

  To his supporters in his quest to become the national chairman, if records of service are anything to go by as reward quotient, the immediate past governor of Nasarawa State is the person the cap fits for the job.

  A die-hard supporter of Senator Tanko Al Makura, Professor Mohammed Mainoma once said, “The contributions of Tanko Al-Makura at the national sphere are commendable. It was in Nasarawa State that the real Buhari agenda was implemented. It was what made the nation to become more convinced to accept Buhari as a leader.

  The actual implementation of CPC agenda in Nasarawa has cleared the minds of skeptics as to the capacity of the new party to do magic. It was therefore easy after the merger for people to have confidence in APC. Indeed, Nasarawa became the laboratory for APC.”

  His support base is swelling by the day, as a group known as APC Young Stakeholder’s Forum in the North-central recently endorsed Al-Makura’s bid to lead the party as its national chairman.

  In a press statement signed by its publicity secretary, Abdulrahman Andoma Ahmed, the group stated: “Senator Al-Makura has the capacity and needed experience to stabilise the wobbling ship of our great party and steer it to the expected destination.”

  His political career and experiences represent a symbol of hope and emancipation in Nigerian politics, whose determination to the cause of democracy, humanity, good governance and love for the common man, anchored on fairness, equity and justice, preceded his emergence as governor in 2011.

  From the North East, a former chairman of the PDP, Senator Ali Sheriff, has also declared his readiness to run for the chairmanship of the APC if the position is zoned to the North East.

  Sheriff, from Borno State, intimated the Yobe State Governor, Alhaji Mai-Mala Buni, of his intention at Buni Gari during the Yobe State local government election of his national championship aspiration.

  He said, “In the APC, we have respect for the constitution of our great party, and if the position of the National Chairman is zoned to the North East, where I come from, I will contest, God willing.”

  Sheriff, who was the governor of Borno State between 2003 and 2011, had after losing out as Chairman of the PDP returned to the APC, of which he was a pioneer member.

  Sheriff’s presence at Buni’s polling unit to lend moral support might be an indication that he was looking for the support of the Yobe State governor, who is also the Chairman of the APC Extraordinary/Convention Planning Committee.

  Also in the race for the office of the National Chairman of APC is Alhaji Salisu Mustapha. He’s a young man from Kwara, North Central, who is said to boast huge experience in party administration and fanatical supporter of President Buhari.

  Mustapha, a liberal mind, was not just a member of the defunct CPC, he was said to be the one, who signed the final agreement that culminated in the formation of the APC on behalf of the CPC.

  Apart from being open to ideas, those in support of Mustapha further contended that, the former governorship aspirant in Kwara State has a clean record – no controversies, no scandal and no corruption cases – all of which put him in a better stead for the job. He is believed to be the candidate of the younger folks in APC, who are considering a paradigm shift in party administration and control. Mustapha is in his 50s.

  Culled from Thisday Newspapers

In a Sentimental Mood for Nigeria

March 21, 2021 3:03 am

SIMONKOLAWOLE!  BY SIMON KOLAWOLE

In 1935, Duke Ellington — God rest his soul — gave the world ‘In a Sentimental Mood’, one of the greatest jazz pieces ever. He composed it impromptu at a party for a friend, reportedly to calm the nerves of two feuding ladies. They stood by either side of his piano as he did his thing. The 1962 version which he recorded with John Coltrane is one of the most beautiful and magical jazz compositions I have ever listened to in my young life — and I say that with due respect to Miles Davis, arguably the greatest jazz artist and composer that ever lived. Davis, I have to say, made me love the trumpet when I ordinarily would choose the sound of a sax, even deep in my sleep.

Why do I love ‘In a Sentimental Mood’ so much? I wish I could say. I go to sleep many nights listening to the insanely delightful ballad in which Ellington played the piano and the supremely talented Coltrane blew the alto sax. Two geniuses spinning my head with piano and saxophone, and me lying down there under the duvet trying to forget all the struggles and stress in the land of my birth. I put it on auto replay at times to meditate, sleep or just lie idle. Someone commenting on the track on YouTube wrote: “If heaven had a waiting room, this would be the music played.” Coltrane died of liver cancer in July 1967 at 40 while Ellington died at 75 seven years later. Geniuses, both.

This Saturday morning, I am in a sentimental mood for my country. I am at my desk, gently tapping my laptop keyboard and thinking deeply about the future of my dearly beloved country. I have switched on my wireless speaker and connected it to my iPhone by Bluetooth. I have put ‘In a Sentimental Mood’ on auto replay on my iTunes. I am hoping that the ballad would keep me calm as I reflect one more time on our dearly beloved country. Is there really a future for Nigeria? Can we ever get to a stage where we would jointly and genuinely be proud of this country? Are we cursed? Are we doomed to fail? Are our problems impossible to solve? Is our case hopeless?

Whenever I am tempted to give up, something happens and I beat a retreat. One moment, I would say: “It is finished!” Another moment, I would say: “Not so fast. There is hope!” Last week, two home-based Nigerian artistes grabbed a couple of Grammys, the most prestigious awards in the world of music, and I got sentimental and renewed my hopes again – in the midst of this turmoil. ‘Twice as Tall’ by Burna Boy (real name Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu) got the Best Global Music Album, while Wizkid (Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun) shared Best Music Video with Beyoncé and Blue Ivy for ‘Brown Skin Girl’. You see, it is very hard to give up on Nigeria with this ocean of possibilities.

But how do you see hope when you are surrounded by gunmen who are asking you to either surrender or be captured? How do you preach hope when kidnappers are having a field day? How do you preach hope when breaking news is always about abductions and killings? How do you dream when you keep hearing of billions and billions of naira being stolen and wasted in a country where so many people are so poor they cannot afford quality education and decent health care? How do you dream in a country where separatists and rabble rousers are getting all the applause? You really have to be in a divine sentimental mood to see beyond the prevailing travails.

I’m not stupid: I know that the Nigerian condition is very critical right now. Apart from the mindless corruption at all levels, the insecurity is enough to kill our hopes and dreams. Sadly, I expect things to get worse before they get better. We are paying the price of corruption, incompetence and neglect. We have not been making the right social investment. Poverty, unemployment and crime are the consequences. I am not as sentimental about Nigeria as not to see these failings. But he that observes the wind shall not sow, as the scriptures say. I stubbornly believe that Nigeria will still overcome its demons and become great someday. But when? That’s the part I don’t know.

Sometime last year, my attention was drawn to a tweet by a lady who accused me of misleading her into believing Nigeria would be great. She said she used to read my articles religiously 10 years ago and truly believed Nigeria would be better but now she had seen “the light”. I was very downcast. I knew what she was talking about. Nigeria can kill you. I was tempted to engage with her, but, as a matter of choice, I don’t participate in social media discussions. So, I let it pass. I wanted to tell her that if we focus our minds on the negatives, we will miss the positives. There are enough pointers to a greater Nigeria that are not obvious – largely because our current condition is depressing.

The Grammys won by Burna Boy and Wizkid are part of those pointers: pointers to possibilities, pointers to the Nigerian talent. A few decades ago, home-based artistes were not getting international recognitions, no matter how good they were. The notable exception was Fela – our biggest, if not only, export. Most artistes who went to perform abroad only served Nigerians in diaspora. Today, our artistes are celebrated worldwide: packing out major places like O2 Arena in the UK, appearing on major talk shows, getting featured in global media and being played at major airports and TV/radio stations. Globalisation has helped to display our talents around the world.

Nigerians get little or no policy support from government but have been squeezing water out of stone. Look at Nollywood. They built it from the bottom. When people used to criticise the technical and artistic qualities of Nigerian movies, my point was that with competition, there would be differentiation. The talent was there. You could see it. Today, we can testify that the quality of production is much better, even if the acting and storylines still need some polishing. But we will never polish anything if all we do is condemn and despair. Apart the creative industry, tech companies such as Interswitch, Paystack, Flutterwave and Systemspecs are also flying our flag high.

Many things keep my hopes alive in the midst of our struggles. Some things appear to be negative today but there will be value in the future. One, we are still building human capacity – although in a warped way. With the Nigerian public education system not up to scratch, we are paying through our nose to send our children to good schools home and abroad. This is not right but at least we have not stopped building capacity. Someday, these brains will play their part in the development of Nigeria. The best option, of course, is to make our public education world-class and give access to all classes of people. The worst thing is to stop building capacity altogether. Lemons and lemonades.

Two, there are thousands of Nigerians doing well in diaspora. It may look sad that our best brains are leaving Nigeria all the time, but many are excelling in various fields of human endeavour. Although many have been tapped up by the governments of those countries, I can say that for every one we have lost, there are at least 10 waiting in the wings. Many of them will willingly come back to be part of the process of rebuilding Nigeria if the conditions are right. All they desire is a habitable country where you have power, water, security and good roads. I know many who are willing to return today if the conditions are right. If we can get just power and security right, many will renew hope.

Three, even though the economy is in a terrible state, I am seeing projects that can turn things around in the next 10 years. Our infatuation with crude oil got us to where we are, but at least we seem to have agreed to break the yoke. Apart from various agricultural and agro-allied initiatives in virtually every state of the federation, the federal government is also building transportation infrastructure that can change the shape of the economy, assuming we keep focus. If the various projects and policies in power, water, rail, road, agriculture and industry across the states and regions are pursued and implemented with diligence and passion, our story will change.

Above all, we have the Nigerian spirit which cannot be killed. It is a never-say-die spirit. We have seen hell in this country but we are still standing on our feet. If Burna Boy and Wizkid had allowed the Nigerian condition to conquer them, they would not be world champions today. Outside of the creative and tech sectors, Nigerians are also shining everywhere: Amina Mohammed at the UN, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at WTO, Akinwumi Adesina at AfDB, etc. While we are at it, we are still waiting for Chimamanda Adichie to bring home the Nobel Prize. Imagine what Nigerians have achieved without proper leadership. Imagine where we can be when we finally get things right. Unstoppable.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…
BURNING DOLLARS
On Wednesday, the federal executive council approved $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt refinery. Mr Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum, said the rehabilitation will be done in three phases of 18, 24 and 44 months by Tecnimont SPA, an Italian company. I really don’t know what to say. Right from the time of Gen Sani Abacha, who was head of state from 1993 to 1998, we have been burning money on repairing the dead refineries and we have gone nowhere. Every single government has been “repairing” refineries. The end result is that we keep importing petroleum products. For goodness sake, these refineries should be sold, not repaired. Waste.

HIJAB ‘IJA’
Kwara, a relatively peaceful state, has been engulfed in a religious crisis over the issue of wearing of hijab in public schools. I saw some disturbing videos of violent clashes in the state capital during the week. Unlike most northern states, religion is the least of issues in Kwara. I have never hidden my view on hijab: I have absolutely nothing against people wearing it to school, same way I don’t care if you wear “Deeper Life” scarves. The schools where crisis has erupted are owned and funded 100 percent by the state, not by any church or mosque. Anybody who feels aggrieved by government policy should please go to court rather than stir strife. Self-help will only worsen matters. Avoidable.

KADUNA BANDITS
Is there a link between the renewed attacks in Kaduna and the declaration by the state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, that he would not negotiate with bandits? I should think so. Although Kaduna has had its unfair share of insecurity over the years, the spate of attacks in recent times is disturbing and suspicious. While the state has been very transparent with crime reports – with Mr Samuel Aruwan, the commissioner for internal security, briefing the media every day – the fact remains that we are bleeding profusely. The government must exert its full might on these criminals. For the record, I am firmly behind el-Rufai on his stand against negotiating with criminals. Resolute.

CAT AND MOUSE
A couple of weeks ago, President John Magufuli of Tanzania, a reckless COVID sceptic like Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state, suddenly disappeared from public glare. “Tanzanians be calm, your president is there, in good health, he is working,” Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said, ironically at a mosque. “He has loads of files. Now when he stays in his office going through documents, you say: ‘He is ill, let him appear.’ Following your own schedule or according to his work plan?” Magufuli died on Wednesday, with the government putting the cause as “heart problems” amidst rumours that he had been down with COVID. Why are so many African countries so alike? Loyalty? Sycophancy.

Rumpus in APC over alleged caretaker committee tenure elongation..

The Nation Nigeria. 6h

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By ‘Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor

• Governors fingered as arrowheads

• NASS caucuses, state chairmen kick

• Convention may be shifted

Resentment is growing in the All Progressives Congress (APC) over alleged plot by some party chieftains to further extend the tenure of the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee of the party.

Consequently, some interest groups are said to be warming up for a showdown should the Buni-led committee renege on its mandate to conduct a national convention in June, about three months away.

The committee was set up in June 2020, following the dissolution of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), led by a former Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, with a six-month mandate to reform the party and conduct a national convention to birth a new leadership.

However, a few weeks to the end of its tenure, the caretaker committee sought and got approval from the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party for the elongation of its tenure beyond December 2020, on the ground that it still had a lot to put in place for a successful national convention.

The NEC extended the committee tenure by six month, giving it till June 2021 to wrap up its assignment and leave office.

However, with about three months to the end of its new six month tenure, strong indications are emerging that the caretaker committee, with the backing of governors elected on the platform of the party, plans a fresh elongation.

A member of the committee, who sought anonymity, denied that the committee  is instigating the move for a fresh tenure elongation.

Said he: “Left for us, we want to hand over as soon as possible. It is actually concerned stakeholders that are eager to see us do more before leaving.”

Some chieftains of the party are ill at ease with what they call  lack of preparation for a national convention on the part of the Buni committee.

One of them said: “the committee appears to be more interested in altering some administrative structures of the party ahead of the convention for reasons best known to them.

“The main tasks of reconciling aggrieved party members and conducting a national convention have been left unattended for three, out of the new six months they got in December.

“While we are still wondering how they will finish the revalidation and registration exercise in good time for a convention in December as mandated, they extended the exercise till the end of March.

“They plan to collate the outcome of the exercise and prepare party registers for all units nationwide before convention. With so many people wondering if this is not a ploy to seek another extension, we were recently told the committee plan to review the party’s constitution as well.

“These are some of the reasons people are worried.”

Commencing the process of reviewing its constitution ahead of 2023 General Elections, the party recently inaugurated an eight-man Constitutional Review Committee in Abuja.

Secretary of the Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee, John Akpanudoedehe, said: “the APC leadership under Gov. Mai Mala Buni believes that in rebuilding the party, there must be reforms that reflect the current trends and aspirations of the owners of the party: that is the people, the masses.”

Indications are strong that the tenure elongation plot enjoys the support of the APC governors.

A source said: “the governors are comfortable with the Buni-led committee. It is their show and it has given them the opportunity to once again take over the party structures in their states to the disadvantage of other interest groups in the party. They want to entrench themselves further before the committee in their respective states. That is why they are championing the elongation plot.

“Now, they are handpicking party executives under the guise of caretaker committees here and there. We all saw what happened in Kwara State where the governor used his power to remove the duly elected party chairman and install another person as caretaker chairman, with the support of the Buni committee.

“Now, they are coming together daily to tamper with the zonal structures across the country. They have their own agenda. That is why they will support elongation for the caretaker arrangement.”

Some other sources told The Nation that the Buni committee and the governors backing them will meet a strong resistance should they approach the party’s NEC with an elongation request this time.

“It will be different this time. Though, like I told you earlier, many people are afraid to speak out now for fear of being victimised, I can assure you the plot will fail. It is either we force them to stick to their tenure and mandate or we ask them to resign and go home. The party belongs to all of us,” a source said.

The Nation also gathered that the majority of the party’s National Assembly caucuses are prepared to oppose the move.

A source said: “The truth is that it is only the governors that are benefitting from the current arrangement. Unlike in the immediate past, they are now so powerful that they want to determine the fate of National Assembly members.

“That is why you see a crisis in many states now between NASS members and their governors within our party. Even the few state party chairmen who are lucky to remain in office are eager to have a convention. So, naturally, we will no longer sit by and watch the governor pocket our party.”

A prominent chieftain of the party from the North-central said the alleged elongation plot will mean shifting the convention beyond June 2021.

His words: “This is not good for us as a party but unfortunately, we heard it on good authority that this is in the making.

“My fear is that this may give room for fresh legal and political crises. We must not take the patience of our members for granted.

“Any elongation will lead to fresh court cases and political confusions. We must not allow such to happen again.

“We shouldn’t allow the old order, the impunity that characterised the APC in the past to resurface in another form. It will be counterproductive.”

But the APC Caretaker Committee said it is still committed to the convocation of national convention of the party by June this year.

The Secretary to the Caretaker Committee, Senator Akpanudoedehe, in a telephone interview said despite all the activities and the assignments given to it by the NEC meeting held in December last year, the Committee is focused and believes the June deadline is realisable.

Nigeria infrastructure splurge to boost economy

Buhari launches big-ticket rail projects as critics complain about focus on north and lack of transparency

Nigeria has generated billions of dollars in oil revenues each year for decades, but has little to show for it developmentally © Pius Utomi Ekpei/Getty Images 

February 17, 2021 5:00 am by Neil Munshi in Lagos

Nigeria’s government is stepping up a drive to improve its decrepit infrastructure with a series of billion dollar projects as president Muhammadu Buhari seeks to pull Africa’s largest economy out of its worst recession in 40 years.

While the move should boost an economy hit by plunging oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic, critics have complained that they favour his native north and question a lack of transparency as well as the involvement of Chinese backers.

The government this month broke ground on a $2bn internationally-funded rail line connecting the country’s north to neighbouring Niger, and announced it was forming Infraco, a public-private infrastructure fund with N1tn ($2.6bn) in seed capital from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and the Africa Finance Corporation, a mostly privately owned pan-African project finance firm. 

Next month, it expects to start work on a $3bn railway line that would link the country’s east side, from oil-rich Port Harcourt in the south to Maiduguri in the north. “The president is trying to grow all the sectors of the economy that would improve and increase production — he’s focusing on power, on roads, on transportation, and rail networks and maritime,” said minister of transport Rotimi Amaechi.

Africa’s largest crude producer has generated billions of dollars in oil revenues each year for decades, but has little to show for it developmentally — its ports are congested, its road network decrepit, its rail system almost nonexistent and its power grid too weak to carry even a fraction of the meagre amount of electricity it generates.

The Buhari administration’s latest moves will barely make a dent in the $3tn Moody’s estimates that Africa’s largest economy will need to spend over the next 30 years to close its infrastructure gap.

Still the rail connecting Nigeria’s south to its north and extending into Niger — the last section will be built by Portuguese firm Mota-Engil and with financing structured by organisations including Credit Suisse — could be a “game-changer” for Africa’s biggest economy that “will allow Nigeria to become a clearing house for trade all over West Africa”, said Amaka Anku, Africa director at Washington-based consultancy Eurasia Group. 

But while the infrastructure drive was “commendable”, Idayat Hassan, director of the Abuja-based Centre for Democracy and Development, voiced concerns about the process. “The contracting process is also quite opaque and . . . seen as a conduit for corruption,” she added.

Some critics argue that a rail connection to Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries with a gross domestic product about one-fortieth the size of Nigeria’s, is a poor use of scarce government resources. The focus on the country’s north, Buhari’s home region, has upset others.

“There’s a clear political imperative to apportion infrastructure projects on the basis of political and ethnic loyalty,” said Cheta Nwanze, partner at Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence. “Most of the administration’s big ticket projects have been in the North: that’s far from a coincidence.”

Amaechi, a former governor in the oil-rich Niger Delta region in the south, points to the recently completed Lagos-Ibadan railway, along with major port and road projects in the south.

Some of the projects — Lagos-Ibadan rail, airport terminals, a gas pipeline and two highways — are being built by Chinese construction companies and partly financed by Chinese loans. The legislature approved Buhari’s plan to borrow $22.7bn last year, including $17bn from the China ExIm Bank. Critics have called for greater transparency. “The use of foreign loans to finance the infrastructural drive without adequate oversight remains a challenge,” Hassan said.

Future projects will be funded by Infraco, which the government said expects to grow to N15tn in the coming years. The government is also likely to tap international debt markets to finance the infrastructure drive, said minister of works Babatunde Fashola. “Most, if not all our external borrowing and fundraising is really to finance the deficit created by our commitment to infrastructure expansion.”

The Financial Times Ltd