APC convention: A dark horse may emerge as National Chairman

For many in Ilorin, particularly around the Emir’s palace, the last Eid-el Kabir celebration stood out because of some big events and big people that came into town, necessi­tating some political ten­sion.

There was the erstwhile former Senate President and state governor, Buko­la Saraki, and the anxious moments he created at the Yiddi Praying Ground in the state capital on account of his political rivalry with the state’s incumbent gover­nor, Abdulrahaman Abdul­razak.

Even so, was the Presi­dent Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Prof Ibra­him Gambari, in Ilorin for the Muslim festivities and other ceremonies that came with it.

Few people, however, would have paid much at­tention to the presence in Ilorin and later at the pal­ace during the festivity of a tall, fair skinned soft spoken and regally looking politi­cian, Mallam Saliu Musta­pha (MSM), later elevated, turbaned as new Turaki of Ilorin.

Nor the fact that the brand new traditional chief­tain had a number of quiet meetings with Prof Gam­bari, Aso Rock’s adminis­trative major domo, first at the Emir’s palace, then at the Presidential Lodge with the Governor Abdulrazak, in attendance.

There was, however, a renewed vigor, later of MSM’s campaign to emerge as national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). There were fresh posters around city centers in the state capital, radio talks on local stations and heated debates on news­stands.

Fewer people, still, would have connected the events with political events playing out around who eventually emerges as APC’s national chairman. But then, such is the nature of succession politics. Tiny events, innoc­uous meetings that,on its own, appears insignificant.

But when placed side by side with events playing out elsewhere, the picture becomes clearer. And dis­cerning observers see the making of a major political positioning.

The events around MSM in Ilorin, to insiders who understand the nature of political dogfights going on in the ruling party, appear to confirm speculations on a clear choice of where pow­erful interests in the party want the APC chairman­ship to swing.

“It isn’t that there are no other candidates in the race. As a matter of fact, the po­sitioning of MSM is a direct response to the emergence of other contenders and what the party stakehold­ers feel will be to their own interests ahead 2023,” ex­plained a former national working committee officer to Sunday Independent on the matter.

As at the last count, there are three contenders apart from MSM. They are Uma­ru Tanko Almakura, former governor, Nasarawa State; Abdulazis Yari, former gov­ernor, Zamfara State and then the latest entrant, Sen Alli Modu Sheriff, also for­mer governor. While there were quiet optimism in the camp of MSM, initially, that the duo of Almakura and Yari may cancel each oth­er out on account of both being former governors, therefore already coming in with interests, stakeholders in the party are looking to avoid pitfalls that happened under its previous substan­tive chairman, Adams Os­hiomole, also a former gov­ernor.

But, the entrance of Sheriff has set fresh sets of alarm bells ringing in the ranks of the APC.

“A man with Alli Modu Sjeriff ’scolourful past is what the party should avoid now,” explained the news­paper’s source. Until his return to APC a few years ago, the former Borno State governor was in People’s Democratic Party (PDP), where he also emerged the party chairman. His tenure would never be forgotten by the opposition party after he almost grounded PDP on account of an alleged presi­dential ambition while still holding reigns as the party chairman.

There are fears too that his tenure as governor may hurt APC badly, it was learnt by the newspaper. His tenure inexplicably berthed and nurtured Boko Haram after he offered its founder, Yusuf Mohammed, place in his state.

Intelligence also sug­gests that his ill advice to Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua led to the unconscionable extra judi­cial execution of the Boko Haram leader, which made insurgency virulent in the North East.

That reputation, notwith­standing, political pundits still insist a man like Sher­iff is not hobbled easily once he sets his mind on a target, gets one foot into the politi­cal fighting.

“It’s best you don’t even countenance his candida­ture in the first place. How did he get himself appoint­ed as PDP national chair­man despite the bad repu­tation? Even the opposition party knows that it was only by the grace of God, perhaps the sagacity of Ahmed Markafi and the Supreme Court that saved PDP from Sherrif,” explained a deputy governor from a North Cen­tral State to the newspaper.

Even more, there are thinking in the party sug­gesting that with the zoning of the presidency either to the north or south yet to be settled, MSM is by far a safer bet. Yari is North West just like Sherrif is North East. Both are far north by any reckoning. Either of them getting the party chairman­ship automatically means the presidency slot is zoned south.

Almakura, though North Central like MSM, is still considered too Pro North­ern inclination and political affiliation to afford the zone a chance consideration of the presidential slot. MSM’s Kwara is considered more as bridge between north and south of the country. With his choice as party chair­man, the presidential slot could still go either way, to the north or to the south.

“A lot of people at the de­cision making level in the party are sold on this think­ing,” explained the deputy governor. According to him, this and other personality profile of MSM appears to be working for the candi­date.

By far, says multiple sources on MSM, his undi­vided loyalty to the party and closeness to the Pres­ident’s political family makes him the perfect can­didate, according some in­terests in the APC.

For instance, many recall the events 6, October 2018 that ordinarily would have had MSM jettison the party.

At 10.05am on Saturday of the said date, at the com­mencement of the guber­natorial primaries of APC in Kwara State, a strange and sudden announcement was made on a federal radio station in Ilorin to the effect that a leading gubernatorial aspirant had been ‘disqual­ified’ from contesting the elections.

That candidate was Saliu Mustapha, arguably one of the top three contenders bookmakers had predicted would carry the day at the primaries. The other two were a former Vice-Chan­cellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Shuaib Oba Ab­dulraheem and a member of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Com­mission (RMAFC), Alhaji­ShuiabYamanAbdullahi.

While the duo of Oba and Abdullahi came second and third respectively at the primaries as predicted, Saliu Mustapha was left in the cold, smarting bitterly from a ‘coup’ mischievously orchestrated against him by some unnamed powers-that-be in the middle of a contest he was all but billed to win.

By the time the dust would settle over the con­fusion generated by the radio announcement, the primary had been conclud­ed and won.

It was therefore no sur­prise when the National Working Committee of the party led by its for­mer Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole apolo­gized to Mallam Mustapha over the unauthorized an­nouncement of his pur­ported disqualification. An apology letter personally signed and issued to him by the ex-National Chair­man of the Party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, said Mallam Mustapha was cleared by the National Working Committee ap­pointed screening panel as a governorship aspirant to contest for the primary election, but his disquali­fication was erroneously announced by “unknown source” when voting was midway.

The party said it regret­ted the embarrassing mis­chief directed at the gov­ernorship aspirant during the primary election by a faceless individual, adding that it regarded Mallam Mustapha as an outstand­ing and loyal stakeholder and leader in its resolve to unify and strengthen the party, particularly in Kwara state.

“I trust that this unfor­tunate incident will not in any way weaken your re­solve to contribute and sus­tain your valuable support in the shared commitment and determination to col­lectively work with others to enthrone new political order in Kwara state in 2019 elections “, the APC ex-chair said.

In the wake of the cri­sis, all eyes were set on Mallam Mustapha as po­litical watchers and party faithful were uncertain about the politician’s next move. Many opined that he would jump ship and work for the then ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, while some said he would remain in the party without signif­icant contribution to its success in the general elections. In fact, an Ilorin-based Senior Advocate of Nigeria had offered a free legal consultation to Mu­stapha to sue the APC for what he described as an ‘unprecedented act of in­justice’ meted against him at the polls.

However, Mustapha would shock many shortly after the controversial pri­mary when he donated his campaign office in support of the party’s flagbearer, AbdulrahmanAbdulRazaq, thus re-affirming his com­mitment to the Otoge Rev­olution that would later sweep through Kwara in the general elections.

As if not enough, Musta­pha mobilised several mil­lions of Naira in personal till and from vastly rich net­work of friends across the country in support of virtu­ally all the candidates of the APC that contested the 2019 elecrions in Kwara state. He subsequently apologized to all his aggrieved supporters to take solace and work for the victory of the party.

So could the chairman­ship position of the party be MSM’s big compensation for the fortitude? Only time can tell.

(Sunday Independent)