APC national convention and the zoning dilemma

As Nigerians begin preparations for another election cycle in 2023, the ruling All Progressives Congress has not left anyone in doubt that it will like to retain power beyond the current regime headed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

The APC, just like the Peoples Democratic Party which ruled Nigeria for 16 unbroken years before it was forced into opposition, is still contending with internal squabbles over balancing personal and regional interests with what many consider Nigeria’s strategic national interest-Unity.

Not long after making history as the first opposition party to defeat an incumbent government and wrest power in 2015, the APC leaders plunged into a scramble over power-sharing.

The emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively, raised the stakes.

The crisis, which followed discontent among some party stakeholders led to the unceremonious exit of two national chairmen of the ruling APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and Adams Oshiomhole.

The Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee, which took over from Odigie-Oyegun in June 2018, was sacked by the National Executive Committee and replaced by the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led 13-member Caretaker/ Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee, on June 25, 2020, after a protracted leadership tussle.

In recognition of the task before his committee, Buni, on assumption of office, said, “It is our belief that the decision by NEC to constitute this committee will mark the beginning of a new chapter in our great party.

“Changes are inevitable and disagreements on issues and concepts are an integral part of human and institutional relationships. As a political party built on strong ideology and parading men and women of enduring principle and integrity, we must prepare for real and anticipated changes and their consequences. The outcomes of changes that evolve in our party politics must be decided by us.”

However, more than one year after the National Executive Committee inaugurated the CENCPC, there are still fears that the ghost of the rancorous congresses of 2018 have yet to be fully exorcised.

This, those who share this view argue, has the potential of adversely affecting the party’s fortunes going forward unless drastic steps are taken to right the wrongs of the past.

According to an Enugu State chieftain of the APC, Osita Okechukwu, the scars of the injustice allegedly meted out to members of the party by Oshiomhole is still visible today.

“How can we forget the losses we suffered in Zamfara, Bauchi and other states when we had no business losing?” he asked.

Fully conscious of the trust issues raised during interactive sessions with members across board, the Buni-led CENCPC set out to pursue its core mandate which is to reconcile aggrieved members and attract new members into the party.

To its credit, the committee has won over three serving governors, several senators and members of the House of Representatives from the opposition PDP.

It has also concluded the party’s membership registration and revalidation exercise, ward and local government congresses, and has scheduled state congresses for October 16.

One major huddle which appears to be the elephant in the room is the issue of zoning of party offices and the 2023 presidential ticket. Several foundation party members have at different fora expressed their preferences.

While a Benue State chieftain of the party and former Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, and the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, among others, have made a case for the zoning of the 2023 presidency to Southern Nigeria, other party chieftains such as Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Gbanga Olawepo Hashim dismissed such calls as undemocratic.

Since the return of democracy in 1999, power brokers across party lines have practiced the rotation of power between the North and the South.

As a preamble to Section 7 (2) of the PDP Constitution, the party wrote, “To create socio-political conditions conducive to national peace and unity by ensuring fair and equitable distribution of resources and opportunities, to conform with the principles of power shift and power sharing by rotating key political offices among the diverse peoples of our country and evolving powers equitably between the federal, state and local governments in the spirit of federalism.”

The party in Section 7 (2) (c) of its constitution stated, “…in pursuant of the principles of equity, justice and fairness, the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of party and public elective offices and it shall be enforced by the appropriate executive committee at all levels.”

Many watchers of the then ruling party argued that a breach of this provision among other factors led to the party’s loss of power in 2015.

Although the APC was not very explicit on the subject in its constitution, its Article 20 (vi) reads in part, “Without prejudice to Article 20(ii) and (iii) of this constitution, the National Working Committee shall subject to the approval of the National Executive Committee, make rules and regulations for the nomination of candidates through primary elections.

“All such rules, regulations and guidelines shall take into consideration and uphold the principle of Federal Character, gender balance, geo-political spread and rotation of offices, and to as much as possible ensure balance within the constituency covered.”

In order to reduce rancour and promote inclusion, almost all other political parties have within their constitutions a provision stating that the President and the National Chairman of the party should not come from the same zone.

Pursuant to this, where the national chairmanship position of any party is zoned to is a pointer to where such a party is likely to zone its presidential ticket.

The interest of individual party members as well as various interest groups within the party equally plays a significant role in shaping opinion with regards to where party offices are zone to.

A debate among some party leaders over what ought to be done for the APC to retain power come 2023 is currently on the front burner as the party prepares for its national convention.

While the opposition PDP has taken the initiative by setting up a committee specifically charged with working out a zoning formula, the APC is biding its time.

The National Secretary of the ruling party, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, would rather not speak about the issue of zoning, considering its sensitive nature.

In response to a question on the issue during a recent interview, he said, “I cannot talk about it, the caucus of the party will decide.”

An aspirant for the position of national chairman of the party, Chief Sunny Moneidaffe, who stated that he was waiting for the party to take a decision on the issue said, “I will contest for the chairmanship if the position is zoned to the North-East, if it is not, I will contest for any other position zoned to my area, I’m in this for service.”

A similar view was expressed by another contender for the position, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.

He said, “We have received calls from patriotic party members to contest. I will honour the call to serve if our party zones the position to our zone.”

A former presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections, Gbenga Olawepo –Hashim, expressed the view that while political parties were at liberty to zone party offices, it was wrong for them to do the same for the presidential ticket.

He said, “While we recognise the freedom of expression of every Nigerian, utmost care is needed now more than ever before not to complicate the delicate situation of the country by pitching one section of the country against another.”

Olawepo-Hashim noted that it remained the constitutional right of every qualified Nigerian to vote and seek to be voted for by standing for an elective office regardless of the ethnic descent or religious persuasion.

He said, “Any politician that wants to contest to be president from wherever can jolly well jump into the ring, there is no need to continuously blackmail the country by hiding under ethnic nationality groups. While political parties can zone party offices, they have no power to zone elective offices. There is no need to split hot air over this any further.”

According to him, after experimenting with zoning and rotation for 22 years since 1999, the hue and cry over perceived marginalisation ought to have been rested.

He noted that “of the 22 years since 1999, the nation has seen a total of 14 years of presidents from the southern region-Obasanjo’s eight years and Jonathan’s six years.

“When Buhari by the grace of God ends his tenure in 2023, we would have seen presidents of northern origin for 10 years. This should be enough to lay to rest the divisive arguments about power rotation.”

How the party handles this delicate situation will determine whether or not the party will retain power beyond 2023.

(Saturday PUNCH)