The emergence of Adams Oshiomhole, former Edo State Governor, as the new national Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, appears to give the party hope of going to the 2019 elections battle as a united whole. Our Correspondent, YUSUF MOHAMMED who covered the convention reports.
Before the All Progressives Congress, APC, held its latest national convention on Saturday at the Eagle Square in Abuja, the last time the party had one was in November 2014 when President Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.
It was a carnival-like atmosphere at the Eagle’s Square in Abuja on Saturday during this year’s convention as supporters of aspirants vying for different positions within the party could be seen flying their posters and banners. Drummers were on ground to entertain dignitaries.
Unlike the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which held last year at the same venue, security was a lot tighter at this convention. There were many checkpoints before the main entrance. Each checkpoint was heavily guarded by security agents from various agencies. Without an accreditation tag, it was impossible to gain access to the venue. The presence of President Buhari must have been responsible for the maximum security at the convention.
Despite the crisis within the party ahead of the convention, APC was able to organise a successful convention. There were a few disagreements during the convention. For instance, the delegates from Imo State put up a show of shame when they fought one another. Kogi and Delta delegates also had their moments of rascality.
However, overall, it went well. The convention has been adjudged as a successful one by political pundits and observers.
There was a consensus agreement on most of the positions up for grabs within the APC. Over 20 positions were won unopposed.
The chairmanship position which is the biggest of all was a foregone conclusion even before the convention day. A former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole won that position unopposed.
Before Oshiomhole’s emergence as chairman, all was not well within the APC as not everyone was in support of his candidacy.
The former Edo State governor is a loyalist of a former Lagos State governor and national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They were both members of the defunct Action Congress (AC), a platform, Oshiomhole used in becoming governor in 2008.
Tinubu, who is one of the founders of the APC, was not in good terms with the immediate past national chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun. They fell out as result of clash of interests.
The two leaders of the party rooted for different governorship candidates for the Kogi State election and Ondo State election respectively. Twice, Oyegun’s men came out on top to the dismay of Tinubu. Oyegun also had the upper hand in terms of political appointments.
Oyegun who was the national chairman of the party for four years wanted a tenure elongation. His wish was granted but short-lived.
Earlier this year, his tenure was elongated for one more year by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC). But in less than one week, that decision was reversed with President Buhari kicking against it.
The move to elongate Oyegun’s tenure did not go down well with Tinubu, who had scores to settle with him.
Buhari who had earlier supported a tenure elongation went back on his words due to the grave consequence it might have on the party and his own second term bid. The president said tenure elongation for the executive was against the constitution of the party and Nigeria.
He argued that to avoid major crises that could jeopardize the chances of the party ahead of the 2019 elections, it had to be reversed.
Political analysts are of the view that the President had no choice but to support the stance of Tinubu if he wanted to enjoy his goodwill ahead of the 2019 elections.
Before the tenure elongation of Oyegun, it had been evident from Tinubu’s body language and utterances that he was not happy with the way things were being run in APC.
The former party chairman, it was gathered by The Next Edition, was persuaded to step down by President Muhammadu Buhari. An unhappy Oyegun had no choice but to do the needful. Few days to the election he withdrew from the race and Adams Oshiomhole had no competitor. He became chairman unopposed.
Many political analysts have described Oshiomhole’s victory as a breath of fresh air for the party. In his inaugural speech, he emphasised the need to make every party member have a sense of belonging. He thanked some of the aggrieved members for their contributions to the success of the party in 2015. He specifically recognised the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, for his contributions, an indication that his regime would calm frayed nerves in the party.
Speaking on the challenges within the APC, the former Edo State governor gave the assurance that they would overcome.
“As things stand now, we have no other party than the APC. Let us strengthen it so that it can provide comfort to every member irrespective of ethnic or religious background,” he said.
“I am aware there are challenges here and there but the team that has just been elected has the capacity to address those challenges.”
That is a sign that he would want to work towards taking a united APC to the battlefront in 2019.
Oshiomhole is a former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and was prominent as the leader of a campaign of industrial action against high oil prices in Nigeria.
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Before that, in 1982, he was appointed General Secretary of the National Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, a union that had over 75,000 workers.
He was president of the NLC from 1999 – 2007. The former governor is a good negotiator and that experience may come in handy for the APC.
Early in the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, he negotiated a 25% wage increase for public sector workers. In return, he publicly supported Obasanjo’s second term bid and endorsed his candidacy in 2003.
Oshiomhole’s activities at the helm of affairs of the NLC made him a national hero. He was fought doggedly for the welfare of the common man.
When there was increase in fuel price as a result of reliance on imported gasoline, Oshiomhole led strikes and demonstrations against such increases. He faced arrests, tear gas and temporary blockades of union offices.
In 2007, he ran for Governor of Edo State under Action Congress against Oserheimen Osunbor of the PDP. Although he lost that election, he went to court on the ground that there were some irregularities. In 2008, the election of Osunbor was nullified by an Edo State election tribunal and Oshiomhole was declared the winner.
Speaking with The Next Edition shortly after Oshiomole was sworn in as the national chairman of the APC, Senator Smart Adeyemi who represented Kogi West for two terms at the National Assembly, was of the view that the former Edo State governor had the capacity to move the party in the right direction given his antecedents.
“Right now, there is no one better than Oshiomhole for this position,” he said. “We have known him since he was the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). He did his job diligently.”
Adeyemi added: “He is a no-nonsense man and members of the opposition know this. They won’t be happy with this news. With Oshiomole at the helm of affairs, no one will leave the party. More people will join us.”
With his man as the national chairman of the APC, it is almost certain that Tinubu will give his best for the party to succeed in 2019.
Also, generally considering the personality of Oshiomhole as characterized by his commitment to a cause, ability to remain focused and be unrelenting in his battle, chances of the APC appear better than many might have thought of before the national convention of the APC.
