By Danlami Nmodu
Keen watchers of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress,APC were all eyes and ears waiting for the presence of acclaimed national leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu.Will he or will he not attend the National Executive Council ,NEC meeting in Abuja?
As the meeting commenced, it became clear that Tinubu had chosen to boycott the meeting.Also absent was Chief Bisi Akande, the former interim national chairman of the party.
Tongues wagged over the absence of the Vice President ,Professor Yemi Osinbajo.But reports later emerged that he was actually on official assignment to Jaji where he represented President Muhammadu Buhari at a military graduation ceremony in Kaduna state.
Tinubu’s absence was easily the most talked about issue even among opposition Peoples Democtratic Party ,PDP members.An aide to one of the PDP governors in the South West quickly shared the information Friday among his friends on the social media :”Tinubu ,Akande shun APC meeting “,he wrote ,ending on a celebratory note with the hashtag “#DancingShoki.”
Tinubu has been a key player in the emergence of APC and Buhari as the party’s presidential candidate.It was no surprise that he was among the chieftains Buhari hailed profusely in his acceptance speech after receiving his certificate of return from INEC with his victory at the 2015 presidential election.
Winning the election has turned out to be the easier part for the party ever since.The elections into key positions of the national assembly have proved to be the party’s Achilles heels.
Tinubu and his supporter preferred Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila for senate president and Speaker House of Representatives respectively but other forces in the party worked apparently in concert with opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to produce Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker House of Representatives respectively.
Things have fallen apart in the party ever since and the centre has not been able hold firm as the division within seems to deepen further.Tinubu who was at the party’s national secretariat on the day Sarakai and Dogara were elected expressed his fury openly,our reporter said.
The battle now is over who occupies other key posts in the senate and the house of Reps.Again, Tinubu’s men appear to have lost out in the senate while the House of Reps adjourned after a free- for -all recently without feeling the posts.
At the NEC meeting, Buhari who had earlier said he would not intervene in the NASS crisis called party member to respect the party’s supremacy . He called on the leaders to unite towards winning the war.He even used the name of God to appeal to the embattled leaders.
“As human beings, we are not perfect, but let us do our best to eventually win this ‘war’ so that we can get on with the urgent task of delivering on our electoral promises to the nation”,Buhari said.
Many observers are all eyes and ears waiting to see the next twist in the party’s tale.For Buhari, a united front is the best way forward.
