Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to have launched a must-win battle for three strategic states in the country.
Political pundits have attributed the ongoing political crisis brewing in these three states to the pre-election scramble for these states and predicted that the current political crises across these states may snowball into major ones as the crucial election draws closer. …CONTINUE READING
The three states, namely Lagos, Rivers and Kano are considered very important because of their population and the number of votes they churn out at every general election. They are among the very economically viable states in the country.
The ruling party at the centre is currently embroiled in a battle of wits with the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for these states.
In Lagos State, considered the home- base of President Bola Tinubu, the APC is currently in a struggle to maintain its control over the Lagos State House of Assembly ( LSHA) after its members broke ranks, sacked their long serving Speaker, Mudasiru Obasa and installed Mojisola Meranda as replacement.
This rift at the LSHA, Sunday Telegraph gathered, cannot be divorced from the struggle within the Lagos State Chapter of the APC over who will be the party’s standard bearer for the 2027 Governorship Election.
Obasa, who had held sway for nearly a decade and half is considered very influential and therefore, eminently qualified to take over the mantle from the incumbent, Governor Babajide Sanwo- Olu. But some forces within the same party think otherwise.
After staging a show of force to physically recovering his former seat during the week without much success, Obasa has approached the courts to seek redress on his removal from office.
The aborted return of Obasa has remained shrouded in controversy as some elements have linked it to his supposed endorsement by President Bola Tinubu even though there were earlier speculations that Tinubu may have abandoned him in spite of his loyalty to the party for so many years.
In fact, there have been speculations that Obasa was thrown under the bus to pave way for the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu, to become Sanwo- Olu’ s successor.
However, Sunday Telegraph learnt that the President’s only anger against Obasa’s removal was that he was not allowed the benefit of final approval.
In all ramifications, this is one crisis which President Tinubu and his acolytes in the Governorship Advisory Council (GAC) cannot afford to handle with kid gloves as it could potentially rock the boat in the coming months.
It was however learnt that GAC members were still divided after a meeting on Friday night and some decided to flow with Tinubu. It is not clear if Obasa would be returned after his failed attempt last week.
But some GAC members, after a meeting on Friday, insisted they were behind Tinubu, warning that the efforts of building a formidable machinery in the state in the past 25 years must not be wasted.
The meeting which was attended by Cardinal James Omolaja Odunmbaku, Senator Anthony Adefuye, Rt. Hon. Mudasiru Ajayi Obasa, Chief Muraina Taiwo, Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, Hon Monsuru Owolabi, Hon. Kolawole Taiwo, Hon. Lanre Ogunyemi and Hon. Johnson Babatunde, observed that the unity, peace and political stability in the party and the state built over the years by Asiwaju was a legacy that must be maintained, preserved and respected by all loyal party members, particularly that it has brought admirable progress and prosperity to Lagos State.
“The meeting appealed to all true progressives to shun tribal and ethnic politics and inclination which tilts towards divisiveness and disharmony.
“The leaders frowned at the crisis, which rocked the Lagos State House of Assembly, and the action carried out by its members without recourse to Asiwaju, the party and other political leaders.
“In order to build a strong, vibrant and virile party, the meeting advised the Lagos State House of Assembly members to commit themselves to party discipline and respect the party leadership as epitomised by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as anything to the contrary would amount to disloyalty to the party and disregard for the political system and legacy that produced them.
“The leaders at the meeting posited to unconditionally support, defend, and protect all policies and programs of the President in all ramifications while noting that the President has made significant strides in government since he assumed office.
“The leaders concluded that they would vigorously campaign and massively mobilise the Nigerian electorate for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second term in office”, an unsigned statement from the meeting said.
The political crisis in Rivers State came to a head on Friday as the Supreme Court gave some decisive rulings that appear to favour the APC but this might just be the beginning of the next phase of the battle.
The Supreme Court, among other things, ruled that the 27 lawmakers loyal to the former governor of the state and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, be allowed to return to the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The court also nullified the Local Government Elections held in the state last year and therefore sacked the Council Chairman elected on the platform of the Allied Peoples Party (APP), a special purpose platform adopted by the current administration in the state.
Above all, the Supreme Court directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to halt further disbursement of the monthly federal allocations to Rivers State.
Sunday Telegraph can authoritatively assert that the struggle for control of the Rivers State House of Assembly may take a different dimension in the coming days and weeks as the consequences of the ruling of the apex court dawns on the parties in dispute.
While the pronouncements of the court favour the 27- pro-Wike lawmakers, it would be difficult for Governor Siminalayi Fubara to accept the bitter pill without a fight.
If that judgement is implemented, it will no doubt trigger a chain of violent reactions from the leadership of the PDP and the people of Rivers State.
This will in turn, worsen the chances of Wike delivering the state to President Tinubu and APC in 2027”, said a PDP leader in the state.
Similarly, there are fears that the 27 lawmakers of Wike might try to remove Fubara from office as a payback.
In Kano State, the APC and NNPP have been engaged in a long drawn battle of supremacy since the latter defeated the former during the 2023 General Election. The presidential candidate of the NNPP, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his protégé , Alhaji Umar Ganduje, who is now the National Chairman of the APC are leading the fight from opposite ends and neither of them is ready to back down. While both gladiators pull the strings from behind the curtains, the APC appears to have infiltrated the leadership of the NNPP and have created a division within its ranks.
The factional leader of the NNPP, Musa Nuhu Yankaba, has openly challenged Kwankwaso and Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of not representing the “authentic” NNPP.
Yankaba did not stop there. He and his comrades went ahead to convene a congress and have elected a rival leadership for the party in the state.
Sunday Telegraph gathered that the boldness of the faction stems from the possibility that they derive their inspiration and motivation from outside the party. Some analysts claim that the faction are agents of the APC and are being well funded to ensure the destabilisation or disintegration of the NNPP before 2027. But given the fact that NNPP is fighting alongside the Kwankwasiya Movement, a large and vibrant group loyal to Kwankwaso, it might be an uphill task for the APC to reclaim Kano in 2027.
-SOURCE: New Telegraph
