Lagos APC and emerging factional crisis

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The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
is currently embroiled in crisis with a faction that calls itself
Broom Unity Movement (BUM) led by a loyalist of the National Leader
of APC, Mr Faud Oki. The emergence of the group few days ago seems
to confirm existing speculations on the state of health of the
party, BOLA BADMUS reports.

Few days ago, Lagosians woke up to the news of the emergence of
a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state led
by Mr Faud Oki, one of the key loyalists of the National Leader of
APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Oki, who had been in charge of campaign organisations of former
Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu; former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola,
now Minister of Works, Power and Housing and, Governor Akinwunmi
Ambode, as director general, was reported to have gathered some APC
chieftains to a venue, the lounge of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, on
Tuesday, to declare that the party had broken into factions,
accusing the leadership of the party in Lagos led by Otunba Henry
Ajomale of engaging in what he termed “illegalities, manipulation
and marginalisation” against members.

Oki, who named the new group the Broom United Movement (BUM), a
development which came barely two weeks after Tinubu started his
assignment as head of the reconciliation committee of the APC,
warned that unless genuine reconciliation was allowed to take
place, the party in the state may be heading for a crisis and
disaster in coming eections.

According to Oki, the Lagos State chapter of APC suffers from
low organisational capacity and lack of internal democracy, saying
that the resultant effect of this had been its incapacity to
support democracy as expected.

“Our party suffers from low organisational capacity and lack of
internal democracy. The resultant effect of this has been its
incapacity to support our democracy as expected. Today, our party
in Lagos State is fading into insignificance. Massive membership
exclusion is becoming the order of the day with members withdrawing
from the political space and constituting themselves into internal
opposition,” he lamented.

“The current graveyard silence that permeates our political
landscape with a ‘siddon look’ syndrome is very dangerous,” he
said, adding that political parties are vital organisations in a
democracy, and democracy is stronger when citizens become active
members of political parties. Unfortunately, the democratic culture
in our state is characterised by factors such as illegalities,
rigging, oppression, manipulation, marginalisation and
violence.

“Democracy and political participation are related to good
governance; this relationship is complementary but appears to be
antithetical in our political system. When democracy is abused,
good governance becomes elusive and evasive.” It is in the light of
all these that the BUM will involve committed party members who
will bring moral authority, character and wisdom in handling the
delicate issue of reconciliation, unity and accord.”

Oki assured party members that from now on, their “votes will
count and they will be allowed to freely choose their leaders in a
healthy competitive atmosphere.”

But a twist to the emergence of the Oki-led faction is that the
party may have begun suspension process against the facilitator
himself, as he has been summoned to appear before a committee put
up by the APC leadership in the state.

Oki confirmed this to Nigerian Tribune, adding that he was
billed to appear before the disciplinary panel and explain why he
should go and form a faction of the party in the state. According
to him, the panel was set up as being clamoured by those “who do
not like him and what he did,” with the aim of suspending him from
the party, but he quickly said such a move is “an internal thing by
the party.”

When asked if the BUM would still remain now that he faces
possible suspension from the party based on the roles he played.
Oki boasted: “there is nobody that can stop the Movement. It has an
objective and the objective is to reconcile all members of the
party and ensure that the APC remains united and strong,”

When contacted, the Assistant Publicity Secretary of Lagos
chapter of APC, Honourable Abiodun Salami, said he was not aware
that Mr Oki had been summoned to appear before any panel.

Salami said Oki was only trying desperately to make a name for
himself, pointing out that whatever he had been saying was a
fiction of his own imagination.

“We don’t even know that he is doing anything; everything that
he is doing is just his own fantasy. Nobody has given him any
summons if he has been served any, let him produce it,” Salami
said.

The party spokesperson, however, contended that some masquerades
were behind the Oki-led group, expressing the belief that very soon
they would be exposed.

He wondered why the BUM coordinator, who he said had been part
of the Ajomale-led APC leadership all along, and had not raised any
at the level, would now find something to complain about.

“The masquerades behind the faction will be exposed soon. He
(Oki) has been part of the exco and has not complained about
goings-on. Why is he complaining now?” The APC spokesperson
said.

The APC leadership in the state may have decided not to admit
there is crisis in the party currently. However, for some time now,
the second term bid of the incumbent, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, ahead of
2019 governorship poll has polarised the party with those pushing
for the bid on behalf of the governor being on one side against the
rest of leaders and members.

And the split is more pronounced in Alimosho area of the state,
which is the strong political base of the Osun State governor, Mr
Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola. It is in the same Alimosho that a leader
of the party, Alhaji Abdulai Enilolobo, is holding the forte for
Aregbesola.

It would be recalled that recently, the party had the wisdom to
manage what could have become an open conflict between the governor
and chairmen of local government areas, most especially from
Alimosho. The issue precisely was the appointment of secretaries
and supervisory councilors in all the 20 Local Government Areas
(LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state,
which Governor Ambode had allegedly influenced in his favour by
having a list comprising his loyalists, who worked for his
elections, pushed to all the council chairmen for appointments.

Opposition to the list was very strong from the Alimosho area of
the state to the extent that the council chairmen there had to go
ahead with the appointments of their favoured candidates as agreed
with their leaders. As at that that time, the party leadership in
the state admitted knowing about such development and working on
its resolution. But such appointments still stay till today and it
is not on record if any of such appointment has been reversed till
date. A pocket of opposition to the governor’s list also was
reported in some instances across the state.

Also, it is possible that the declaration of faction of All
Progressives Congress (APC) by Faud Oki might also have been
influenced by fact of recent development between the state
governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and the Legislative Arm headed by
Speaker Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, which even casual observers would
not fail to notice.

Some months ago, it was speculated that the relationship between
the governor and the State House of Assembly under Obasa has been
quit frosty, but everything came into the open when early Monday,
February 26, 2018, the governor decided to sign into Law in the
2018 Budget of over N1trn.

At the signing, unlike the usual tradition for such an important
event, the Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, was not present, and not
represented by any member at the occasion. Members of the State
Assembly contacted on the issue even expressed surprise as they
were not aware that the governor had signed the budget, which the
State House of Assembly passed into law almost a month earlier, a
delay which could have made the House begin to consider a veto
option once the governor fails to sign the already passed budget
bill into law at the expiration of 30 days.

Before the eventual signing by Governor Ambode, Nigerian Tribune
had tried to clarify reports in some quarters that the governor had
since returned the earlier passed budget to the Assembly, on the
basis of some sections of the document which he was not in
agreement with.

But the Majority Leader, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon.
Sanai Agunbiade, when contacted on phone for his reaction, denied
knowledge of such report, saying: “I am not aware of that.”

The Majority Leader also said he was not in a position to know
why the governor had not signed the 2018 budget into law as passed
by the legislature. He simply replied, “I don’t know.”

As things are now, it will be foolhardy for any follower of
political development to conclude that things are okay in the Lagos
State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) and that there is
nothing to resolve. However, some party members and chieftains, who
would not want their names in print, all admitted that the party is
in crisis, but quickly said that the crisis is resolvable.

One of them in his response, said, “there is crisis in APC and
there is also no crisis in the party,” arguing that the only crisis
rocking the fold is the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, who he said all other aggrieved leaders, including former
Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, Dr Muiz Banire, the party’s
National Legal Adviser; among others, are not pleased with the way
he had been piloting affairs in the state.