With the complaint by Lai Muhammad, Federal Information Minister, a close ally of the APC national leader, it seems the end game is near for those believed to be in Tinubu’s camp. The first salvo of resistance for the ongoing APC membership registration was fired by Honorable Abiodun James Faleke, chairman of, House Committee on Finance who canvassed for a shift of the exercise.
This was followed by former APC chieftain Chief Bisi Akande who described the exercise as wasteful and unnecessary. Former national chairman Adams Oshiomole followed suit insisting that there was nothing like revalidation or registration in the APC constitution. In what is seen as a major step by the caretaker committee to correct the imbalance in membership registration, the open hostility being exhibited by the former members of the ACN is, therefore, a warning that the contraption called APC may be heading for an implosion.
This is coming on the heels of the Asiwaju himself gunning for the presidency—a move which is likely to backfire should the party machinery be wrenched from under his nose. For long, the structures of the party have been in his firm grip and he has expertly manipulated it to install proxies and stooges in the corridors of power–his wife and sons also beneficiaries. He also used it for the wrong reasons.
But his biggest problem actually stems from his stubborn refusal to allow a former governor of Lagos to complete his tenure turning deaf ears even after the president himself had joined in the plea. “That did not go down well with the northern establishment who saw in that action as a serious threat to peace and stability”, said the chairman of Consolidated Action for Democracy, (CAD), Francis Ebere.
According to him, political observers felt betrayed that democracy was being given a different colouration and turned into a one-man show. “You could see that there was an ulterior motive otherwise what was wrong in accepting the pleas from eminent men and women?” he asked. Then they tried the same dirty tricks in Edo State where they met their Waterloo.
Obaseki stood his grounds and with the help of powerful forces in Abuja, he was flushed out. Now, they are back to square one and those whom the national leader failed to listen to during the Lagos saga, are the same people he is running to for help in his presidential bid. “It simply cannot work; what goes around comes around”, said Francis Ebere.
“This man is simply moving the wrong direction; we can never have development if his type of politics is not flushed out”, Ebere warned. He pointed to Lagos for example, where major programmes introduced by the former governor appears to have been abandoned. A drive through Oshodi would instantly reveal the stark reality at the popular Oshodi Interchange Terminal. Conceived to make Lagos a mini Dubai, Tinubu’s style of selfish politics has put it in limbo.
Similarly, progress at the Oshodi Bus Terminal appears to have been stalled. “This is why development is hard in Africa”, said Mr Ebere wondering if this was the “blueprint” plan that the national leader claimed was in place. “This is sheer wickedness”, stressed Mr Ebere adding that personality should not be introduced in governance. Reading in between the lines, it is not difficult to conclude that the APC needs more than prayers to remain, one family,
