The ruling party had an internal election for Speaker, deputy, Senate President and deputy positions. Various ambitious members and senators campaigned within the party and sought support from people they believed had influence within the party. They formed groups to achieve their outcomes. There was a public and open vote and the majority of APC voters chose those they wanted to lead them in the National Assembly NASS.
The rules of NASS and our constitution state that only members and senators can cast a vote in the respective houses, House of Representatives and the Senate. Within NASS there is a civil service which serves both Houses. Their job will be to open doors, take notes of discussions and votes in these Houses. They have no vote or say on how the business of both Houses are conducted.
APC is the political party, the fountain from whom policies and political guidance originate. All members are so by independent choice of will, no compulsion. The only means of enforcing its decision is to expel you from the group but it not a corporate member of NASS, its presence is through its members.
Now, a group of disgruntled members who lost the primaries within the party for support for elected principle officers in NASS did not accept the common will of APC and decided to contest for the positions in any case. APC is the governing party in Nigeria because it won the presidency and majority in the NASS. So the will of the party ought to ordinarily be translated into votes in NASS.
The Chair of APC is a former governor of Edo state without political hinterland. His personal power is therefore limited. His support either politically or monetarily is inconsequential to all and sundry. The head of APC is Tinubu the political godfather in the southwest and political power broker. He can make and unmake any political ambition in his hinterland. But his political fiat rest in the West and the West alone. There is the political North whose political leadership is currently with Buhari. However, Buhari being a former military head of state and without universal support in the North, prefers in this matter to be imperial so as not to actualise the fears of others worried about his militaristic tendencies resolved to be aloof. Nature does not allow for vacuum, neither does politics. In the void created by Buhari, Atiku steps in and seeks to be a puppet master. Step in an ambitious, wealthy former governor of Kwara state. In his mind he ought to be the president and he believed he has the pedigree and money to support his ambition. The problem for him is that his appeal is within two states created from the old Kwara state, Kwara and Kogi state. He forms an alliance with Atiku to wrestle power from the strongman of the West. That alliance is not enough so they sought and obtained the support of the opportunistic PDP to achieve what they believe is rightly theirs.
There is no such thing as luck in politics. You get lucky when opportunity meets incompetence. Again politics is numbers, numbers and numbers. APC has the numbers for its will to prevail in NASS but sheer incompetence allows own goal after own goal. The staff of NASS answerable only to NASS is informed that the APC will be holding a meeting when elections are due and this election due date is not a secret. The APC without the ability to see a green snake in a green grass matches its loyal members away from the battle field across town to hold a meeting. Nothing said to the yam heads leading the party to insist that ALL elected APC members go that meeting or remain in the chambers and use its numbers in NASS to effect its will. While they were waiting and idly chatting, Saraki like the bini proverbial monkey named himself, everybody, so when everybody was called to eat, only he turned up. So in a spectacular feat of pulling defeat from the jaws of victory, a group numerical inferior prevailed with the assistance of PDP. Ditto the elections in the House of Representatives.
Even fools are given a second chance. APC leadership gets a second chance.
Yet Oyegun and Tinubu dropped the ball. This time all were present in the NASS chambers. How did they manage lose this time.
Please grab a seat and popcorn and be ready to be entertained by clowns.
They wrote a letter instructing NASS of its nominated officers for NASS offices. Remember, I told you APC was not a corporate member of NASS and therefore has no direct business giving instructions on the elections of NASS officers. Bingo, the Speaker and President rejected the instructions and chaos descended on NASS. In that event, principle officers were elected by a minority group within APC with PDP acting as guard dogs while APC tore itself apart and exposed its non coherent core to the public. They gave a kiss of life to a dying PDP and created a powerful non conformity group within itself. Atiku and Saraki now consider themselves above APC and its leadership.
APC should have allowed its members to vote and their instructions remain an internal matter within itself. The threat to deselect erring members in the next circle of elections or threat to expose those who steal, sleep with goats or any form of cohesion to bring such members into the fold to effect its will. They were busy writing letters while their Rome burned. APC clearly does not have the whip over its members, they now have lots of cowboys and no Indians. As they say, too many cooks spoil the soup as does APC.
How this group of people manage to unseat a governing party from office, now speaks of the PDP than it does of APC. PDP lost the election, APC did not win the elections.
For political armchair pundit like me, this is sheer fun. The lesson is that democracy is an African game, we just stalled for long time.
Centre for Nigeria Progress 