The admonition from
every sitting Nigerian president immediately after his victory in an election
is that politics should be relegated to the background for governance to take
the central stage. It is however, a
refrain that is observed in the breach, as power game towards a second term commences almost immediately
after formal inauguration. Former
president Olusegun Obasanjo was reported to have told a confidant and chieftain
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in year 2000 that his challenge was not a
fresh mandate in 2003, but retaining power in 2007- that was three years
to the full exercise of his first term mandate and seven years before
his controversial tenure elongation plot became full blown. Nigerians would
also not forget in a hurry that Dr Goodluck Jonathan commenced his plot for a
single term of six years, few months after
he won the 2011 presidential
election.
The Muhammadu Buhari
presidency is no exception going by furtive politicking, nocturnal meetings and
the body language of the main protagonist. His wife, Aishat Buhari, let the cat out of the bag, recently, albeit
inadvertently , while expressing her frustration over a certain cabal she
alleged had hijacked her husband’s administration. In the interview, published by the British
Broadcasting Corporation, (BBC) Hausa Service, she threatened not to support
her husband for second term , if the alienation of those who made the rare feat
of dethroning an incumbent in 2015 general elections persists.
One of those
credited with making the historic feat of ouster of a sitting president possible in Nigeria was
former Lagos State governor and leader of the All Progressives Congress, (APC)
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Politics is
about party patronage but after the historic feat, Saturday Sun gathered that none of Tinubu’s nominees
made the ministerial list. Having been
shut out of the corridor of power and its appurtenances in Abuja, Tinubu is not
likely to throw his weight behind a fresh mandate for Buhari.
To checkmate
‘political insurgents’ in the Northern flank of the APC ahead of 2019 is no
headache for President Buhari as he has vigilant commanders in the likes of
Nasir El- Rufai and Abdul Umar Ganduje, governors of Kaduna and Kano states
respectively. They are to contain Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso,- former vice president and former Kano State
governor, respectively who had not shown any
pretence about their dreams to occupy Aso Rock presidential villa.
Tinubu, an
acknowledged mobiliser and strategist is
not nursing any presidential ambition. But from his Bourdillon base in Ikoyi,
Lagos, he can decide, who gets what, when and how. Like the other two, he needs to be checkmated having been
marked as someone with capacity to do
collateral damage to Buhari’s bid
for a fresh mandate in 2019.
Having lost out in
the recent power game in Ondo State where his anointed and candidate of the
Alliance for Democracy, Olusola Oke put up a dismal performance, APC’s Rotimi
Akeredolu’s feat made possible by Buhari’s foot soldiers in the zone may have
emboldened the presidency that the ubiquitous former Lagos State governor, is
after all, dispensable in the politics of the Southwest . Ahead of 2019, a new
power bloc, a creation of the presidency
is gradually unfolding in the volatile zone. But who are the forces behind the
unnerving plot to supplant Tinubu?
Saturday Sun unveils the new power brokers, who (with exception of one)
incidentally are political godsons of
the beleaguered former Lagos governor.
IBIKUNLE AMOSUN: The
incumbent governor of Ogun State represented Ogun Central senatorial
district in the red chamber of the
National Assembly, between 2003 and 2007. Amosun was the governorship candidate
of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, (ANPP) in the 2007 election, one of
the political parties that metamorphosed into the All Progressives Congress,
(APC). His fraternity with Buhari dates
back to their days in the defunct party.
Saturday Sun gathered that the Ogun State governor has since leveraged
on his relationship with Buhari, which has been misconstrued as supremacy
battle with the leader of the party in the zone, Bola Tinubu. During the
uncertain days of nomination of ministerial nominees, Amosun’s candidate for the plum position of Minister
of Finance, Kemi Adeosun made the final list while Wale Edun, Tinubu’s candidate for the same position was
dropped. Governor Amosun had also reaped
from the cold war between the Oyo state governor, Abiola Ajimobi and the Minister of Communications, Bayo
Shittu. A party source revealed that
Barrister Adebisi Adegbuyi was
nominated for the office of Post
Master-General of NIPOST by Governor
Amosun while his Oyo state counterpart
and Bayo Shittu were still pushing for
their separate nominees from Oyo state.
Tinubu and
Amosun’s cosy relationship went awry following the open acceptance of Amosun’s estranged benefactor,
Chief Segun Osoba’s return to the party.
Osoba, who played a prominent role in the formation of the APC had defected to the SDP in 2015 as soon as he
lost the battle for the control of the APC structures in Ogun State to Amosun.
Saturday Sun gathered that the former Ogun State governor lost out as a
result of the understanding between the national secretariat of the party and
the governors that the party structures be conceded to the governors in their
respective states in the wake of the formation of the party .
At Tinubu’s
residence last April to resolve the lingering crisis in Ogun State chapter of
the party and welcome Osoba back to the fold were the governors of Osun and Oyo states, Rauf Aregbesola and Abiola
Ajimobi while Lagos
state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode was represented by his deputy, Dr. (Mrs.)
Oluranti Adebule. Also present were former national Chairman of the defunct
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Bisi Akande and former Ekiti state governor, Niyi Adebayo.
Governor Amosun shunned the rapprochement meeting and he did not send any
representative.
Commenting on why
Amosun was not at the meeting, Tinubu said: “Nobody is left out, it is all
progressive and no one is left out, no matter your insinuation. Amosun is with
us, we can excuse people. The governor of Ogun State was elected on the
platform of the APC and we can vouch for him…. Leaders of the party identified
with us and it is clear we are all one, including Amosun. Who told you we are
fighting?”
Despite claim of
existing camaraderie by Tinubu, the ‘peace’ in Ogun State APC can be
likened to that in the graveyard .
Osoba, according to a party source, “is
no longer seen as an asset by Amosun’s
followers and his return into the Ogun State chapter was not to strengthen the
APC, but a sinister motive to distract Amosun in his traditional political turf.’’ It has
since worsened the already tense relationship between Amosun and Tinubu as the
former joined forces with the presidency
to antagonize the Lagos strong man.
At the grand finale
rally held for Akeredolu, penultimate weekend in Akure which had President Buhari in attendance, only
Amosun was in attendance as other APC governors in the zone shunned the rally. A Saturday Sun source revealed that a recent
meeting of the APC governors in Southwest
held in Abeokuta before the Ondo governorship election ended in a
deadlock as the host governor, Ibikunle Amosun and Tinubu’s Man Friday, Rauf
Aregbesola, disagreed on the candidate to back in the last Saturday governorship
election.
BABATUNDE
FASHOLA: the Minister of Power, Works
and Housing was a two-term Lagos State governor. Before his emergence as
governor in 2007, Fashola was
Chief-Of-Staff while Tinubu held forte as governor. His endorsement as successor by his political
godfather created a crack in the defunct
Action Congress, but Tinubu was able to weather the storm. His stewardship has been rated very high as the finest moment
of the Centre of Excellence in terms of
rapid transformation of social infrastructures in the State. During the
formation of the APC, Fashola’s outstanding achievements were flaunted as
reference point of what the electorate should expect in states under the
control of the emerging party.
His godfather
equally relished his performance. “He served as my trusted chief of staff,
performing excellently in that role. Due to his leadership qualities and
diligent work ethic, I endorsed him for governor notwithstanding the stiff and
vocal opposition of many. I am not ashamed of backing him. I believe the
progress the state made under his administration has more than vindicated my
endorsement’’, Tinubu had boasted.
But politics of
succession was to set them on collision path. While his godfather anointed
Akinwunmi Ambode, Fashola joined forces
with Supo Sasore, who was eventually trounced at the party primary by the
awesome Tinubu machinery. He was to stay away at the formal inauguration of his
successor.
Within weeks of his exit from Alausa, allegations of financial impropriety against Fashola began to
surface. An anti-corruption group, the
Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL)
forwarded eight petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission, (ICPC) detailing the allegations against Fashola. CACOL’s executive
director, Debo Adeniran had said that
the Lagos State government under Fashola indulged in “frivolous spending on
white elephant projects, lacked due process in budget implementation as well as
inflation of costs in contract awards.” The group’s petition came on the heels
of the outrage that greeted the revelation by analytic firm, BudgIT, that Fashola approved numerous “inflated
contracts” before he left office.
The Minister dismissed the claims as “distorted
allegations without evidence” while he also offered a refrain: “When you
wrestle with a pig, the pig gets happy and you get dirty.”
The sordid
allegations, coming few months after the party’s victory and formal
inauguration of Buhari was seen as part of an orchestrated plot by Tinubu to
ensure that his godson did not make
Buhari’s ministerial list. Tinubu was to
dismiss his alleged involvement in the mind boggling revelations.
He said: ‘’an attack
against the performance of Governor Fashola is indirectly an attack against me
and the edifice of achievement we have constructed in leading Lagos state out
of a protracted time of stagnation and into an era of sustained progress and development.
“I for one will not
bend to the artificial provocation of those seeking to tear at what we have
painstakingly built over the years. In my mind, Governor Fashola and I are and
shall always be political allies and fellow travelers on a vital journey; that
alliance is unshakable and our journey must not be interrupted. I would no
more attack his character or his administration than I would attack myself. I
am proud to say that I played an instrumental role in bringing Governor Fashola
into politics in the first instance.”
His explanation was
however taken with a pinch of salt, as
the decision by the Akinwunmi Ambode
administration to publish the details of the contracts awarded by Fashola on
the state’s procurement agency website, fueled speculations that Ambode was carrying out the bidding of his
godfather.
The relationship
between Tinubu and Fashola has been everything but warm in recent times. A party source revealed that the Minister of
Works, has however, been circumspect, in
order not to be seen as ostracizing
Tinubu. ‘’He maintains his usual visit to Bourdillon, the Ikoyi residence of
Tinubu, but Fashola has refused to defer
to him on matters that he ordinarily will seek Tinubu’s opinion’’, the source
added.
The party source
cited the appointment of a former permanent secretary in Lagos State,
Onikepo Animashaun as General Manager, Legal, at Nigerian Petroleum Development
Company, (NPDC) which he noted had the backing of Fashola but without Tinubu’s
approval.
KAYODE FAYEMI:
Former Ekiti State governor is the Minister for Solid Minerals Development. His attempt at securing a second term in
Ekiti State in 2014 suffered a setback
as he lost to the incumbent governor, Ayodele Fayose of the PDP, who won
overwhelmingly in all the 16 local councils of the state.
That election was
the genesis of his cold war with Tinubu. Saturday Sun gathered that before the
2014 election, Tinubu sent an
independent team, twice to Ekiti to assess Fayemi’s popularity and
acceptability to the electorate. On the two instances, the report was not
favourable to Fayemi.
Tinubu reluctantly
conceded the ticket to Fayemi, following
intense pressures from other governors
on the party’s platform in the zone.
The duo of Fashola
and Fayemi were also nominated as ministers by President Buhari himself who
pointedly asked them to meet with Tinubu
and seek for his forgiveness.
The message was not
lost and Fayemi has since been taking his pound of flesh. It has been alleged that the trio of Babachir
Lawal, Rotimi Amaechi and Kayode Fayemi,
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Minister of
Transportation and Minister for Solid
Minerals Development, respectively worked against Tinubu’s candidate, Segun Abraham and ensured
victory for the presidency anointed candidate and governor- elect, Rotimi
Akeredolu in the controversial party primary held last September.
Fayemi also played
visible role in the electoral success of Akeredolu, as his aides were on ground
in Ondo to do the needful.
BAYO SHITTU : Former Attorney General of Oyo State in the cabinet
of former governor, Rasheed Ladoja, he was the candidate of the defunct
Congress for Progressive Change, (CPC)
in the 2011 governorship Election in the pacesetter state. Shittu was picked as ministerial nominee by Buhari
but his nomination was met with stiff opposition by the Oyo state governor, Isiaka Ajimobi.
Shittu as CPC candidate in the election where Aji
mobi emerged
victorious had teamed up with other candidates to challenge the latter’s
mandate at the election petition tribunal. Saturday Sun gathered that it took
the personal intervention of President Buhari before Ajimobi conceded the state slot to
Shittu.
The Minister of
Communication has since been
leveraging on his new status in Abuja to galvanise support for his
governorship ambition and that may again pitch him against Ajimobi who is
smarting to install his successor. But
to the average APC faithful in Oyo State and by extension Southwest, Shittu is
a creation of the presidency which explains why Tinubu camp, sees him as a light weight; he is not seen as an influential politician
to ruffle any political feather as he has no visible structure in his home
state.
Tinubu: Road to
self-immolation?
The presidency is
not in a hurry to make up with Tinubu, even as it sustains denial of a rift
with the former Lagos governor. In a statement last weekend, it dismissed media
reports of a rift between Tinubu, the
party leadership and presidency. Presidential media aide, Mallam Garba Shehu
said any suggestion that the president and the party machinery were working to
destroy Tinubu had no foundation in truth or any credibility, explaining that
the president was impressed by Tinubu’s assurance to the party not to work
against APC in Ondo. He further claimed that the estranged national leader
honoured his pledge. Shehu also explained that Buhari regards Tinubu as a
“priceless political asset to the party whose immeasurable contributions to the
development and progress of the ruling party are known to all.’’
Saturday Sun however gathered that the weekend press
statement was a mere subterfuge to conceal its real motive: the total
displacement of Tinubu in the southwest, using the new power bloc.
The Buhari
administration was bidding its time and was not willing for an open
confrontation with Tinubu. A presidency
source revealed that government was
peeved with Tinubu over his attempts to draw it out for an open verbal war .
The source cited the attacks on the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe
Kachikwu last March during the agonizing fuel scarcity which he noted was an
indirect attack on the Buhari administration by Tinubu. He also expressed
reservation over Tinubu’s recent attack
on the national chairman of the party, Odigie Oyegun, whom he accused of shoddy
handling of the outcome of the Ondo primary.
Nobody can decimate Tinubu- Igbokwe, Lagos APC
publicity scribe
Speaking with
Saturday Sun on phone, Joe Igbokwe, the publicity secretary of the APC in Lagos
state said the attempt by the emerging power bloc, which he derided as the
Buhari boys to decimate the former Lagos governor would fail, as he noted that
Tinubu is already a movement. Igbokwe said what happened in Ondo was not enough
to conclude that Tinubu has lost out in the zone.
“After the Ondo
guber elections last Saturday November 26, 2016 many commentators began to
celebrate the so-called Buhari boys in Abuja who they said outsmarted Asiwaju
Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I saw a calculated attempt to whittle down the well-deserved
honour and glory the man has recorded even from his days at Mobil Producing
Nigeria. Many half a penny commentators said that this may be the beginning of
the end of the Asiwaju BAT’s phenomenon. Some said that BAT has been bruised.
“But I know enough
history to conclude that success is not an event. I know that nobody makes it
to the World Series overnight. I know the champions do not become heroes
overnight. Throughout history I have known that history is not drawn on a
straight line. This is the reason I feel that those who tried to use the
outcome of Ondo elections to get at Asiwaju BAT miss the point. They know
nothing about Asiwaju BAT as a massive movement.’’ Igbokwe further argued that
those who were used in the past to supplant genuine leaders in Yoruba land
ultimately regret their actions.
His words “Being
successful isn’t an event. Remember during the Sani Abacha regime, the genuine
Yoruba leaders said they weren’t going to attend the constitutional conference;
the Yoruba leaders didn’t go but General Oladipo Diya raised new set of
‘leaders’. Diya picked the Yoruba leaders and I remember the late Bola Ige said
leaders don’t emerge overnight.
“So, it is difficult
for anybody to crush Asiwaju. It is difficult to decimate him, I don’t think it
is going to work.’’
Sunnewsonline
0 Comments