They asserted that what started as an innocuous expression of displeasure and unfairness by old members who have invested heavily in the party could snowball into a full-blown crisis and profoundly damaging events that could potentially weaken the party ahead of the general elections and severely hamper its performance at the polls.
All over the world, one way political parties, especially ruling parties, strengthen their public appeal and increase their chances of electoral victory is by bringing influential, prominent, and charismatic politicians into their fold. To what extent the political migration and defection of politicians of immense clout and enormous influence into a party can positively change the fortunes of such a party cannot be determined by mere abstract pontification or a feeling of optimism.
Since this administration assumed power three years ago, the ruling All Progressives Congress has recorded an unprecedented defection and influx of high-profile opposition party figures into its fold. While the reasons and motivations for this exodus are highly questionable and deeply concerning, the ruling party will not care much for the optics of this gale of defections as long as it gives it the leverage needed to win elections and consolidate power.
While the ruling party would have many believe that the steady stream of prominent politicians and elected public officers into its rank — irrespective of what people may feel or say about how it achieve the sweeping altering of the nation’s political road map — is perfect indicator of how well the government of the day has performed and how widely it is loved and accepted by the people, the dynamics and intrigues of unfolding political histrionics speak of a different reality, one which does not bode well for the ruling party.
These defections carry the weight of strong assurances and delicate arrangements that often guarantee the defectors, particularly the governors, that their ambitions will be realised, their wishes will be met and their interests will be protected. These promises and compromises often tend to create problems for the party as they put the defectors on a collision course with old members and entrenched interests who have their own long-standing political aspirations and will see the party’s decision to prioritise the defectors and sacrifice them on the altar of political necessity at best as unfair and unjust and at worst an act of betrayal.
Aside from the fact that these widely touted and highly praised defections are now seen as nothing more than the action of desperate and power-hungry politicians, who believe the only way to remain in power and stay relevant in the brutal and unforgiving Nigerian political landscape is by joining the ruling party — and that they lack general appeal and clout to swing things in favour of the ruling party in an open and fair contest — they have have also begun to create noticeable cracks in the party as new members and old ones scramble to assert control and exert their influence in their domain.
At the core of these simmering tensions and brewing crisis is the APC’s candidate emergence process as the decision of the party to opt for consensus, especially for governors who just joined the party, rather than an open primary election has left many old and legacy members disenchanted and are now threatening to leave the party. What the party hierarchy sees as the path of least resistance and near-perfect arrangement to select gubernatorial candidates, one that will best manage the inevitable fallout that this arrangement will ostensibly create, and reduce friction, animosity and division to the barest minimum, is now seen by APC’s old guards and entrenched structures as an imposition of candidates on the party with scant regard for their contributions to the party and their own ambitions.
According to Daily Trust, the party has made it known that part of the agreement reached with the governors who defected to the party is to offer them an automatic ticket for a second term. The assurance of a second term in office is how the APC can poach them. This assurance has now ostensibly created division and a power struggle within the party as old members, who feel they are being shut out and politically ostracised despite years of building the party, are now pushing back.
Party insiders are saying the growing internal battle and escalating tensions are being driven by a struggle for control of party structures and candidate selection between recently defected governors aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and long-standing party loyalists across several states ahead of the 2027 general elections. New entrants are reportedly moving to install loyalists as state executives while pushing for influence over party tickets.
“We have two blocs in APC… the old bloc… and the new bloc.” He added that there were claims that defectors could be handed “automatic tickets,” warning that “if this happens there will be a serious crisis in the state.” An APC chieftain in Akwa Ibom says about the situation of things in the state.
Across the Delta, Rivers, Plateau, Bayelsa and Enugu, the situation is the same. Insiders report parallel meetings, disputes over leadership roles and growing disenchantment among old guards and the new entrants who distrust them as both blocs battle for control. Sources familiar with the imbroglio stated that the power tussle and scramble for control of party structures in the states are creating uncertainty for the defected governors themselves, as resistance from entrenched party structures could affect their chances of securing party tickets.
In Akwa Ibom, the division is already open. “We have two blocs in APC… the old bloc… and the new bloc,” a party chieftain admitted. The power struggle between Governor Umo Eno and Senate President Godswill Akpabio is a major flashpoint, with warnings of a “serious crisis” if any side is favoured.
In Delta State, the entry of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has sparked a full-scale battle for control of the party structure. In Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s defection to the APC has reignited the fight with Nyesom Wike’s camp. In Adamawa State, the fallout has started. Governorship aspirant Maurice Vunobolki has reportedly resigned, citing plans to impose candidates. His exit is an indication of what is to come in other states if the crisis deepens.
While it is gathered that the party’s national leadership are working assiduously to address the situation with ongoing negotiations and consultations on how to manage the situation and avert a full-blown crisis, the feelers we are getting are that the party, for the sake of fairness and justice and to placate aggrieved and disenchanted old members, may ditch its consensus arrangement and automatic ticket for governors.
The National Chairman of the party, Nentawe Yilwatda, is said to have rejected demands for automatic tickets, stating clearly that there is “no automatic ticket in the party’s constitution.” That decision has put defected governors and long-time party loyalists on a collision course.
With 2027 fast approaching and preparations in top gear and with any of the competing interests not showing signs of backing down, insiders are warning that the crisis may further deepen if nothing is done to douse tensions, calm frayed nerves and find an amicable and lasting solution to the crisis. They asserted that what started as an innocuous expression of displeasure and unfairness by old members who have invested heavily in the party could snowball into a full-blown crisis and profoundly damaging events that could potentially weaken the party ahead of the general elections and severely hamper its performance during the polls.
