APC:The way APC governors had their way

                                                                    As APC inches closer to its national convention, our correspondent looks at the intrigues surrounding the appointment of members of the convention committee.

Since the defection of the five governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into the All Progressives Congress (APC) last year, there have been speculations that the governors may take over the party machinery from its old members.
This is because Nigerian governors have been very influential in controlling their parties at both national and state levels.

The initial decision of the party to hand over the leadership of the party to the governors including the ones that moved from the PDP generated so much controversy causing many otherwise leaders of the party to leave.
These include people like former governors Attahiru Bafarawa, Ibrahim Shekarau, Buba Marwa, Markus Gundiri and others who left the party to the PDP in protest.
Since the beginning of the party’s congress, power play between party officials on one hand and the governors and their supporters for the control of the party on the other in the states controlled by the APC and between various interests groups and individuals in the states controlled by other parties has been on, leading to the current crises being experienced as regards the congresses.
The formation of the 15 member National Convention Committee by the APC after its closed door National Executive Committee(NEC) meeting on Tuesday, May 20 2014 brought to the fore the influence of the governors in the affairs of the party.
The 15 member National Convention Committee is to be headed by the Sokoto State governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko as chairman, while Senator Chris Ngige will serve as the secretary.
Other members of the committee are Senator Hadi Sirika and Ambassador Sule Buba from the North West, Alhaji Garba Gadi and Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan from the North East. Others are Senator Joseph Waku and Kola Shittu from the North Central, while the South East has Dr Ezekiel Izuogwu and Innocent Chima. The South West has Rotimi Fashakin and Mrs Sarah Bishola as members of the committee.
The South South has Julius Ihovbere as member of the committee, While Abdurrahman Suleman Kawu a member of the House of Representatives from Kano is to represent the APC House members in the committee.
Sources  in the APC said that the formation of the committee has largely been influenced by the governors especially the posts of the chairman and the secretary of the committee which went to Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko and Senator Chris Ngige respectively.
Although not all the APC governors were present at the meeting, but the reports indicate that they have already had the duo of Wamakko and Ngige penciled for nomination at the meeting.
Daily Trust gathered that Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu had earlier put forward for nomination for the posts the duo of Alhaji Kawu Baraje and Senator Ajayi Borrofice a serving Senator from Ondo North.
Although the nomination was said to be backed by General Muhammad Buhari and some other party elders, according to the sources, it was rejected by the governors who backed Wamakko and Ngige as their preferred nominees for the posts.
The APC governors present at the meeting according to Daily Trust findings, led by their leader and chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) Rochas Okorocha,  all supported the two people for the posts.
However Governor Babatunde Fashola was said to have suggested another nominee from the South East to replace Ngige which was rejected by his colleagues who insisted on Ngige for the post.
Another source who craved anonymity informed Daily Trust that, the names of Baraje and Senator Borrofice were actually put forward by the interim national chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande with the tacit support of Senator Bola Tinubu.
However, it was learnt that Senator Ali Modu Sherrif and some other stakeholders in the party have for a long time opposed to Bola Ahmed Tinubu having a grip on the party structure even in Lagos State as recent indications from the state on the choice of Fashola’s successor has according to another source pitched him against many members of the party in the state.
The source opined that at present,things are not the same within the Lagos State chapter of the party.
“Nobody should take anybody for granted. People in APC especially the young ones are politically matured and sophisticated,” the source added.
Sources in the party indicated that what Tinubu did during the 2011 presidential election when he dumped Nuhu Ribadu, the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) presidential candidate and mobilised the South West to vote for the PDP is still haunting him.
Therefore, according to a source, some of the party members have been very skeptical of his moves to have people close to him taking influential positions in the party.
A pointer to the influence of the governors in the formation of the party according to another source was the emergence of Wamakko as the chairman of the committee which clearly gave the governors a sort of age in running the committee and all its activities.
It was also speculated that Senator Ngige is also being seen by the APC governors as their own being a former governor rather than a senator, which informed his choice to serve as the secretary in order to consolidate their stake in the committee.
According to the source, the governors as major stakeholders and the people who control the party in the APC controlled states needed to have the party structures in their grip in order to have control of the party at the centre.
The source added that a greater percentage of the other nominees have the backing of the governors for their emergence as members of the convention committee.
Nominees from APC controlled states were reportedly directly backed by their state governors to join the committee. A source added that even those from non-APC controlled states like Benue, Taraba and Bauchi were pushed for nomination by governors from their geopolitical zones.
However, the appointment of Abdurrahman Suleiman Kawu Sumaila into the committee according to the source came belatedly, as the party leadership realised the absence of a representative from the House of Representatives, therefore he was said to be nominated and was included in the committee.
Another nominee which according to our source enjoyed the support of the governors and the party elders was Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan whose presence in the committee provided a sort of balance in the representation from the non-APC controlled states.
Although some of the APC governors were absent at the meeting, but the governors of Kano, Sokoto, Rivers, Imo, Zamfara, Lagos, Ogun, Adamawa, Edo and Kwara who attended the meeting reportedly have the support of all the other governors to select Wamakko and Ngige.
As the party inches towards its convention, last week has shown how powerful the governors are at least for now. The membership of the committee may be seen as a case of the party elders having their say, while the governors had their way.