Atiku, Tinubu fight to control APC
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande are reportedly in a fresh power tussle that brewing in the ruling party.
The Punch said that the tussle is over the chairmanship of party’s Board of Trustees.
It was supposed as a part of moves by the power blocs in the party to influence decisions in the APC by taking control of its different organs.
The two camps considered that the BOT chairmanship would go a long way in helping them to control the party.
The chairman of the BOT, according to Article 13.2 of the APC memorandum, shall be appointed by the board members.
Both camps reportedly had began reaching out to members of the board, who would elect its chief.
The source said that Akande was being backed by national leader of the party Bola Tinubu, who is not happy with Atiku’s role in the National Assembly leadership elections.
The battle for the chairmanship of the party’s BOT became intense after the National Assembly leadership elections on June 9.
Atiku was said to have endorsed by Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, during the elections.
Tinubu and the party’s National Working Committee were said to have supported Senator Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila for the senate presidency and the speakership.
Both candidates failed to Saraki and Dogara during the elections.
It should be noted that the emergence of Saraki as the senate president would ensure the Atiku camp to take control of the party’s National Executive Committee.
Saraki and Dogara are members of the NEC.
Tinubu is considered to be in control of the party’s NWC as many of its members are said to be close to him.
The contest for the control of the BOT is still open to the two camps.
On his own turn, a close subordinate of Akande, Adelani Baderinwa, said that he was not aware that the former governor of Osun State was being appointed to be the chairman of the BOT of the APC.
He said: “Chief Bisi Akande is eminently qualified to be BOT chairman of the APC. He was a chairman of the Alliance for Democracy; he was the chairman of Action Congress of Nigeria and was the Interim Chairman of the APC.
“Before this, you will remember that he was a deputy governor and later he became the governor of Osun State.
“If you are talking about Nigeria, he knows Nigeria very well and his integrity is unquestionable and he is an experienced politician.”
It should be noted that emerging results of governorship poll on April 11 in 29 states across Nigeria appeared to have confirmed the status of opposition APC as Nigeria’s new ruling party, after 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party in the saddle.
