In the quest for power there will be disagreements and pursuit for personal interest, but the APC delegates should be careful that it does not cost the party at the main elections, where it really matters.
The year is 2022 and the 2023 elections are barely ten (10) months away. Guess what, it has been described by political actors and interested parties as an election that will be one of the "hottest" in the history of Nigerian elections. Without a doubt, most Nigerians will agree to this "hottest" tag because of the politicking we are seeing, with Presidential aspirants increasing on a daily basis. The consistent campaigns by political and non-political groups and even the unexpected events we do not see coming are also factors to consider in this conversation.
While we acknowledge that these are interesting times, we should also bear in mind that just like every other election, this one too will come and go. But before that, we will take a look at previous primary events that have troubled the party and led to its loss of State elections in a bid to remind All Progressive Congress (APC) delegates going into the presidential primaries of the mistakes of the past, so as not to repeat them.
On the road to 2019 general elections, APC suffered a lot of setbacks, especially as it concerns producing candidates to represent the party in both States and House of Assembly elections. It should be noted that in most States chapters of the party, there were a lot of factions and separate groups who worked to produce their own candidates in parallel elections against the ones organized by the party's National Working Committee (NWC). It happened that in most of these States, for a particular position or office, there were two or more candidates as a result of these different primaries held in the same State, with all of them claiming to be the party's chosen candidate.
Even, in most cases, some of these acclaimed candidates took the party to court asking to be recognized as the original winner of the primaries, affecting the party’s plan to work in tandem with the INEC timetable and deadline for presenting candidates for office. Though the party in its infinite wisdom and progressive nature was able to settle most of these disputes, some States' situation stood out; the Zamfara, Bayelsa, Edo and Anambra primary elections.
In Zamfara, it happened that an APC Senator representing Zamfara Central, Kabiru Marafa had issues with the then outgoing Zamfara Governor Abdul'aziz Yari over his loss of the Governorship primaries and on that note, he formed a faction that worked against the party. So when the party held primaries and submitted to INEC, Mr. Marafa sent an appeal challenging that no primaries held in the State. This disagreement went on and on and at a point, Mr. Marafa said; “it will be better to have another party in Zamfara than to have bad ones from APC just because APC wants to win.”. Unfortunately, this case stalled on in court and when judgment eventually was pronounced, the Supreme Court ordered that all votes to the APC, both in the House of Assembly should be awarded to the PDP candidates in that election and that was how the then opposition candidate, Mr. Bello Matawalle emerged Governor of Zamfara State. This is a warning to the APC delegates, that if we do not put our house in order, we could make wrong decisions that will lead to the rise of factional parties destroying the chances of the party's victory in the 2023 elections. If we allow this to happen, it means we have not learnt from our bitter history and it will be to the party's loss.
In Bayelsa, the party primaries produced two factions with the State's APC Chairman Jothan Amos fielding David Lyon who was also the preferred candidate of the former Bayelsa Governor and current Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva. On the other hand, there was the Ogeibiri Orubebe faction which was in support of former Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who was also vying for the Governorship seat. It happened that despite the unresolved quarrels, the party was able to successfully present David Lyon as its candidate for the November 19, 2019 Governorship election. Of course David Lyon will go ahead to emerge winner at the polls only to be stripped of his office by the Supreme Court's judgment a day before his inauguration due to falsification of documents. The key lesson here for the party is, the time spent in these quarrels would have been put in good use to research and present a better qualified candidate. This is why the APC delegates should not miss this opportunity of presenting PYO to Nigerians because he's the most qualified.
Meanwhile, in Edo the incumbent Governor, Godwin Obaseki was ready to contest his second term under the APC but his issues with the former State Governor, Adams Oshiomohle who was at that time, the party's National Chairman became an obstacle to his personal ambition. So, it happened that the continued back and forth with his former boss, whom he served as Head of the State's Economic Team, was not making a headway, he decamped to the opposition and unfortunately this cost the party the Edo State Governorship seat. There is a certain group that see PYO's presidential ambition as a fight against his father figure, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this Obaseki and Oshiomohle's example is that no man can stop God's will for the people. Professor Yemi Osinbajo is God's will for Nigerians.
Recently, the party's loss in the Anambra State elections to a majority All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) raises the question, "where is the APC in Anambra?". Even though the party (APC) emerged third, it was a shameful third position with just 343 votes as compared to the first runner-up, the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) that polled 2,485 votes and the winner APGA 8,283 votes. How can a ruling party get just 343 votes in a State? Are there no delegates or registered party members from this zone? These are the questions. Anyway, the essence of this article is to point out some of these mistakes and where it all began.
The Anambra Gubernatorial primaries that produced Andy Uba was said to have been filled with irregularities and the controversy that followed is likened to that of Zamfara. A certain Chief George Moghalu was said to be the popular candidate but the party ended up giving Andy UBA the ticket and Moghalu who felt cheated by his years of loyalty and dedication to the party took the party to court.
One of the far-reaching consequences of the party's inconclusive primaries is that it distracts the party and its candidates, while other party candidates are busy moving around for campaigns, the troubled party is still awaiting the court's judgment which may creep into the election date. Therefore, it may not permit the party's candidate to familiarize themselves with the people or participate in events and debates where they need to convince the voters why they are the best fit for such offices.
Hence, these past events should serve as lessons to the APC delegates who think there is any other viable candidate to represent the party aside Professor Yemi Osinbajo who ticks all the boxes.

This is one primaries too many since the Democratic rule

Osinbajo sponsored post

8 years of Presidency how many times did Buhari hand over to him as Acting President?!

How many ministry did Buhari allow Osinbajo oversee

How many meaningful appointments did Osinbajo make under Buhari

Instead of going about to consult with real delegates he is waiting for Buhari to do the magic


.

APC will loose next year's election if Osinbajo loses the primary to that man

Mooh247:
Osinbajo sponsored post

leave Osilibanjo alone naaa

[s]

Mooh247:




Osinbajo sponsored post

8 years of Presidency how many times did Buhari hand over to him as Acting President?!

How many ministry did Buhari allow Osinbajo oversee

How many meaningful appointments did Osinbajo make under Buhari

Instead of going about to consult with real delegates he is waiting for Buhari to do the magic


.

[/s]