Politics

APC Crisis: Why Buhari’s Late Intervention May Not Save Party

Published

4 years ago

March 14, 2022

Editor

The crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, seems not to be nearing any end soon.

President Muhammadu Buhari had a few days ago reportedly approved the removal of Mai Mala Buni as the Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee and ordered Governor Bello Sani of Niger State to take over the affairs of the party.

The decision of the President to intervene in the affairs of the party has set off reactions that threaten the planned national convention.

Rather than members of the party to close ranks, the tussle within the party has intensified. Last week, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State called some APC governors “yahoo yahoo”, while Buni and Bello have been engaging in power tussles.

Governor Nasir El-rufai had also claimed that the President had approved the removal of Buni and alleged that the Yobe State governor was a victim of certain persons within the party.

El-rufai, while speaking on Politics Today on Channels TV, said the Buni-led committee had received a court order barring it from carrying out the convention, but refused to make the order public.

Further, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had rejected the notice of NEC meeting of the party, unless Buni signs the letter of notification.

El-rufai also claimed the President had given the governors the name of the preferred candidate for the position of National Chairman and the man is from North Central. According to several sources, the former Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Adamu is the prefered choice of the President.

Tanko Almakura, also a former governor of Nasarawa State, and a contender for the position of National Chairman, has refused to back down for Buhari’s choice.

In the midst of this crisis, President Buhari in a statement by his Senior Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, stirred the nest, when he said the APC is drifting towards the path of the PDP, a party he said failed for 16years and also failed in opposition.

Austin Okai, a member of the PDP, flayed the President for the comment, noting that the PDP has been able to always resolve its crisis because it has an internal conflict resolution mechanism.

Okai said: “The man (Buhari) is clueless about the situation in the country. What is the direction for that statement? We have been able to manage our crisis. We have held several conventions. Is the President not aware that Buni is receiving salaries as Governor and party head. Your ability to manage misunderstandings is what distinguishes you.”

How PDP has been able to deal with its crisis and the approach of the APC in conflict resolution:

The PDP has had 16 National Chairpersons between 1998 till date. While in power, the party had 10 chairmen in 17years (1998 when the party was formed to 2015 when it lost out).

During PDP’s stay in power, presidents played prominent roles in the appointment and removal of Chairmen from office. Audu Ogbe was reported to have been asked to resign by President Obasanjo. In all, Obasanjo used 4 chairpersons in 8years.

The tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan witnessed the unprecedented turnover of Chairmen; Vincent Ogbulafor, Okwesilieze Nwodo, Haliru Mohammed, Bamangar Tukur and Adamu Muazu.

While the APC in 8years of existence, has had five National Chairmen, Bisi Akande, John Oyegun, Adams Oshiomole, Buni and Bello. All were forced out, except Bisi Akande.

Recent internal strife in both parties…

Since becoming the opposition party in 2015, the PDP has had two major crises at the national level: Alimodu Sheriff and Uche Secondus.

The brief stint of former governor Sheriff almost caused the party to disintegrate in the aftermath of the 2015 election.

Sheriff, who was invited by the PDP to help rebuild the party after the defeat at the poll in 2015, soon had a fallout with the PDP governors.

It took the verdict of the Supreme Court in 2017 to finally remove Sheriff as the Chairman of the Party. He had approached the court to ask that Sen Ahmed Makarfi’s election at the Port Harcourt convention be nullified.

Another crisis that rocked the party was on the part of Uche Secondus. The former Chairman had a fallout with his erstwhile benefactor, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

After his (Secondus) suspension by his ward, the party was engulfed in crisis, and legal action threatened the planned convention of the party.

The governors of the party had to unite to conduct a convention. Many have hailed the PDP’s ability to resolve internal strife, an ability the APC seems to lack

APC and reluctant Buhari

The first substantive chairman of the APC, John Oyegun was forced out of the party after falling out with Bola Tinubu over the governorship primaries that produced Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State.

In a strongly-worded statement, Tinubu said “Oyegun and his ilk turn out to be gangsters adorned in the tunic of party authority.”

He accused Oyegun of planning to return the APC to the trenches.

Although he stayed till the end of his tenure in 2018, he could not seek re-election and was subsequently replaced by Adams Oshiomhole.

Mr Oshimhole had a turbulent time as the Chairman of the Party. In the 2019 general election, he lost 4 states to the PDP, Oyo, Adamawa, Bauchi and Zamfara State. The court barred the APC from contesting in Rivers State.

The former Edo State governor was at loggerheads with Rochas Okorocha of Imo, AbdulAziz Yari and Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun, all had plans to replace themselves with anointed successors.

Oshiomole met his waterloo when he attempted to prevent his State governor, Godwin Obaseki from getting a second term ticket.

He was suspended by his ward, therefore, forced out of the Chair. President Buhari’s intervention produced Buni.

Mr Buni was given the mandate to hold a convention in 6 months after his appointment; 2years after, he has been unable to do so.

The inability of the President to react swiftly enough has been blamed for the state of affairs of the party.

The question that remains: will the president be able to call members of his party to order amidst the ambitions of major members of the party?

DAILY POST

Politics

Umahi Fires Back At Makinde Over Lagos-Calabar Highway Cost

Published

16 hours ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has fired back at Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, over his recent comments questioning the cost per kilometre of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, insisting that the governor misunderstood the technical details of road construction and cost evaluation.

Speaking during an inspection tour of the Keffi Bridge and the Nasarawa–Toto Road projects, alongside the state governor, Abdullahi Sule, on Saturday, Umahi said the cost of the highway had been carefully computed in line with global engineering standards and should not be reduced to “political soundbites.”

Governor Makinde had queried the minister’s estimated figures on the cost per kilometre of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which is one of the signature infrastructure projects of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Makinde, who spoke at an event in a viral video on Friday, said there was no need for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be “dancing around the cost” of the project.

He said, “These are elementary questions. And it makes no sense (sic). A process is ongoing, payment has been made, and you are saying, ‘How has this money been utilised?. The money is meant for the project, and it will be paid according to the work done.

Responding to the inspection tour, the former Ebonyi governor described Makinde as “a brother and friend” but said it was improper for him to publicly accuse him of “dancing around” figures.

“I heard that my brother and friend, Governor Makinde of Oyo state, said something about the cost per kilometre. I don’t want to join issues with him. I think he is an engineer, I think he is an electrician, they call it ‘elect-elect’. But this road construction matter, ‘elect-elect no reach there’,” Umahi said.

He continued, “I am his senior both in governance and in engineering practice. So, anything he doesn’t understand, he should call me and ask. I have great respect for him as my friend and brother, but he should withdraw the statement that I’m dancing around. I never danced around. If he insists, he should come for a debate, which is very important.”

Defending the project further, Umahi explained that there was no ambiguity in determining the cost per kilometre, stressing that it must be understood in both estimated and average terms.

“There is no ambiguity in cost per kilometre,” he said. “I am teaching them that cost per kilometre can be divided into estimated cost, which has elements of variance, and average cost, which is definitive. The average cost of a definitive project and the estimated cost are probable elements.”

He explained that the estimated cost includes allowances for contingencies and variation of price, which may not eventually be utilised.

“When the project is completed, and you remove what you didn’t use, such as contingencies and VOP, then you have your actual cost,” he added.

Umahi expressed amusement that some critics had resorted to asking Artificial Intelligence to explain the difference between estimated and average cost, only for the AI’s response to align with his explanation.

“When somebody who is dangling without knowledge goes to ask AI what the difference is between cost per kilometre and average cost, I’m happy that AI told him exactly what I said,” the minister quipped.

He also cited the National Universities Commission’s clarification on who qualifies as a professor, noting that practical experience in the field also counts as expertise.

“I’m happy that the NUC programme on who is a professor also made me right. You can become a professor by the reason of your practice. And I think God has made me one when it comes to practical, field engineering programmes, that’s what it is; you can’t take it back,” Umahi said.

Politics

Enugu Gov Mbah Set to Dump PDP

Published

2 days ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah is set to dump the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, next week.

National Chairman and Deputy National Chairman, South-East, of the APC, Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda and Emma Eneukwu, respectively, broke the news in Abuja on Friday.

The APC national leadership revealed Mbah’s imminent defection to the ruling party while swearing in the newly inaugurated members of the Enugu State caretaker committee, led by former state chairman, Ben Nwoye, at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

The governor is expected to announce his defection at an event schedule to hold in the state next week.

Chairman of the newly inaugurated caretaker committee, Nwoye, who confirmed the development, said the governor will join the ruling party alongside all his appointees.

There are speculations that Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, is also set to join APC.

Politics

Makinde Calls Out Umahi Over Coastal Highway Cost Analysis

Published

2 days ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has weighed in on the cost of the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project that was approved by President Bola Tinubu.

Makinde, who spoke at an event in a viral video on Friday, said there was no need for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be “dancing around the cost” of the project.

The governor was reacting to a heated exchange that unfolded live on television between Umahi and Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni on Tuesday.

Oseni had requested the minister to analyse the cost of the project, kilometre by kilometre.

The request didn’t sit well with Umahi, who declared himself “professor” of practice in engineering while elaborating that the costs of the road in kilometres are not the same and would be too complicated for the journalist to understand.

He said, “These are elementary questions. And it makes no sense (sic). A process is ongoing, payment has been made, and you are saying, ‘how has this money been utilised?. The money is meant for the project, and it will be paid according to the work done.

“When a certificate is generated, and it is approved through a process in the Ministry of Works, it will then be given to the funders, who will, in turn, check if the works were done. How can you be asking for cost of kilometre? The prices are different. The next kilometre is different from the next kilometre.

“Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I’m a professor in this field. You don’t understand anything. I understand engineering very well. You have no knowledge of what you ask. You have no knowledge of what you’re asking.”

Oseni, who also refused to back down, responded, “Minister, it’s alright, keep dignifying yourself, and let the world know who you truly are.”

However, justifying the journalist’s question to the minister, Makinde said, “They asked a minister how much is the coastal road is, and then you (Umahi) are dancing around and going to say that no, the next kilometre is different from the next kilometres. Then what is the average cost?

“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road then, it was about N9.99 billion, almost N10 billion. About 34 or 35 kilometres, average cost is about N238 million per kilometre.

“But when we did Iseyin to Ogbomoso, that was 76 kilometres, it was about N43 billion, average cost is about N500 million per kilometre. And we had two bridges, one over the Ogun river and then one at Ogbomoso end.”

The PUNCH reports that last year, the Federal Government announced the commencement of construction work on the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which spans nine states and includes two spurs leading to the northern states.

Umahi made the announcement during the official handover of the first phase of the project, made up of 47.47 kilometers of dual carriageway, to Hitech Construction Company Limited, and which is to be constructed in concrete pavement.

This was contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser (Media), Uchenna Orji.

According to him, the Minister who was in company with the Federal Ministry of Works’ Controller in charge of Lagos State, Mrs O. I. Kesha, emphasised the need for all contractors handling Federal Government’s road projects to deliver within a record time, noting that the government would not allow variation arising from delays or slow pace of work once mobilisation had been done.