APC Faces Challenge of Harnessing Gains from Large-Scale Defections, Rising Aspirations

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By Abdullahi Yusuf

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As the 2027 general election draws closer, the APC, Nigeria’s ruling party has just concluded its National Convention, bringing back to office Professor Nentawe Yilwatda as National Chairman and members of the National Working Committee.

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The party has in recent times recorded massive influx of state governors along with their supporters from the various states, creating more opportunities for the party’s success in the 2027 election.

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However, some of the defectors came to APC with aspirations to clinch offices and to contest for offices on the party’s platform. For those eyeing offices in the National Working Committee, their ambition failed as the party adopted consensus to re-elect the national, state, local government and ward officials. They felt disappointed.

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However, the disappointment was not limited only to the new entrants but also older stakeholders who could not secure national or state offices.

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Some of these aggrieved old and new category of stakeholders blamed some state governors for scuttling their aspiration. Indeed some have drawn battle lines to work against their personal political aspirations in the 2027 election, sabotage the party or accuse them of double standards, questioning their loyalty to the party and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his 2027 second term ambition.

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Already, there are plans to sow seeds of discord to associate the party leaders, elders, governors and youth leaders with the opposition political parties and their leaders. A typical example is the fabrication against the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule meeting with Atiku Abubakar in Saudi Arabia.

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There are plans to create more such stories to allege the association of other leaders, elders, governors and youth groups in all the six geo-political zones to Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso and the opposition parties to further cast doubt over their loyalty to the APC, its leadership and President Tinubu, to deliberately cause more disaffection within the party.

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For the party, it is to its advantage that such plans have been uncovered. It is said a stitch in time saves Nine. There is no doubt, the party has a huge task of managing its successes, mass defections and ambitions against enemies from within and outside.

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•Yusuf, a political analyst, wrote from Abuja

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