BusinessDay 22 May 2018

Politics
&
Policy
Tuesday 22 May 2018
C002D5556
BUSINESS DAY
33
Is Tinubu’s political influence waning?
Last Saturday’s state congress of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) produced two factions of the party in
Lagos State which was unprecedented since the emergence of the Fourth Republic, Iniobong Iwok, examines
the issues and asks if it was an indication of a receding political influence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Perhaps, regarded as one of the
greatest politicians and political
strategists of this generation, Bola
Ahmed Tinubu, national leader
of the All Progressives Congress
(APC), has illuminated the political space in
the country since the Third Republic.
Beginning his political career in 1992
on the platform of the Social Democratic
Party (SDP) joining the faction led by the
late Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua, he was elected
to represent Lagos West Senatorial district in
the botched Third Republic. He also was very
much around during the power play in the
June 12, 1993 presidential election.
Tinubu became a founding member of
the National Democratic Coalition (NA-
DECO) along with several other activists and
democrats. They fought for the restoration of
democracy in the country, a fight that drove
him and some others on exile in other to
escape the military brutality.
His political breakthrough came at the
dawn of the Fourth Republic in 1999 when
he was elected the governor of Lagos State on
the platform of the Alliance for Democracy
(AD). Since then, Tinubu has dictated the
political space in Lagos and indeed the South
West geo-political zone of Nigeria.
Surviving the ‘tsunami’ which swept
away almost all the governors of the southwest
states in 2003, he was re-elected for
another four year-term. During this period,
he was on collision course with the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP)-controlled Federal
Government headed by Olusegun Obasanjo.
The crux of the matter was the creation of 37
Local Council Development Areas (LCDA)
which the then government tagged as illegal
and withheld federal allocations to Lagos
State throughout his remaining part of his
tenure as governor from the point the impasse
started.
In 2011, Tinubu led the Action Congress of
Nigeria (ACN) to sweep the southwest states
from the hands of the then ruling People’s
Democratic Party, (PDP) except Ondo State.
Perhaps, his greatest political achievement
was the leading of four major opposition
parties into a merger that metamorphosed
into the APC, which produced the
current government at the centre, having
defeated the then ruling PDP in a historic
presidential election in 2015.
Since 2003, Tinubu has single-handed
installed over 90 percent of political holders,
starting from the ward level to the representatives
of the state at the National Assembly.
His word is law in the ‘City of Excellence’
and he tolerated no challenge. Some politicians
who had in the past few years challenged
him have since been consigned to the
dustbin of history, politically. Their political
careers ended abruptly.
Tinubu’s influence in politics received a
massive boost after the APC he midwived
became the ruling party at the centre. He
could determine who became what in the
party, at least, to a large extent.
Up till last Saturday, Tinubu was seen
as a thin-god in Lagos. However, while his
political profile continues to rise, there are
some politicians who have seriously begun
Tinubu
to question the enormous powers he wields
and have determined to boldly ask why?
Some of his former political associates
have also taken steps to demystify Tinubu’s
supposedly over-bearing political influence.
Observers say that signs of the challenge
Tinubu is receiving now began to show when
factions began to emerge at the national
level of the party, with some members being
tagged “Abuja Boys” and “Home Boys”.
Until now, parallel congresses in Lagos
were never contemplated let alone a possibility.
But today, anger and discontent
appeared to have run deep and wide that
factional state executive that emerged
last Saturday is led by the former Director
General of the Akinwunmi Ambode 2015
Governorship Campaign Organisation and
the out-going Vice Chairman central of the
party, Fouad Oki.
Speaking after the factionalised state congress,
Oki accused the Tinubu-led faction of
manipulating the ward and local congresses
to favour some individuals and holding the
congress in 20 local government and the 37
LCDAs which was against the electoral law
and guidelines for the congress, stressing that
several members of their faction were marginalised
beginning from the ward congress.
“The congress held at Airport Hotel is the
only legitimate one. I’m not aware of any parallel
congress; what we did here was the election
of one party, the APC. This is a coalition
of different groups, namely; Justice Forum,
the Mandate and United Group,” he said.
“We asked them that election must be
conducted in only recognised 20 local government
areas and they said no it must be
57 and we said ok, and we saw the consequences;
people have been killed in the last
LG congress. They said we want to do state
congress and we said no, you cannot do that
when there are issues pending from the last
Local government exercise. And when they
are electing the national delegates they reverted
to the 20 local governments, why did
they do that if they know they are not wrong.
“The people that were sent from Abuja
were chased away with teargas. We made
several attempts to do reconciliation but it
was met with brick wall, it is only the NEC of
the party that can resolve this,” Oki further
said.
Talking tough, Oki said he was committed
Oki
to reconciling all aggrieved members and
reposition the party in the state, adding that
the era of impunity was over.
“Under our watch, internal democracy
will be strictly adhered to with a deliberate
policy to return ‘real’ power to the people.
No more imposition, no more impunity.
Every member of this party can from this
moment, consider him or herself, an equal
shareholder in our common destiny. I enjoin
all well-meaning Nigerians of goodwill, to
embrace and support this new Executive
Committee in this quest for a new APC. In
particular, I reach out to our old members
who for one reason or the other are deeply
aggrieved to please be rest assured that a new
dawn is here,” he said.
According to him, the congress conducted
by his faction was the duly recognised one
which was carried out in the 20 local government
areas in Lagos, which he said was
in accordance with the electoral law and
constitution of the country, adding that
INEC was in attendance and had certified
the congress legal.
“The constitution and electoral law recognise
20 LGAs in Lagos and that is where we
had our congress, it is illegal for anybody to
hold congress outside what the law says and
that is what they did; holding congresses in
20 LGAs 37 LCDAs in Lagos which is illegal”.
“The way and manner our congresses were
conducted is indeed tribute to the resilience
The constitution and
electoral law recognise
20 LGAs in Lagos and
that is where we had our
congress, it is illegal for
anybody to hold congress
outside what the law says
and that is what they did;
holding congresses in 20
LGAs 37 LCDAs in Lagos
which is illegal
of the democratic temper of respecters of the
rule of law, sticklers to the Constitution and
guidelines for the conduct of the Congresses,”
he further said.
According to him, “The thrust of this assignment
therefore, is to rebuild and rekindle
the progressive energy of our members with
the freedom to choose their leaders, fair play,
equity and justice as the principle to move
the party forward. Let me assure you great
members and leaders of our party, that by the
grace of God and with all hands on deck, we
shall take the party to greater height transparently,
without let or fear or favour. We have hit
the ground running and we are determined
for genuine reconciliation of all members.”
But the newly elected state chairman of
the Tinubu- led faction, Tunde Balogun
said in an interview with newsmen that
whichever congress held outside the party
office was null and void; adding that only
congress held in the secretariat of the party
was legitimate.
“This is the only recognised congress in
the state any individual or group holding
congress outside this venue is null and void,
you can see the presence of officials from
the headquarters of the party and INEC,”
Balogun said.
Since the Fourth Republic when Tinubu
emerged as the political leader in the state,
his decisions and actions have largely gone
unchallenged; he dictated and decided who
held key public offices and party positions.
But if what happened last Saturday is anything
to go by, it means that Tinubu political
relevance is now in question and it also goes
to suggest crumbling political empire of the
Jagaban, a political juggernaut.
Analysing the situation, David Bayesha,
a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said it
was natural that long time political dominance
is challenged eventually, adding that
with the renewed political consciousness,
people were seeking opportunity to express
themselves.
“Well nothing lasts forever; people are
looking for self expression too, even the
dominant influence of America in world
politics is been reduced. Personalities with
such political power should be looking for
such because the people are now becoming
conscious; they want to express themselves
that is what is playing out. But again, we need
to ask the question, can they survive on the
current reality? This is what we should consider,
people would fight for independence
but how far they would go is left to be seen,”
Bayesha said.
Bolaji Oshinowo, a politician and former
secretary of Labour Party (LP) in Lagos,
noted that the challenge of Tinubu was
expected with time, stressing that politics
had evolved over the years from the era of
imposition of people on the party which is
no more fashionable as a brand of politics.
“Politic is evolving; you don’t continue
to do things same way for years. People are
getting wiser that is what is happening. Fine,
he made these people, but they are professionals
today; his brand of politics is expiring;
he has lost out in Ondo, Ekiti, and some other
states in South West,” Oshinowo said.