Despite losing his plum seat on Thursday, the immediate past National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Waziri Bulama, is optimistic that the party will not break up. He spoke with YUSUF ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation and selected journalists recently.
Can you see any hope as your party is currently enmeshed in crises?
The crisis within APC causes no existential threat to the party. The APC at the moment is united and working together as a family. APC in terms of size has 16 million registered members. We have 14 organs of the party from the polling unit committee to the National Convention. All the 16 million members of the party, those elected and those not elected, stakeholders, all of these, I can tell you authoritatively answer the name APC. Their identity is APC.
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Secondly, all these 16 million people, from the ordinary card-carrying members to the highest elected – including senators, House of Representative members, House of Assembly members, chairmen and all elected and non-elected members of the party are all 100 per cent united under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari. This is the foundation I want to lay for you to understand whether there is an existential threat, division, crack or breakup. None of such threat exists in our party.
Going forward, I want to also make you understand the context within which we were managing the party. A political party is an association of people, groups and communities who have all come together in line with the constitution of Nigeria to pursue a common political goal. The objectives of a political party are many but key among them is the pathway towards getting ticket to contest for elections. But there are other functions of a political party like educating Nigerians on good programmes and policies to choose and elect people to implement the programmes in government. There are issues like ideological ones which members have to fashion out, like how they should behave in the party. This context is necessary for you to understand the crisis. I can go ahead to explain how the party operates and why there was so much negative noise and bickering. But there is no threat of crack or breakup within the APC; we are all united.
How would you then explain all the bickering in the party?
Yes, that can also be understood if I explain the context within which these things happened and why we were all united and why we were all loyal to the leadership of the party.
This is as a result of many years of dormancy in the administration of the party. The party’s bureaucracy has not been working effectively to respond to the day-to-day challenges and demands of members…and then the problem of communication among members, coordination among members. Not all these things were happening because largely at the core of the party, the office of the National Secretary had largely been dormant; it was not working.
The office of the National Secretary had been vacant for almost a year and a half. The National Secretary is supposed to run the day-to-day administration of the party, trigger activities in all 14 organs of the party, coordinate and ensure that the machinery and engine room of the party is working. That office had been dormant hence there were pent-up expectations that even rose up to the point of frustration. That was why, for instance, some agitated and called for the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party. The NEC is the policy authority organ of the party. However, everyday policy implementation is in the NWC.
However, the party has 14 organs from the polling unit committee to the national convention. But, you see, in the last two years all these organs were not activated. People talk about NEC, what about the Zonal Executive Committee (ZEC), the State Executive Committee (SEC), Local Government Executive committee (LEC) the Ward Executive Committee (WEC). All of them have not been meeting, they have not been discussing party issues, they have not been discussing community and national issues, they have not been sending reports to the leadership for evaluation, to influence policies or to assure members and so on.
Isn’t something fundamentally wrong?
What I am trying to say is that it is just like other parties, culture and institution of party have not been nurtured sufficiently. Therefore, it is only now, with the instruction of President Muhammadu Buhari that we should go ahead and institutionalize the party. It was with my arrival as the administrative head of the party that we activated and brought back to life the processes that will trigger actions in all organs of the party, to fill these communication gaps among members and reduce mistrust, suspicion and other concerns of party members. This is the context within which we operated; this is what led to the situation.
It is often said the rope tying the party’s symbol of a broom is President Muhammadu Buhari and once his administration ends and he leaves, the broom will scatter. Secondly, you talked about the organs of the party, how come that since its inception almost two years ago, you do not have a BoT in place? These organs could have handled some of the issues. Is there any move to bring life to these organs?
There is no doubt that President Buhari is admired personally and respected by all members of the APC as well as Nigerians who have voted him twice. He enjoys not only the loyalty and support of our members, he is a binding force which I earlier told you is a rallying factor. Majority of our members adore and respect him. Fundamentally, let me say that all the members of this party and all the people who are following Buhari follow him because of what he symbolizes. They follow him because of the values he upholds and what he stands for. Buhari has been known to be a man of integrity. He is a man who believes in the rule of law, transparency and accountability.
All his political life, since 2002, has been focused on advocating free and fair elections and the right of Nigerians to choose leaders they want and to ensure that only policies that affect them are implemented in government. He has been pushing for transparency and accountability, which are his focus. Now all our leaders in the party are committed to this cause.
If you remember, this merger as a result of which the APC was born, was formed by radical elements of the Nigerian political elite. The entire political life of the South West has always been populist politics; politics focused on the need to address the need of the majority of the people in education, health and so on. This has been the case since the days of Chief Obafemi Awolowo up until now. They have always hated imposition and political dictatorship. These elements came and met Buhari’s background that is focused on ensuring that the masses vote and their votes count. These radical tendencies with similar commitment brought others to form the APC.
Why I have gone far to explain this is that Buhari as a person is very influential and very strong and clearly, he is the rope that is tying this broom. But the principles, background and the pedigree our leaders brought to this party are what sustain APC and would carry us forward. Even if Buhari goes, and already he has put one of his legs outside by saying, he is not going to run or influence 2023…so already, Buhari’s position is clear.
There is no fundamental problem in the party but there is so much noise and discontentment because of the non-working of this engine room. Now, the engine room has roared back to life; we are communicating, contacting, consulting on how to bring about cohesion and unity in the party.
Are you saying the crisis in APC is as a result of ambition or the lack of coordination of the organs?
This is what is propelling some segments of the party struggling to take control of the party because some elements within the Nigerian political elite see the political party only within the limited scope as a special purpose vehicle for elections; thinking that if they seize control of the party and without Buhari, they can steer the party in one direction or the other. And this, actually and truly is one of the philosophical and political issues and tensions we are facing in the party. There is no doubt about that. But certainly, the party can withstand this.
Though, I am a senior stakeholder in APC, I can say with all sense of modesty, that I am an insider in this APC project. I was strategically involved in all stages that conceived the idea of merger, managed the crisis of merger, managed the birth of APC, participated in everything and my last assignment, I was appointed by the President as deputy director-general of the presidential campaign. I ran the campaign with Rotimi Amaechi, Olorunnimbe Mamora and the rest. I am not only an insider, I am also a leader in this movement. Now, by choice, I decided to wait for and focus on being the chief civil servant of the party.
But having made that choice, the bureaucracy of the party is supposed to be neutral, apolitical within the context of the APC and account to the 16 million members of the party as well as groups within the party. To that extent, I was not even supposed to make comments on interest or anything about the dynamics in the party.
The engine room of the APC is the secretariat that I headed until Thursday. There are various people and groups in the party with different needs and aspirations. There are some who want power, there are people who only want empowerment, there are those who want influence, employment, some want respect and acknowledgement. The interests in a party are very diverse and varied. Before last week or the last couple of days, before I took charge, the heart of the party was not working. It was not servicing the party.
What are the issues within the party? Issues of meeting, participation, membership, membership data, membership contributions, membership activities and other reports from the various organs of the party to feed the leadership? For instance, the constitution says that the NEC of the party should meet every three months; they have not been meeting. What is responsible for that? The reason is neither Buhari nor Oshiomhole nor anybody. The circumstances in which we found ourselves led to that.
How about court cases that almost led to the collapse of APC?
The court cases were triggered by some of these interests which are political, some personal. For instance, there is the challenge of political ambition. Someone thinks that if he takes over the party, he can use it for this purpose or that – to secure election in the local government, state, or the national level and use it to his own advantage. This can trigger agitation within the party. And this can make people to mobilize, it can lead to demonstration, they may even go to court or release information to the media direct. All these interests, some of which are political, economic and even personal, are the things that drive agitation and conflict within the party. But the party’s constitution has already provided for conflict resolution.
For me, a party should function like any well-established institution. When you say institution, I mean like the police and army which are institutions. The federal civil service with head of service is also an institution. The Nigerian government with the SGF is an institution. An institution is an organization that has systems and processes that are known; there is no place for self-help, impunity, self and reckless behaviour. We have not taken enough steps to make sure that political parties are institutions except for about six months ago when President Muhammadu Buhari in addressing Oshiomhole and APC governors, as if he knew, said please go and institutionalize this party because he wanted this party to become a much institutionalized institution that can stand the test of time. Even if Buhari is not there, if the founding fathers are not there, even if Asiwaju is not there, even if Baba Akande is not there, even if Owelle Okorocha is not there, 50 and 100 years down the line, APC as an institution can survive. Party loyalists who are technocrats, bureaucrats, have built this party to the point where its existence can be sustained and carried forward so that their unique contribution to Nigerian development, deepening of democracy and also implementing pro-poor, pro-workers, pro-youths, pro-women policies are sustained.
What became of the APC reconciliation committee?
Having emerged from the 2019 elections, the party in its wisdom had in its NEC meeting in November 2019 called for a reconciliation committee for the party led by our revered and respected father, Chief Bisi Akande. The committee swung into action and was working when this novel pandemic came and impacted on all programmes including the party and its committees. Therefore, we are expecting that the committee in due course would submit its report and present it to the organs of the party for necessary consideration. It is delayed but not disbanded.
In the light of your privileged position, was there any basis for setting up a caretaker committee to run the affairs of the APC as some of the party leaders demanded?
When I was trying to explain the context within which this crisis came about, you know I told you that first, the party is one, united and loyal to the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari. Number two, the administration of the party, under my leadership had triggered the bureaucracy of the party to life; we were working 15 hours a day, functioning and also servicing 16 million members of the party. Then the organs of the party, the NWC made up of rugged, experienced politicians was working and functioning.
For instance the greatest challenge against the NWC which led to its disbandment was last week’s Appeal Court judgment validating or affirming the suspension of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole from his ward. In fact, a meeting was conveyed the following day which was a Wednesday and I had already fixed a meeting of the NWC for that day.
On that Wednesday, 16 members of the NWC which made 80 per cent, turned up at the meeting. The NWC was made up of 21 members and with Adams Oshiomhole out, there remained 20. Out of the 20, 16 turned up for the NWC meeting. The meeting was supposed to be chaired by Oshiomhole. Now Oshiomhole was not there. We nominated one of us among the 16 members that were present. The National Vice Chairman, South-south, Hilliard Eta, presided over that meeting.
The next thing was that I as National Secretary of the party and then secretary of that meeting brought out the agenda and with the chairman of the meeting looked at the agenda, deliberated on it and held a normal meeting. In the meeting, the issue of Oshiomhole was tabled and we consulted the constitution to know what the provision is when a position became vacant whether it is the national secretary, national auditor or national chairman.
The constitution says that the next person in rank should be appointed. In that line, we said who is the next person to Oshiomhole from the South? It was Chief Abiola Ajimobi. We all deliberated on it and moved a motion, it was seconded, it was voted by the 16 NWC members that Ajimobi be appointed in the interim as the acting National Chairman to manage the party as a result of the Appeal Court judgment to which we all said we should comply. That was how we managed the transition last week.
In fact, in that same meeting, we discussed the ongoing processes for the Edo State primaries which also required us (the NWC) setting up a committee for the conduct of the primaries and primaries appeal. Nominations were made and the committee led by Hope Uzodinma with Senator Ajibola Bashir as secretary was formed. On Thursday, I invited the committee and it was inaugurated by 2pm on the same day. They proceeded and conducted a successful primary which report he would submit today.
The dissolved NWC was accused of bias. What is your take?
The NWC was painted in this light by certain segments in the party…where the interests are political, economic, personal and so on. As I say a political party is composed of people with different aspirations. Some may have grievances over economic issues. You have to understand the dynamics within the context of a political party. A political party is like a marketplace. Sometimes you can see a political party as a gathering in a village square, sometimes you can see a political party as the life of a community but the point is we have rules and regulations that are guiding us. And because we are under a democracy, we are in the period of the consolidation of democracy, we must necessarily test everything that we do and subject everything we do to the Nigerian constitution, the APC constitution, Electoral Act and manifesto. We were not biased.
I want you to check who and who were the members of the NWC. They are all senior politicians who were elected in the 2018 convention and sponsored by their states and their zones. None of them is a lightweight. And none of them is anybody’s boy. We all worked as a team. All of them are rugged and independent-minded politicians. There is this belief that Adams Oshiomohole was manipulating or dictating to the NWC. But I have seen openness, unity and seriousness (80 per cent of them) in the deliberations of the NWC. I also saw independent-mindedness in the members of the NWC. The way they, debated, deliberated, proposed, challenged and resolved party issues. They did that in every meeting.
Now that the NWC has been dissolved by NEC, why are members of your team threatening to go to court?
No one is going to court. Following consultations with our leaders and all the stakeholders, we have accepted the decision of the President on the dissolution of NWC and the setting up of a Caretaker Committee headed by Governor Mai Mala Buni.
We are respecting the President. We are not antagonistic. All the views we expressed were in the light of the constitution of the party.
Consulting our leaders and stakeholders does not mean going to court. We have no such plans. We are putting aside all constitutional and legal processes in the overall interest of the party. We have respect for authority, we appeal to all the stakeholders not to escalate the crisis in the party. We will cooperate with Buni’s committee which will organize a convention in the next six months.
Don’t you see the wrangling over the Edo State governorship election happening in some states? How do you see the chances of APC in Edo in the light of what has happened?
I have not seen problems in APC but I have seen noise. I have seen a lot of noise from Edo and I have also seen a lot of noise from Ondo. But these are two out of the 20 states under the fold of the party. And this problem you see in Edo State or Ondo State; certainly even if the chairman of the party was not Adams Oshiomhole, it will still be there. There was internal crisis between Governor Godwin Obaseki and other stakeholders in Edo which if not resolved will polarize the party going into the election. Now, Obaseki, thank God, has left the party and the party embarked on the processes that led to the emergence of a candidate. I followed every step meticulously to avoid this Bayelsa fiasco or the Zamfara situation or the Rivers’ crises. We learn from our experience. So we were very meticulous in going through the processes that led to the emergence of candidates in Edo State and we had successfully conducted the primaries.
At the moment, Ondo is another state where our party has pressures and tensions. We have issues of cohesion and understanding among the stakeholders in the party there. As you can see the deputy governor has bolted and joined another party. Now, there are many people agitating for one thing or the other in the party. We had already conveyed to INEC that by July 20, we will do the primaries of Ondo.
Did you as a party made any effort to retain Governor Godwin Obaseki?
As a party, we did everything humanly possible to appeal to the feuding sides in Edo State. Obaseki was on one hand and other stakeholders on the other.
Those stakeholders included the 14 members of the House of Assembly that he decided to lock out because he inaugurated the state House of Assembly with only nine members. For the past one year, he has been running the state House of Assembly with the Speaker nominated by only nine members.
There was nothing that was not done by all stakeholders of our party from our top leadership to other stakeholders like governors, APC Governors’ Forum and the National Assembly to bring these stakeholders together: the governor and 14 House of Assembly members, the governor and five National Assembly members, the governor and House of Representatives members led by Hon. Julius Ihonvbare, the governor and the senator from Edo North, the governor and other stakeholders of the party.
Severally, President Muhammadu Buhari talked to Obaseki and he appealed to all the stakeholders. The APC Governors Forum sent a delegation led by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. The party set up a committee led by the Senate President, which Obaseki said he did not want by claiming that the Senate was biased. They sent another team.
But thank God, we as a party held on to the process and continued with the process for the emergence of a candidate. It is our hope that having successfully concluded the process that led to the emergence of a candidate and flag bearer of the party, we hope that the leadership of the APC would work together as a team and as a family to carry out the campaign in a cohesive and united manner to see the victory of the party in Edo State.
Remember the person that won the primaries, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, in his victory remark after thanking our members, in the first statement he made after, appealed to Governor Obaseki to please come back to the APC. I hope he succeeds and I hope his call to the other members of the party like Pius Odubu and Obazee who also ran with him would yield fruit. At the level of the party, they are all members and we all respect them. This feud is an internal matter and as God would have it, anything destined to happen, will happen.