Johnson Ayantunji 
Despite the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) boasting that it would win in 2027, a coalition is being formed gradually with the sole purpose of taking it out in the next election. Most of the protagonists are mainly from the North led by strictly and majorly by people from even the APC, especially of the Northern extraction. This is even as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is repositioning itself for the major battle ahead.
Those familiar with the happenings in the nation’s polity confided in Sunday Telegraph that the recent crises in all the three major parties- the APC, PDP and the Labour Party- are to do damage to the parties and at the appropriate time, some key figures would leave their various parties and move to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) being prepared for the move. One of our Sources pointed at the recently concluded National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP, which was more of a thunder without rain if the tension before the meeting and its outcome were anything to go by. The Source said: “What is going on about the coalition is about 2027 and also an attempt by the PDP to reposition itself and prepare for 2027, as well as trying all it can to ensure that people did not break ranks. “That is why despite the groundswell of opinion and some calls by members for the removal of the acting National Chairman, Umar Illiya Damagum, it did not go through during the last meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC). “What was accepted was the need to remake the party in terms of building peace and consensus and deliberately, some persons canvassed for the outright expulsion of Nyesom Wike(FCT Minister) and some other persons but the majority decided that the party at this point, could shoot itself in the leg, if after people who are accused of anti-party activities are expelled. “But what they should do is try to appeal to them and bring them in and that was what informed the formation of the Peace Committee to be headed by the former governor of Kwara State, Olusola Saraki, who himself is one of those who had positioned himself for a bigger role in the party and the polity in the days and years ahead.
That was why there was no attempt to expel anybody. “They believe that if they did, more persons will leave the party and then, it will be to the detriment of the party, which is yet to regain its balance after last year’s defeat at the general elections. “For now, we saw Alhaji Atiku Abubakar visiting Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi as part of the attempt that will not succeed.” On Atiku, our Source continued: “Atiku, despite his age is looking at 2027 with his binoculars. But the pragmatics among the party are saying that the party must be renamed and energised with somebody more youthful. “Some persons are even looking in the direction of the Oyo State Governor; that if Tinubu wants to run again in 2027, why don’t you bring another Yoruba man, somebody like Seyi Makinde, who is younger and bold, that would be more sellable. “However, some of his traducers did not like the role he played in the G-5 before the election. They believed that he was rightly ambivalent in Oyo State; he was more interested in his election than that of the president. The APC won the presidency but could not repeat the same at the gubernatorial.” Also, it was gathered that this may have sent jitters down the spines of members of the APC as things did not go as expected. “This may rock the APC and may do further damage to the cohesion of the party. Some of them have asked that they should make an overture to some more persons, including Yahaya Bello and see whether he can join the growing coalition that is ongoing,” the man who was one of those who decided at the NEC meeting said. Talking about the APC, the ruling party too is not finding things easy, with the recent purported expulsion of the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje from his ward and his alleged corruption case which is before a Court in Kano.
All these, Sunday Telegraph was told are politically motivated as part of the plot against the party. “The coalition is being formed gradually with the sole purpose of defeating the APC. Most of the protagonists are mainly from the North, led by strictly and majorly by people from even the APC, especially of the Northern extraction”, another source said. “What is more important is that he is very ‘close to the president. And he wants to wrest the party from someone who will not do the bidding of the president. “For now, the inner circle of Mr. President is aware of the game plan and that is why they are solidly against Ganduje being removed as the chairman for now. “That was why the coup against him from Kano failed. That coup in the party is a manifestation of the rumpus in the party. “There are certain things in the party that should have been done that have not been done such as the meeting of the National Executive Council(NEC) of the party, is not being held regularly and some of them who attended the meeting feel that is what sounded the death knell of the PDP, where some persons hijacked the power of the NEC, to take decisions for the party.” For the Labour Party, the crisis there is such that they did not even know how to resolve it. That is some people believe that Peter Obi may not be opposed to the ongoing groundwork to form a new party. The Source continued: “What they want to do is either form a new party or use the soul of an existing party, possibly SDP. Then, they begin to coalesce under the SDP and use it as the main party with which to fight the APC in the days ahead. “They have spoken with SDP and they believe that if settling into PDP en masse, will be difficult, at the right time, they will activate the SDP agenda.”
