APC in Kogi State: Dead or Alive? – Tony Icheku

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All is currently not well with the Kogi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Members and leaders are not comfortable with Prince Abubakar Audu, a former governor of the state’s inability to build it into a viable opposition party, though he is considered a godfather.

Members and stakeholders of the party suspect that he is in bed with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Indeed, Audu, at a recent public outing, was very profuse with words of praise for Governor Idris Wada’s administration. Describing Wada as God-sent to Kogi, he promised: ‘We will cooperate with you (Wada) to succeed because your success is our success. We will not entertain unnecessary criticisms.

Party members are uncomfortable with his cozy relationship with the PDP. To this effect, Mr. Ocholi James, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) has said, “Stakeholders and leaders of the APC in Kogi are totally fed up with the antics of Prince Abubakar Audu. He is playing a double game, dancing with the APC in the afternoon and romancing the PDP at night.

“We are totally disillusioned and angry that the man we thought was our leader would resort to frolicking with the PDP at the detriment of the APC.’’

James added that the disenchanted leaders of the party had taken their grouse with Audu to the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party, hoping that the council would act decisively and wisely. He stressed that if their grievances are not properly addressed, APC may become a shadow of itself as the disenchanted followers may defect en masse to other parties.

The former governor is regarded as the live wire of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Kogi. When both parties became part of the APC, it was not difficult for Audu to become a leader of the party in the state. It would be recalled that he defected from the ANPP to ACN, on which platform he contested against Governor Idris Wada in 2011.

The state’s executive committee members, most of whom he chose, are also not living up to expectation.

Former ANPP members currently sidelined in the affairs of the APC are faulting the automatic leadership role conferred on Audu. They said the exit of the former governor from the party did not in any way push it to the oblivion. They also revealed that Elder Ubolo Okpanachi, a former accountant-general of the state quickly re-established the structures of the party across the state.

More so, members of the defunct ACN who are left out in the cold equally said that the entry of Audu into the party did not enhance its status.

Audu failed to return as governor of Kogi State between 2003 and 2007, as former Governor Ibrahim Idris defeated him during elections. He also lost to Captain Wada in 2011.

But he remains a formidable force in the state’s politics. He is believed to be the power behind Senator Aidoko Atai’s defection to the PDP recently.

Elders and stakeholders of the APC in Kogi are perplexed that the party’s NEC seems not to be concerned that Audu is fraternising with a rival party. At a recent meeting of the party, the issue was exhaustively discussed and several posers raised. Is APC’s NEC not aware of developments in Kogi?  If the NEC is concerned but remains indifferent, wherein lies the party’s objectives of providing an alternative platform to occupy the state’s Government House. Is Kogi not considered significant in the party’s calculations?

The above questions and more are expected to come up when Kogi elders and stakeholders meet with the APC national leadership.

Icheku wrote from Abuja

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