The move by some politicians to form a new party less than one year after the inauguration of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, analysts say, is a mirror of loss of confidence in the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government by many Nigerians.
Businessdayonline is reporting that two months to the first anniversary of the administration, talks about forming new political parties, alignment and re-alignment of forces have become deafening, raising concerns over the possibility of the ruling party staying beyond one term in office.
Realignment of forces.
Recently, some members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who were aggrieved over the emergence of Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman of the party and other unsavory developments in the umbrella party left to align forces with their ilk in the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the APC to form a new association to be known as Peoples Mega Party (PMP).
Perry Opara, the protem chairman of the proposed party, said: “The major people who are in the party are former members of the PDP who are disenchanted by the high level of corruption, high level of impunity and high-handedness in the PDP. They have decided to form something very new and they are of the opinion that they should hand over the party to younger elements who are less corrupt and who can fight for the interest of the people. There are also disenchanted people from the APC that feel that they want a new place and that is what it is.”
It would also be recalled that Kawu Baraje, a former acting chairman of the PDP who announced the formation of a faction of the PDP, leading six governors of the party to eventually align with the APC in 2013, recently issued a note of warning to leaders of the APC, saying the issues that made him leave the PDP have started to rear their heads in the APC.
Baraje, carpeting the APC, said the party has lived below expectation since it took over the reins of government nearly one year ago.
“If I have to be grateful to any political party, I think, it is the PDP and if I can leave that party, then you will know that the party had gone seriously against my principles of life,” he said.
According to him, “If I can leave the PDP because of impunity, lack of respect for the rule of law, then do I want to continue in another party that way? But it has not got to that level. That is why we are sounding a note of warning that gradually some of these problems are creeping into the APC.”
Those who have followed the politics in the APC-led government since May last year would not see the ominous signs of implosion all over the party as anything strange.
Baraje pointed to the frosty relationship existing between the Executive and the Legislature, noting that such state of affairs was dangerous to any party that hopes to make any appreciable mark in society.
According to him, the division in the party has made it lose most of the rerun elections that have been conducted since it formed government at the centre.
“Most of the distractions were created by APC itself. For instance, Senate President Bukola Saraki, who is heading an important arm of government, is not getting the necessary support from the party,” he said.
“We have participated in rerun elections, both at the state and national levels, and the APC has lost majority of those elections, not because of lack of popularity but because of lack of enough presence.
“Some of us, with our experience, expected the national presence of our party much more during reruns, but we do not see that happening.”
A political affairs analyst, Anthony Arung, said: “The talk about formation of new parties is too early in the day. It is a sign of dissatisfaction and lack of internal democracy in the APC. Nigerians are highly disappointed in the APC. They are not getting what they expected. Again, the party appears to be going the way of the PDP in terms of impunity. Look at the case of Saraki for instance, the party’s stalwarts wanted to foist leadership on the National Assembly which was resisted by the members.
“Today, we can see what Saraki is going through. If he didn’t undermine the powers that be, nobody will be talking about false declaration of assets. But the question remains, why is his matter coming up after four years he left office?”
Arung further said: “I tell you that if elections were to be held today, the APC would be thoroughly defeated by even unknown parties. The suffering is too much in the land. As it is today, the PDP has failed; the APC appears failing; maybe Nigerians need a new party to take them to the Eldorado.”
“It is too early for APC to start losing members or the kind of disaffection that is tearing the party apart. PDP was able to hold on for 16 years because despite the larger-than-life attitude of some leaders, they remained together. It was during the Jonathan period that it experienced the mass exodus. But this APC disintegration is coming too early in the day. It tells you that the people did not prepare for leadership. They were only interested in getting the power from Jonathan. In all departments of governance, they have failed,” he further said.
