Will CPC bounce back from the brink?
Malam Yusuf Ibrahim Sabuwar-Unguwa has been what one can describe as a die-heart supporter of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Katsina. But with the toll that internal crisis has on the party in this state, his hopes have been dampened and his confidence shaken. “My confidence in CPC is shaken because the […]
Malam Yusuf Ibrahim Sabuwar-Unguwa has been what one can describe as a die-heart supporter of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Katsina. But with the toll that internal crisis has on the party in this state, his hopes have been dampened and his confidence shaken.
“My confidence in CPC is shaken because the crisis that led the party lost election in 2011 is still there. Buhari should do something about it,” Malam Sabuwa-Unguwa told Sunday Trust.
Another member of the party in Katsina, Sulaiman Isa Saulawa, still believes that it still has a future, explaining that the only thing the leadership of the party should do is to re-unite the two factions of the party in the state. He argued thus: “there is no way the party can move with its members fighting each other.” According to him, it would be better for him to stay out of politics than for him to join the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
These indigenes of Katsina state have expressed the sentiment of many in the grassroots in Katsina, in spite of the chaotic leadership of the CPC that has created the wide opening for the PDP to smile to power in many northern states. In the state, there are many unaddressed grievances, though the party’s national body has dissolved the state executive over crisis that has been rocking it since 2011. The party had two warring factions with a former Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari and Senator Lado Danmarke as the leaders of the different groups.
But Sunday Trust learnt that moves to reconcile the factions have not yielded desired results. Alhaji Mamman Abubakar Danmusa is strong pillar in the Danmarke’s camp. He told Sunday Trust that “the issue of restructuring CPC in Katsina state does not arise because those calling for it have missed the way. Those planted to destroy the party at the national level are still there, so there is no way the party can be restructured while those persons are manning the affairs of the party at national level.”
Contrary to Danmusa’s position on the party’s internal crisis, Dr Mustapha Inuwa another chieftain of the party from Masari’s camp said the on-going restructuring exercise of the party is yielding results, not only in Katsina but in most of the states where crisis is rocking the party.
On the party crisis in Katsina, Inuwa said they were engaged in effort to fix the party before the conduct of the 2015 polls, saying “those who betrayed the party, and leaders of the party at the state level, have been sacked.”
He added that the caretaker committee appointed by the party national body, headed by Alhaji Farouq Adamu Aliyu, had commenced its job by dismissing those who committed unpardonable offences and has begun the reconciliation of aggrieved members of the party.
Asked whether CPC can be fixed before the conduct of the 2015 general elections, Dr. Inuwa said the most important thing was unity and sincerity of purpose because there is no party in Nigeria that has no problem, adding “take the recent convention conducted by the PDP, as an example, when you analyse the convention you will agree with me that PDP is not a political party; rather there is a clique that is imposing those they want and dropping those they don’t want from the leadership of this party.”
Alhaji Farouq Adamu Aliyu, the chairman CPC interim committee in Katsina state was also hopeful on the fate of CPC in Katsina so also on Buhari’s contest come 2015. Aliyu confidently told Sunday Trust that “we will force Buhari to contest election come 2015. Presently, we don’t have better candidate than him. He is capable of re-contesting because he is fit physically and health-wise, therefore we will continue begging him to re-contest come 2015 and if he refuses we will force him to do so.”
In power, but divided
In Nasarawa State, the party is divided between founding members and those who joined it from the PDP. Each group has continued to kick, and throw jabs at the other. While the founding members – who have long lost control of the party structure, to the latter group – complain that they are being frustrated by “authoritarian tendencies” of the latter group, the other accuse them of playing anti-party. As a result of the squabble, the name given to the CPC in Nasarawa State is “PDP II”.
Abdullahi Agwai, a senatorial aspirant, was the first to join the CPC from the PDP. `It was as if he signalled to other PDP members that a virgin party had come to town. What followed was a stream of decampees: Hajiya Rakiya Kassim, a governorship aspirant, Chief Solomon Ewuga, who is still in court over Nasarawa-North senate seat won by the CPC, and Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura as well as several other office seekers and their supporters.
Yusuf Musa Nagogo and David Ombugadu, two founding member who went to the Senate, and the House of Representatives, raised issues with those they tagged as “joiners”, alleging that the aggrieved PDP members introduced manipulations to edge them out. Nagogo and Ewuga are still in court, over who was the winning candidate of the April 9 election, as Ombugadu and Idris Yahuza, over who was the winning candidate in the Akwanga/Nasarawa-Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituency.
Lawyer El-Yaqoob, the pioneer chairman of the CPC in Nasarawa State, was suspended from the party in March of 2011 – on the eve of the general elections. The suspension which came from the ward level, was ratified by the state executive committee of the party, headed by the chairman, Hamidu Haruna, whose emergence on December 6, 2010 had the support and blessing of the former. One year after, El-Yaqoob is still serving his suspension, which followed allegations that he was an element of the PDP within the CPC. He was alleged to have held a meeting with a former federal lawmaker, Senator Patricia Akwahsiki, and Mohammed Muluku, a state lawmaker representing Nasarawa-Eggon-East, in his residence in Nasarawa-Eggon.
“If I meet Madam Akwashiki on the road, she will take the other side. We don’t meet. As for Muluku, he is dating my niece. Yes, he comes around, but not on political grounds. He wants to marry my niece. There was never such a meeting. They just cooked up stories to nail me and hatch that purported suspension which did not follow due process. Imagine a party suspending a member for more than a year”, El-Yaqoob said.
He continued: “The national leadership was not happy with me for planning a coup. They also alleged that I was an element of PDP within CPC, because Al-Makura walked in to greet us. The Board of Trustees (BoT) suspended me in November, 2010. So I didn’t participate in the December congress. But I brought in Hamidu as my protégé, because the party agreed that I should. But now, because he is a former PDP man, he has joined the rest of his members to fight me, and edge all founding members out”, he said. He alleged further that “in the government of Al-Makura, there is not a single founding member. They are all aggrieved PDP members, including those who fought us at the formation stage.”
He alleged further that “since December 6, 2010 when they were inducted, the party executive has not had a meeting. No executive meetings; no party activities. All we have is a government, and a governor who holds meetings with the chairman, secretary and legal adviser. Nothing more than that.” He said the party does not have a presence in the grassroots at the moment because the executive is “incompetent and a mere errand boy to Government House.”
These, among other sidekicks and complaints, have ached the underbelly of the CPC in the state. Whether the party can still pull the weight it did in 2011, rests on the ability of the leadership to wade through these internal problems. But the party has insisted that there is no problem.
State secretary, Ibrahim Shekarau Musa told Sunday Trust that the party is waxing stronger, adding that there is no crisis.
Zakari Idde, the governor’s Special Adviser on Political Affairs, himself a former PDP member, said “we are still strong as a party, and in control of the state. Come 2015, we will prove to the whole world that CPC has come to stay in Nasarawa. Yes, we left the PDP; it was because we had no confidence in the party, and Governor Al-Makura has proven to the world that CPC is just the best alternative to PDP. We don’t talk, we work. Go round Lafia now and you can feel it. By 2015, people will vote again for CPC because they have felt the positive change.”
The secretary to the State Government (SSG), said “we recently went into a by-election; what was the result? It is to tell you that CPC has come to stay in Nasarawa. If some politicians are expecting us to continue to behave as if we are still in election period, the physical development, and sound reforms we are putting on ground will suffer. We intend to work for the people. Whether CPC will remain alive in the state depends on the performance, not noise making over party affairs.”
The rise and fall of Kebbi CPC
The Kebbi State CPC appeared in the political landscape of Kebbi like a seedling planted in a fertile farm land. With torrential rain it took roots, sprouting out branches and the tree blossomed. It was expected to produce juicy fruits. But with the coming of heavy storm the fruits fell off and the tree uprooted.
The man behind the establishment of the party in Kebbi is Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), the first gubernatorial aspirant. At that time, as the first financier of the party, he procured vehicles and sent to the 21 local government offices of the party. The state office was furnished for effective running of the much awaited project which was for winning the election.
As misunderstanding between Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero with his former political godson, Alhaji Sa’idu Usman Dakingari the former had no option but to leave the PDP to the CPC. Kebbi CPC was visually intimidating with heavyweights as the Kangiwa twins- Hassan and Hussaini and Senator Umar Abubakar Tafida from the popular Argungu Emirate, Sadik Katika in Yauri Emirate, General Ishaya Bamayi from Zuru Emirate and the likes of Sani Zauro Hukuma. The dethroned Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Al-Mustapha Haruna Jokolo had warned General Muhammad Buhari about Aliero’s entry into the CPC. Today, the ‘prophesy’ has come to pass.
A chieftain of the former ACN that dissolved into PDP, Haruna Dandio Saidu lamented that “the Supporters of ACN in Kebbi State cannot easily forget the traumatic experiences they were subjected to by Adamu Aliero and his group, which forced them to leave the CPC for the ACN.”
In his address of defection Aliero said all supporters of the party right from the ward level to the state level have now decided to decamp to PDP. The majority of the party supporters and financiers left to PDP, even the CPC member in Kebbi State House of Assembly, Kabiru Besse, said he does not want to comment on the development as he is ambivalent about his political of identity.
Alhaji Bashir Isah Mutawalle, the Acting Secretary of the party, who appeared to be the only vibrant supporter of the party in the state was the only one that represented CPC at stakeholders meeting with INEC Chairman, Professor Jega.
He told our reporter that the party in the state is deteriorating, saying “We are making efforts that after the elections we would revive the party for the better. We seriously have a problem. I am acting secretary due to necessity. I am sure that this problem is going to take care of itself. I am urging the rest members of the party to remain calm and exercise patience. We are going to regroup ourselves and forge ahead.”
Will the CPC bounce back from the brink?
Last week, a close associate of the chairman of the renewal committee of the CPC, Malam Nasir el-Rufai told Sunday Trust that the committee is making tremendous progress in its effort to reposition the party, ahead of the 2015 elections. He said the committee is looking beyond the Buhari factor, which in the 2011 election was used to achieve the victory it recorded.
To move the party beyond this, he said el-Rufai has personally met with notable politicians across the country to ensure the party has a strong footing before the campaign for the 2015 elections kick off. According to him, “I can tell you that a lot has been achieved by the el-Rufai led committee to reposition CPC. You may not know, but he has consulted widely beyond the north, where the party appears to enjoy some level of support. For now, he has some understanding with many South-East, South-South and South-West politicians, including the ACN national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. It’s just a matter of time. The party, I can assure you will come out stronger with a different approach and it will be embraced by Nigerians irrespective of their ethnic and religious backgrounds. ”
He also hinted that some academicians in the country’s universities are involved in the effort to put the CPC in better shape. “Like I told you, these academicians are part of the people that have been consulted to fashion a new approach and strategies for CPC in its bid to come out stronger and better for the 2015 election.”
Problem being faced in reconciling Kano CPC members
For now, the el-Rufai committee is having problem in reconciling the aggrieved CPC members in Kano state, particularly those sympathetic to the political ambition of Mohammed Abacha, the son of late General Sani Abacha, over the way he was treated by the party leadership just before 2011 election. Besides, there are some of the state executives of the party who felt sidelined by the committee in its effort to reposition the party.
With the massive movement of its key members to other parties, particularly the PDP, our sources said the masses who have always identified with the party have not left it. He said when Aliero and others left the party in Kebbi state to the PDP, the grassroots in the state refused to go with them. “I want you to know that the situation is the same in the northern states where CPC is embraced. The party’s grassroots support base is intact, the party only needs to put its house in order, re-strategise and expand its support base. By and large, the el-Rufai committee is coming out with some sense of direction for the party which will strengthened the confidence of the grassroots for CPC.”
He added that el-Rufai has had talks with Tinubu but the party is not limiting its alliance to the party alone. “Yes, he has been having discussions with Tinubu, who is at present in control of the South-West politics so, but I tell you that they are actually not limiting the alliance to a party. They are looking at a situation where they can have as many of them as possible when the need arises. But for now, Tinubu is the bride. I think he realized the mistake of the party in 2011 election on its failure to reach a conclusive alliance with ACN and CPC paid for it. So, the party will be ready for alliance with as many parties as possible, especially the credible ones as it prepares for 2015.”
It was reliably gathered that CPC presidential candidate in the last presidential election, general Muhammed Buhari is not keen to contest the 2015 presidential election. It was also gathered that what is paramount to him now is repositioning of the party for victory in the 2015 election.
“We know Buhari will not contest in 2015, we are aware that his major concern now is to see the party coming up stronger in 2015. Even though he has not said anything about his intention concerning this, some elements in the party are already rooting for el-Rufai to lead the party to the polls in 2015 presidential election. One Alhaji Isa Salihu Nataro from Kebbi State is the el-Rufai 2015 presidential national coordinator. A Sokoto based businessman, Alhaji Usman Ahmed, a former commissioner in Gombe State, Alhaji Isa Waziri, a notable politician in Katsina state, Alhaji Usman Alhaji and the son of former governor of Ekiti State, Mr Aina Adeniyi Adebayo are few of the notable elements in the party who are already making the way for the former FCT minister’s candidacy in 2015 should Buhari refuse to contest ,” our source said.
However, the Chairman, Kaduna state Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Alhaji Ahmadu Cocacola, insisted that General Muhammadu Buhari will still be the Presidential candidate of its party in 2015.
According to Cocacola, arraignments have been concluded with the opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the state to form an alliance ahead of the 2015 general elections, expecting that this will still produce Buhari as its candidate. He said that contrary to speculations that Buhari will not contests, the people at the grassroots were calling on him to rescue them from the hands of the PDP
“Buhari is willing to run because the people at the grassroots who are mostly poor are calling on him to run. The party is only waiting for the time to draw near before they approach him and they know he will not let them down because he is the back bone of the party,” Cocacola said.
CPC has learnt a bitter lesson
The Deputy National Chairman of the party, who is acting as the National Chairman, Alhaji Mustapha Salihu, told Sunday Trust in Abuja that the party has learnt its lessons and has sat down to re-strategise and restore order before 2015 elections, saying with what happened at the just concluded PDP convention, a lot of people are disenchanted and are already making overtures to the CPC, adding that the party’s gate and hands are opened to receive them.
He also said the renewal committee is a strategic committee and has been working to devise ways of strengthening the party, adding, “They are working, it is not for them to publicise their work. One of their tasks is to find ways of re-branding the party. They have a time-frame and are expected to submit their reports in April. We will look at their report and worked on it.”
General Buhari has kept mum over the ongoing controversies but many are relying on his body language to suggest where his heart lies and which group he is backing or not favourably disposed to.
Mr Dennis Aghanya told Sunday Trust in Abuja that it is high time CPC played issue-based rather than playing blame-game, saying, “We raised alarm when Senator Adamu Aliero led some people to our party and the party was handed over to them to the detriment of old and loyal members of the party due to money consideration. There is no reason for Aliero and our governorship candidate to leave us, if not that there coming in then was to destroy our party.”
He said the major problem with the CPC is pride on the part of some of the leaders. He said that people should own up to their mistakes rather than being prideful and justify the mistakes.
He said, “We are human beings; we spent our money, time and made enemies forming the CPC, yet some people got the credit for the sweat of others out of envy.