Following the dissolution of the Adams Oshiomole-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the setting up of a new National Caretaker Committee for the party, plans are being hatched by some contending political forces in the party to zone the ticket away from the South-South.

Investigations reveal that all these permutations are being propelled by the politics of presidential succession in 2023. The understanding is that with the completion of two terms of office by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023, the presidency should rotate to the South. The political gladiators in the party who have their eyes fixed on 2023 are working underground to ensure that the chairmanship of the party is zoned away to their cronies in other zones. Part of the plots is also to checkmate the ambitions of possible rivals from those zones.

It is against this backdrop, that an influential party bigwig from the South-West is trying to get the National Caretaker Committee to rezone the chairmanship from South-South to South-East with a view to shutting out the South-East from the race.

A party chieftain, Bolaji Bello, who spoke in Abuja noted as follows: “Politics is all about protection of interests. The plot to take the position to the South-East, is part of a bigger scheme to shut out the South-East from the race and brightens the prospects of the South-West. It is also intended to pitch the South-East against the South-South which is supposed to hold the position for four years.”

Our findings also show that a party strongman from the South-South who is also eyeing the presidency is working quietly to get the chairmanship zoned to the Middle Belt to brighten his own chances. Political analysts fear that such intrigues may tear the party apart if they are not properly managed.

A source at the National Secretariat of the APC who spoke in anonymity stated that the only way the party can ensure unity and peace is to retain the chairmanship in the South-South and allow the zone to serve out its four-year tenure. He said that anything short of that would be a great injustice to the people of South-South.

“This is a major challenge that faces the Governor Buni-led Caretaker Committee as it grapples with its mandate to rejig and reposition the party in the months to come. It is hoped that the Buni Committee would be guided in their actions by the best interests of the party,” the source said.