The Magic That Can Turn APC Around In Abia State.

The Magic That Can Turn APC Around In abia State.
Saturday(Orie) 12-04-2025.

All Progressives Congress, APC, came into existence in 2014. That was after Major-General Muhammadu Buhari had unsuccessfully tried three times, 2003, 2007 and 2011 to be President of Nigeria. It was Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, now President of Nigeria, that, as it was reported, sold the idea of forming a big political alliance between his Party, Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Buhari’s Congress For Progressive Change, CPC, a breakaway faction of Peoples Democratic Party, N-PDP, and a segment of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, led by a former Governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha, in order to form the All Progressives Congress, APC, in 2014.

With the occult followership Major-General Muhammadu Buhari had in the North, combining with the Political influence Asiwaju tinubu enjoyed in the West, it was easy for Major-General Buhari to beat and unsit incumbent President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 2015 Presidential Election.

Before the birth of the All Progressives Congress, APC, PDP was already in charge of the political space of abia State. The three Senatorial Districts of Abia-North, Abia-Central and Abia-South were almost always represented in the Senate by PDP-elected Senators.

But in 2019, the political situation in Abia-North changed remarkably with the joining of APC by the second democratically-elected Governor of Abia, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, a well acclaimed Industrialist, Chief Uche Ogah, Barr Ben Okezie Kalu who is the current Deputy Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, Dr Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, and many others. By 2019, Abia-North had been overtaken by the strong political tide that was APC.

APC was, however, unable to penetrate either Abia-Central or Abia-South. The two Senatorial Districts remained the Stronghold of PDP. PDP was, therefore, able to win the State in 2019, including Governorship.

In 2023 General Election, APC maintained its hold on Abia-North, though with visible incursions by Labour Party, propelled by its Peter Obi wave.

On the other hand, the General Election of 2023 witnessed almost an entirely breakdown of PDP’s political structural integrity in both Abia-Central and Abia-South Senatorial Districts. For instance, in the House of Representatives’ election, out of Eight Slots in the whole of abia State, it was only Chief Chris Nkwonta, then of PDP, that was able to win his election. PDP could not win in any other Federal Constituency in the State. Kudos to Chief Nkwonta and Constituents in Ukwa-East and Ukwa-West Federal Constituency.

After the elections of 2023, even though Labour Party produced the Governor of the State, many Politicians in the State, especially from the PDP, have been defecting to the APC in droves. Even the only Member of House of Representatives elected on the platform of PDP in abia State, Chief Chris Nkwonta, in response to pressure by his Constituents, has also left, joined the APC and has excessively financially been carrying out a lot of political engineering, in terms of contact, sensitisation and mobilization for his new Party, the APC, not only in Ukwa-East and Ukwa-West Federal Constituency but the whole of Abia-South Senatorial District.

APC in abia State has been recording a groundswell in its Membership in the State. Ironically and, of course, curiously, Abians hardly contemplate joining the ruling Labour Party in the State. Many Politicians and Elites in the State believe that with the quantum of money unprecedentedly being injected into abia State, Local Government Councils inclusive, by the President tinubu Administration, development in abia State does not reflect more than 20% of what the State has been receiving from the APC Government at the Centre.

If an election is conducted in abia State today, the APC will come first. Why not?
With what Mr President has done and is still doing in abia State, including infrastructural interventions on Aba-Port-Harcourt Express Road, Ikot Ekpene-Aba Road, Ikot Ekpene-Ikwuano-Umuahia Road, Construction of an Airport at Nsulu, and key appointments given to many abia Sons, it would be odd to imagine APC not winning in abia State.

But APC has a fundamental problem in abia State, and that is ‘Disunity’. Their Leaders hardly agree on any common issue. They do not see eye to eye, and there is hardly any love lost amongst them. That is why the Party in abia State is strongly believed to be badly factionalized in the State. Observers view APC in abia State from the prism of Chief Ikechi Emenike’s, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s, Rt Hon Ben kalu’s, Dr Uche Ogah’s, Dr Nkeiru Onyejeocha’s, and, most recently, Chief Henry Ikoh’s factions. No one can say for sure that there are no other factions of the Party in the State.

The most worrisome aspect of the factionalization is the underlying belief and evidence that once an issue does not favourably tilt towards a faction, the automatic resolve would be to pull down and destroy every drive of the Party. This is not how to do Politics, and definitely not how to build and groom a Political Party. This destructive concept is certainly at variance with altruism that should be the bedrock of Constitutional Democracy and Party Politics.

It is, however, interesting and encouraging that the second democratically-elected Governor of abia State and the Senator representing Abia-North in the 10th Senate, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, has just recently taken a good initiative by calling a meeting of some notable abia Stakeholders of APC in Abuja. Though it is expected that when next such a meeting will hold, preferably in abia State, the absence of the Member representing Bende Federal Constituency and Deputy Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, The Rt Hon Benjamin Okezie Kalu, CON, will not be glaring, it was a good start, and also timely.

abia State APC Leaders should grow to eschew parochialism, unbridled bitterness and rancour. They need to realize that selfishness does not allow any society or organisation to thrive. It could be compared to a selfish footballer who knows he is being unrelentingly marked by his team’s opponent yet he would not pass the ball to his teammate who has a better chance of converting his opportunity into a goal.

It should be appreciated that with what President Tinubu’s Administration is doing in Nigeria, it will be erroneous to imagine he will not win again in 2027, except God decrees otherwise. Therefore, abia APC Leaders must have to jettison all forms of selfish motives and frankly encourage all hands to be on deck in order to make sure that President tinubu wins overwhelmingly in the State in 2027, and also install a Governor in the State.

A State that had produced a Military Head of State in Nigeria, late Major-General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi, late Premier of defunct Eastern Nigeria, Dr M. I. Okpara, the first Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, and first Nigeria’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, late Dr Jaja Anucha Ndubuisi Wachuku, the first Igbo Man to Command 1st Division of Nigerian Army and later Nigeria’s Minister of External Affairs, Senator Brigadier-General Ike Omar Sandra Nwachukwu, and the first Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos, late Professor Eni Njoku, should not, by pettiness of selfishness, costly ego, pride and avoidable inability to work as a well cordinated team, make APC not to win clearly in 2027 and, therefore, save the State from being merely considered for appointment only as a Minister of State for Labour and Employment.

Equity Global Reporters Ltd.