APC faces implosion in two states

The ruling All Progressives Congress risks implosion in two critical states in the Southeast and Southwest, the base of President Bola Tinubu.
Observers are worried that the adoption of consensus candidates and the practice of removing a serving lawmaker and handing the ticket to outgoing governors may tear the party apart.

In the South west, the party risks crashing like a pack of cards as immediate past Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu and his supporters are strongly disputing Friday’s endorsement of Senator Sharafadeen Alli as the party’s governorship candidate by some APC elders.

Adelabu said in Ibadan yesterday that the situation could jeopadise the party’s chances.
Adelabu, addressing some leaders and stakeholders of the party from Ibadan Southeast Local Government Area in Ibadan yesterday, wondered why those who endorsed Senator Alli were against direct primary.

He warned that the party could not afford to approach the 2027 election as a divided house, hence the need for it to adopt a selection process that would not give room for bad blood and animosity.

“Any endorsement done without the consent of the state APC chairman and its executives, together with other gubernatorial aspirants is none and void, and it won’t stand,” he said.
He dismissed Alli’s endorsement as a joke and bastardisation of democracy.
He said: “President Tinubu is a progressive and a democrat to the core. He is fair and will not be partial to anyone.

“The President had said we should go for direct primary in choosing our gubernatorial candidate in case consensus option fails. Whoever says President Tinubu has endorsed any aspirant as the party’s guber consensus candidate is a liar.”

In the Southeast implosion appears imminent in Imo State.
The governor, Hope Uzodimma has declared interest in the Imo West Senatorial currently represented by Senator Osita Izunaso who is seeking a return ticket.

Party sources said that the contest for the ticket by the governor and Izunaso may prove a hard nut to crack for the party.

Uzodimma had represented the zone in the Senate twice between 2011 and 2019.
Party sources said although the two men are eminently qualified, deciding on who to pick the ticket this time around requires wisdom otherwise the unity of the party may be destroyed.
It was gathered that both camps have intensified consultations with stakeholders on their aspirations.