2015: APC goes for the kill

 The All progressive Congress(APC) may look like it is going nowhere judging by past political mergers in the country but Sunday Sun can authoritatively report that the coalition is not only lacing up its kicking boots, it is also going full speed for the ruling PDP’s political jugular. Unlike in the past, the APC would adopt an uncommon approach to turn the table against the PDP, which has been in power since 1999. According to a reliable insider source, the opposition coalition’s strategy will be rooted firmly in a concerted effort to weaken the ruling party and cause as much rancour within its ranks as much as possible.

A top member of APC who spoke to Sunday Sun on condition of anonymity said the PDP will have a full plate of troubles to deal with until the APC snatches victory from the Peoples Democratic Party. Irked by President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to win at least 32 states of the federation in the 2015 general elections, the yet-to-be registered All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains are holding round-the-clock meetings to make the President eat his words at the 2015 polls. Asked if APC had a hand in the dissolution of the Rivers State PDP EXCO as part of the opposition’s plans to cause rancour in the PDP, the source neither admitted nor denied involvement.

“The more trouble there is in the PDP, the better for us. The more enemies Jonathan makes, the more friends we will have. We saw the Rivers trouble coming three months ago and we want and hope the PDP will dissolve more state chapters’ executive councils.” He prayed that President Jonathan would ‘terrorize’ more governors saying the development would help the APC to consolidate its merger deal before the election. “We will help President Jonathan to create more enemies and see to the imminent implosion in the PDP before the next general election. “The era of PDP has gone and you will see the end of the party in 2015. There is no policy that President Jonathan comes up with that will be allowed to work. Besides, Tony Anenih that the party is hoping to work some magic does not have that level of electoral value and would be humbled like what happened during the last Edo governorship election where he lost his ward.

“The question we should be asking PDP’s Mr Fix It is, ‘has he produced any president in Nigeria since the country returned to democratic rule in 1999? We all know the real powers behind the throne from Obasanjo to even President Jonathan. The truth is those who produced former presidents are those behind this new coalition and our candidate is the one they have endorsed. We are not moved or impressed by the mythical magic of Anenih. The old man does not help to cook the soup but comes only when it is ready for eating. “We are not ready to divulge information on how to win the next election but I can assure you that it is over for the PDP. “Soon, northern leaders would converge abroad to put finishing touches to the game plan that would finally clip the wings of the PDP”, he said. The development comes amid revelations that the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo has openly distanced himself from the re-election ambition of President Jonathan.

Our source said that the brains behind APC’s move to upset the PDP are encouraged by the recent presidential election in Kenya and what the opposition party has been able to do in elections in Ghana, a neighbouring West African country. He told Sunday Sun that the APC intends to take advantage of the seeming disenchantment of the masses against the present administration especially with regards to the increasing insecurity situation in the country. “Nigerians are not fools and they are not oblivious of happenings around the world and even in some African countries. They want a better life, which the PDP has not been able to provide them since 1999 that it has been in power.

“The approach of the opposition this time is going to be different and for the first time, we are confident that the PDP can be beaten in a free and fair election. “Even without much effort, the APC would sweep the votes in North West, North East and South West. We all know why PDP cannot win in those zones. And with that obvious advantage, the APC can now go to fight for votes in the North Central, South East and South South. Remember that even in the South South where President Jonathan comes from, the APC is likely to take two states. Or can you compare the votes APC will get in Lagos with what PDP will record in Bayelsa. “One of the states, we are already sure of but the other one, another oil-rich state is almost in our kitty too. The governors are powerful and if you are fighting a governor controlling a state, you do not expect him to support you when you need him. So, where is the PDP going to win?” He said that one of the strategies the APC will deploy is to neutralize the already familiar tactics of the chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Mr Tony Anenih popularly known as “Mr Fix it”.

Our source said that the former Minister of Works who has assumed a cult figure in the PDP has clay feet and has already been demystified during the last gubernatorial election in his home state. He reasoned that the PDP would witness an implosion before the election considering the level of discontent among members of the party. Our source revealed that three months ago, the new mega party saw the ordeal the Chairman of the Governors Forum, Chibuike Amaechi would go through ahead of 2015. Our source also revealed that Chief Obasanjo had made it known to President Jonathan that he would support the emergence of a president of northern extraction in 2015. He said that all efforts to woo Obasanjo to support President Jonathan including the recent delegation led by Chief Anenih to his country home in Otta failed to convince the former president. Sunday Sun learnt that what finally sealed Obasanjo’s conviction against President Jonathan’s re-election ambition was the edging out of virtually all his (OBJ) loyalists in the PDP. “In several fora, Chief Obasanjo’s body language has shown that his support in 2015 would go to a northerner, ” he said. Opposition political parties last week turned the heat on President Jonathan over his directive to the PDP to widen the party’s grip on power by winning 32 states in the 2015 elections.

National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur recently described 2015 as a year of serious electoral battle which, the party must win in its desire to fast-track the process of change as envisioned by the transformation agenda of the present government. Tukur had asked every member of the party to brace up for the task of winning the next round of elections in Nigeria, as according to him, the PDP had President Jonathan’s mandate to widen its grip on power by winning no fewer than 32 states by 2015. Tukur made this known when a caucus of the party from the South West, led by Professor Taoheed Adedoja, paid him a visit at his residence in Abuja. He maintained that for the purpose of delivering the presidential mandate of winning more states without cutting corners during any election, the PDP members must close ranks and prove to the world that it has indeed, been the party with the widest spread in Nigeria. Meanwhile, the ACN which adopted the APC in a convention it held in Lagos on Thursday denounced the presidential mandate, saying that Jonathan and Tukur must begin to realise that Nigerians would not vote for them in 2015. National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said: “ They have been talking about plans to capture 32 states.

If you observe the lexicon of the PDP, you will see that there is nothing democratic about them. By the time Tukur and Jonathan wake up, they will realise that they have been living in a fool’s paradise because Nigerians have deserted them a very long time ago and no amount of coercion can make them achieve that kind of fathom ambition. “The only thing is that it probably confirms our fear that there may be no election in 2015 since they have been given a mandate to capture 32 states. They are not talking about elections. “Nigerians should be very, very wary. Don’t forget that last week, we raised the alarm that the way the Federal Government was going, there was no guarantee for free and fair elections. Nigerians should take note and be very, very vigilant but we want to assure Tukur and Jonathan that Nigerians will not vote for them in 2015.”