Some group of people are trying to destroy the long relataionship between Tinubu and Buhari

A source within the party told firstclass newsline over the weekend
that some ex-governors, Buhari's associates and mutinous party members
from the South-West are trying to whittle down the influence that the
national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will have on the
incoming government.
Tinubu, the party's undisputed leader in the South-West, is widely
feted as the force behind the merger of all the major opposition
parties in the country which led to the emergence of the APC as
Nigeria's major opposition party.
On several occasions, Buhari, who defeated President Goodluck Jonathan
in the March 28 presidential elections, winning 15,424,921 votes to
Jonathan's 12 853,162 votes, has also acknowledged the efforts of the
former governor of Lagos State, fondly referred to as Jagaban by his
admirers.
However, multiple sources within the party told firstclass newsline
that the relationship between the duo might have become strained in
recent times as some forces within the party are bent on making Buhari
to see Tinubu in another light.
Some powerbrokers within the party, some of whom are trusted by the
president-elect, are said to be mounting pressure on him to reassess
his ties with the APC national leader. These powerbrokers are also
said to be questioning Tinubu's and the South West's contributions to
Buhari's election victory.
Recently, at a public function, the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwanu Akiolu,
gave indications of the strained relationship between the duo, even as
he asked people to pray that Tinubu's "labour" would not be wasted.
"All Lagos residents should pray that the labour of Tinubu should not
be in vain. A lot of things have been happening now. Some people have
been telling Buhari all sorts of things. Awujale (Paramount Ruler of
Ijebuland) and I have decided to meet Buhari because Lagos and South
West states must benefit from the General Buhari administration," he
said.
Reliable sources within the party however told firstclass newsline
that the gang up against the party leader started before the party's
victory at the elections.
One of the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told
firstclass newsline that those opposed to Tinubu within the party
first moved against the national leader during the APC's national
convention in June last year.
According to him, some ex-governors and other high-ranking members of
the party backed a former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva,
against Tinubu's candidate, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.
The source, who is an associate of the national leader, said, "Even
before Buhari emerged as the party's presidential candidate, some
people in the party, particularly the governors and some ex-governors,
wanted another candidate as chairman. They were totally opposed to
Odigie-Oyegun who was Tinubu's choice. They believed that if they
succeeded in getting their man as the chairman, they would have more
control of the party, but they failed."
The source added that the same scenario played out during the party's
presidential primaries. "It is not a secret: initially, the same group
of people in the APC were totally opposed to Asiwaju's choice of
Buhari. They wanted either former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar or
Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State. When you look at it
critically, their choice of these candidates then was not based on any
fundamental reason but just to oppose Tinubu and gain more ground in
the party. It is funny that some of them who now move around with
Buhari were totally against his candidature as APC's flag bearer," he
said.
But the source ended his chat with firstclass newsline by saying, "We
are optimistic that Buhari and Tinubu will manage their relationship
well. They will not allow anyone to come between them."
Another source within the party cited an incident during Buhari's
February Chatham House event in London as an example of the high level
intra-party politics playing out within the party.
The source said both camps jostled to take the credit for producing
the speech delivered by Buhari at Chatham House knowing that the
speech would give the then APC presidential candidate a huge mileage
within the international community.
The source said just before the event, a senior party member who is
also a former governor of a South-West state, had rushed in to write
the President-elect's speech. The said ex-governor also presented the
speech to the president-elect.
He said, "Not knowing that a speech had been prepared, the national
leader asked if Buhari's speech was ready. He was told that the
ex-governor had written it and given it to Buhari. Tinubu was not
happy because he knew nothing about the speech despite being one of
the party's top strategists. He asked that the speech be sent to him
as a condition for him to attend the event. When he eventually got it,
he turned it down because he felt the speech did not represent
Buhari's and the APC's ideals properly.
"He then asked a team of experts to write another speech for Buhari.
Asiwaju had to explain to Buhari why he felt the initial speech
written by the former governor was not good enough."
Asked why some of the party leaders appeared to be vehemently opposed
to Tinubu, the source said, "Most of the people that have a grouse
with our national leader believe he is too controlling and he's not
allowing them have a say. But they can express their grievances
through better ways," he said.
But as the inauguration day draws near, sources say the selection of
ministers and top government officials for the new government is the
newest phase of the battle of influence that is rocking the party.
The source said, "The battle has now shifted to the selection of
Buhari's new cabinet. Many of those opposed to Tinubu in the party
have presented themselves and others as candidates. (Some of these
people are from the South-West).
"There is another sub-group made up of northerners, mostly, Fulanis.
They have been touting themselves as Buhari's closest associates since
he won the elections. We've heard them say that the North was the
dominant factor in Buhari's win and that even though the South-West
voted for him, the North donated the majority votes.
"But they are making a mistake because if President Jonathan had won
all the South-West states, Buhari's victory would have been hard to
come by. They also forget that it was on the platform of the APC that
Buhari emerged President. If not for the merger, Buhari wouldn't have
won. He tried to win on the platform of the CPC in 2011, but it wasn't
successful.
"Having seen that their tactics of spreading bad rumours about Tinubu
to Buhari is not working, they are now playing the ethnic card to
divide them. Sadly, some of our ex-governors from the South-West and
South-South have joined them to play this ethnic card."
When asked how the national leader of the party was fighting back,
another highly-placed source within the party said Nigerians should
wait for the list of ministers.
"We are not in government yet but some people are making trouble
underground. Anyway, the ministerial list will put them in check. They
are following Buhari all over the place and trying to cause
disaffection between him and Tinubu but it will yield nothing.
Unfortunately for them, Buhari is not likely to have ministers of
states so it narrows their chances of getting appointments. Some of
our party members particularly from the South-West are in for a
surprise when the ministerial list is out."
Contacted on Saturday, a former National Publicity Secretary of the
defunct Congress for Progressive Change, one of the parties that
formed the APC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said Tinubu was bound to have
opposition from within the party due to his political influence.
He reminded those who were challenging his authority in the party that
the former Governor of Lagos State was one of the arrowheads of APC's
formation and the party's victory at the 2015 general election.
Fashakin said, "In any gathering of human beings, you are bound to
have people showing disapproval and disaffection about others; that is
normal. The APC is not an exception. It is usually like that. Some
people will say 'what is his own? He is having too much influence. Is
it only him?"
He, however, asked those who were opposed to Tinubu to consider the
positive roles he had played in the party.
"During the electioneering, the PDP knew the people that were
strategic to its electoral misfortune and the need to go after such
individuals. One of them was Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Did you see
the hate documentary that was produced and aired to disparage him at
that time?
"The individuals talking now (against Tinubu) were not put under such
scurrilous attacks. Did they experience such? Whatever they may say,
when the history of APC is written, you cannot wish away what Tinubu
has done," Fashakin added.
A former Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Professor Tam David-West,
one of Buhari's biggest loyalists, also told firstclass newsline that
there was nobody in the APC, no matter how influential he might be,
that could influence the incoming President's decisions.
He said, I don't want to comment on it because I know it is not
possible. Nobody can influence General Buhari. I know him."
When contacted, the Director of Media and Publicity in the APC
Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mr. Garba Shehu, described the
moves by the individuals as a party issue. "It is a party issue, speak
to Lai Mohammmed," he said.
The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Lai Mohamed did not
pick the calls made to his phone neither did he respond to the text
messages sent to him by our correspondent.
Firstclassnewsline.net