By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor & Omezia Ajayi

LAGOS—A clearer light on the configuration of the incoming national executive of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was last night unfolding with the influence of the Presidency being directed at three strategic offices of the 16 positions in the National Working Committee, NWC.

The interest of the presidency, Vanguard gathered was focused on the offices of National Chairman, National Secretary and National Organising Secretary.

In a game of give and take, the presidency, it was gathered, was ready to concede the other positions to the governors who were last night set for a meeting on how to share the remaining offices among themselves.

While the presidency’s preferred candidates for the offices of National Chairman and National Secretary in the persons of Mr Adams Oshiomhole and Mala Buni were clear to all, there was increasing confusion on the preference for the office of National Organising Secretary. Senator Osita Izunaso’s ascendancy was being challenged last night by political intrigues from the Southeast political zone.

Besides the bid by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State to stop the return of the senator, a third force in the person of Chief Chidi Nworgu emerged yesterday with the support of some former members of the House of Representatives.

Nworgu, himself a former member of the House of Representatives is being projected as a former ally of the late Senator Chuba Okadigbo, President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in the 2003 presidential election.

That association was, however, soundly rebuffed by associates of Senator Izunaso who accused the group of trying to ride on the president’s back.

The presidency’s interest in the three top positions Vanguard gathered may have been underpinned by the strategic roles of the three offices in the control of the party.

A party source said yesterday: “Oshiomhole is home and dry sir. He has the support of Presidency and majority if not all the APC governors.

Osunbor factor

“The little scare is Osunbor who is believed to have the backing of some few persons,” the source said in reference to the last minute aspiration of Senator Oserhienmen Osunbor, who preceded Oshiomhole as governor of Edo State.

“The governors control the party structures in their states. It will be more like a coronation ceremony on Saturday for Oshiomhole,” the source revealed.

While the chairman is the overall head of the party organisation, the national secretary runs the secretariat and administrative duties. The national organising secretary is the livewire of the party with the specific constitutional role to “devise appropriate strategies for elections and coordinate all field activities for the party,” as specified in article 14:14 of the party’s constitution.”

Besides Izunaso, who overcame the objections of Governor Okorocha to receive the endorsement of the Southeast caucus, many of the other members of the NWC were also facing stiff opposition on account of the objection of governors or other strategic stakeholders. The exceptions were Buni, the National Secretary and Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary.

The outgoing national vice-chairman, South-South, Ntufam Hillard Eta, Vanguard learned, is facing stiff objection from the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani who is believed to have a strong influence in the affairs of the party.

Even more, Eta’s aspiration was also being clouded by the aspiration of the former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Clement Ebri to be the national chairman.

Though Oshiomhole has emerged as the strong frontrunner, there were fears that should anything happen to torpedo the aspiration of the former Edo State governor, it would be out of place to put two men, Ebri and Eta, from Cross River bidding for national chairman and national vice chairman, South-South.

Though Eta and Ebri collaborated during the congresses to fight Usani, the two men, Vanguard gathered may have fallen out thereafter in the expression of their different aspirations.

Eta, who in recent times fell out with the mainstream of the NWC, was one of the early backers of Oshiomhole.

Oshiomhole

Meanwhile, some of the contenders challenging the members of the NWC were yesterday accusing those candidates seeking re-election of plotting to ingratiate themselves with the governors through drawing up a ‘unity list’ with the NWC members taking prominent positions.

Speaking on the issue, an aspirant to the office of the National Vice Chairman North-East, Dr. Umar Duhu, said no one has either convened a meeting in his zone nor invited aspirants for any meeting to discuss the issue of consensus.

According to him, “it will be laughable to suggest among others that, the meeting of APC Governors slated for Wednesday will produce the so-called unity list without recourse to the aspirants who are the most critical stakeholders.”

Duhu thus called on President Buhari to take charge “so that the APC convention will not become a crying shame under his watch.”

Another aspirant to the office of National Youth Leader, who pleaded not to be named said: “Any attempt by the party to select some contestants as favourite candidates will be met with serious resistance at the convention venue.”

Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, a member of the media sub-committee of the National Convention Committee, NCC had told newsmen Monday night that there would be no unity list.

“The bottom line is that this convention is going ahead. And we hear of the existence of a unity list. This is not true; there is no unity list. But of course consensus is allowed, affirmation is allowed. And of course, as I said, some people are running unopposed. There’s no such list as Unity list; if you see any list, it is a fake list.”

While making his aspiration for the position of national organising secretary public at a press conference yesterday, Nwogu promised to be a bridge between the executive and legislature, saying he is offering himself as an instrument of unification and realization of the cardinal objectives of the party.

“I shall bring to the table my record of impeccable character, integrity, team-spirit, humility, effectiveness, and commitment with a view to repositioning our party to sustain its lead as the number one political party in the country. I shall fashion strategies for the mobilization of members from the polling unit, ward, LGA, state and national levels for increased participation in party activities with a view to deepening democracy at all levels in the polity”, he said.