When the once unthinkable quarrel between former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso and his successor, Abdullahi Ganduje broke out, it was easy for the camp of the incumbent governor to cite the alleged 2019 aspiration of Kwankwanso as the reason for the spite. Beyond the quarrel in Kano, there are many other reasons insiders in the All Progressives Congress; APC, are now pushing President Muhammadu Buhari to give indication on his 2019 agenda.

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

How President Muhammadu Buhari came to divide the 16-year union between Kwankwaso and Ganduje is still a mystery to many.

Ganduje had served as deputy to Kwankwanso between 1999 and 2003, and after their loss to Ibrahim Shekarau, who won on the coattails of Buhari in the 2003 election, Ganduje served as Kwankwaso’s special adviser while the latter was the minister of defence between 2003 and 2006.

When he returned to power in 20011, Ganduje was again his faithful deputy who eventually succeeded Kwankwanso in 2015.

But what broke the cordiality between both veteran politicians remains a matter of conjecture though the Ganduje camp would want the public to believe that Kwankwanso’s famed 2019 presidential aspiration as the reason.

As the governor said earlier this month following the noisy Kwankwanso condolence visit to him, 2019 remains the issue.

Obvious weaknesses

•Oyegun and Buhari

“The people of Kano are ready to fight any politician apart from Buhari that is eyeing the presidential seat come 2019. Whoever challenges Buhari, you the people of Kano should deal with him politically! You should show him that Kano is meant for no other person than Buhari,” the governor was quoted as saying.

Kwankwanso was quick to rebuke his successor and charge him not to use Buhari’s name to cover for what he described as the governor’s “obvious weaknesses.”

The former governor, however, did not disavow a 2019 presidential run.

Kwankwanso, a former governor, former member of the House of Representatives, minister and now senator, like many other kingmakers is waiting in the wings for what options Buhari would take on 2019.

Not surprisingly, the wait on Buhari is having a crippling effect on the politics of the party with party chieftains not knowing how their actions could compromise them before the president.

Besides the fight between Kwankwanso and Ganduje, some other internal squabbles are believed to be directly related to the aspiration for ascendancy by internal groups within the party.

Many of the internal disputes have inevitably hindered the internal workings of the party and in the view of some may have also negatively impacted on the chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun who is apparently caught between many of the powerful fighting blocs.

The conflict between the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki and the powerful Southwest bloc in the party is also directly related to 2019.

Saraki it is acknowledged was opposed by the Southwest bloc mainly because of insinuations by the powerful leaders of the caucus that given the position of Senate President that he, Saraki would use it to actualise his “plans” for the presidency in 2019.

The opposition was despite the fact that Saraki even before the 2015 APC primaries withdrew himself from the contest in deference to Buhari.

The internal squabbles have in a way also paralysed the workings of some of the organs of the party, notably, the Board of Trustees and the National Executive Committee, NEC, which have met quite infrequently.

Even the BoT has yet to be formally inaugurated mainly on account of the failure of the party’s leading chieftains to agree on a chairman of the board who would not use the position to project either his own or the interest of his bloc towards 2019.

Atiku, who had been projected for the chairmanship of the BoT, is now said to be no longer keen on it and would only take up the position if it is offered to him without a contest.

“Atiku’s life does not revolve around politics,” a very close associate told Vanguard last Sunday while he was on the way to the Abuja airport to welcome the former vice-president back to the country from a business trip overseas.

It is also not surprising that governors and other stakeholders with an interest in controlling the party are said not to be keen to fund the party.

Internal contentions

The governors are said to be keen on finding a replacement for Odigie-Oyegun with the intention of having someone they can control perhaps ahead of 2019.

Party insiders believe that the president should be prevailed upon to declare his intention to run in 2019 as such a declaration would squash the internal contentions that are now dividing the party.

“The time for President Muhammadu Buhari to signal his intention to contest the 2019 presidency is now. That will largely lay to rest the political schemings by the Tinubu and Atiku camps.

As a matter of fact, the APC administration requires more than a four-year term to repair the damage caused by the 16-year misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” a party source revealed.

Remarkably, the various contenders in the party have one way or the other cast their ill-luck or the good fortune of their rivals to alleged actions of the party chairman, Chief Odigie-Oyegun.

It is a difficult position for the chairman who has had to manage the different political tendencies and that without derailing the overall change mantra of the Buhari administration.