-By Gbenga Bright
Today makes it exactly a year to the 2023 presidential election, we are still not sure of which electoral law will fly. INEC has said if after Tuesday, next week, the President is yet to sign or signed after the day, they may be forced to shift 2023 poll dates. Meanwhile, the party of Mr. President, which is APC, is not yet sure may be it convention will hold or not on the slated date. Nigerians are shouting and calling on Mr President to sign the electoral bill so that both INEC and political parties can work out their plans ahead of time. Unfortunately, the APC top echelons are confronted with the battles of who control the soul and structure of the party.
Even though the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has yet to blow the whistle to signal the start of electioneering, actors have begun to beat the drum.
The Nigeria courts are currently littered with political cases with the ruling APC topping the chart.
The opposition PDP have there internal crisis too, but one we see the level of coordination put in place by it leadership. For real, PDP had a successful convention which produces democratically elected officials – National Executive Council, already have a standing-BOT, NWC, and other party organs that are functioning despite being in opposition. The governors under PDP are proactive in governance, party management as well as giving the required leadership direction for the party at all levels.
All these aforementioned party organs are absent in APC until recently when state congresses were organized. A ruling party being administered by a caretaker committee since June 2020 sparks some light of unseriousness.
All these political gbònmisi, omi ‘ koto (bitter rivalry) in the ruling APC were results of crisis arising from the party congresses across the state which produces close to 50 state party chairmen out of 36 states of Nigeria. Guns are already booming in most part of the country with Osun State currently taking the lead. Political war between the incumbent governor and the former governor who happens to be a serving minister.
From Rivers to Kano, Zamfara to Lagos, Ekiti to Ebonyi, Kwara to Kebbi, it has been one attack or the other. APC swims so much in crisis that they have repeatedly shifted convention dates and still hope to shift the February 26 date.
How can Nigeria progress under such party with glaring deficiencies in party management?
One wonders what kind of leadership they wish together further provide if given another chance in 2023. I doubt if Nigerians will be willing to embrace another adulterated govt and governance.
For sure, Nigerians will do justice to that when the time comes.