from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – THE factionalism in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has been lamented as a threat to democracy as Nigeria heads for general elections next year.
In power since 2015 in Africa’s largest country by population, APC is beset by internal tussles, which have culminated in the reported dismissal of Mai Mala Buni as its national chairman.
It is reported President Muhammadu Buhari approved the dismissal of the terror-prone Yobe State after allegations he was “working against the interest of the party.”
Niger State governor, Abubakar Bello, has been mentioned as his successor.
This comes amid the battle to succeed Buhari, who is term-limited and cannot seek re-election to a third term in 2023.
Polls are set for February that year but primaries are scheduled for between April and June 2022.
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has raised concern at the instability in the ruling party.
Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, urged APC “to end the confusion in the party and be an example of due process and high regard for laws of the land in effecting leadership change at all levels of the party.”
“If APC is not adequately checked by both INEC and the judiciary, the party will definitely derail the country’s democracy through its many procedural pitfalls in the operations and administration of the party.”
INEC is the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The presidency of Nigeria is an emotive issue in the ethnically-diverse West African nation of over 200 million people.
It was synonymous with military coups until the advent of civilian rule in 1999.
Buhari was a military leader in the early 1980s but was himself toppled.
He was re-elected in 2015 in elections that saw the opposition wresting power for the first time.
– CAJ News