Expdonaloaded News; How APC governors facilitated Buhari’s election

As Nigerians look forward to the inauguration of an opposition-led Federal Government for the first time in the country, it would not be out of place to trace the genesis of the events that culminated in that feat.

In retrospect, the roles played by governors under the umbrella of the All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot be over-emphasised. It is on record that the APC governors played a prominent role in the merger that led to the formation of the mega party–APC. As a matter of fact, the merger arrangement were muted and promoted by the governors using their networks through the famous Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), to reach out to other colleagues in the other parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in late 2011.
In addition to that, the formation of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), a platform for opposition governors played a significant role in strengthening the alliance. It is an open secret that the seed that germinated and grew to form the PGF was sown by the trio of Abdulaziz Yari, of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) from Zamfara  State; Alhaji Tanko Almakura of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), from Nassarawa State and Dr John Kayode Fayemi (JKF), of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Ekiti State.
The trio, no doubt, were the arrowheads of the PGF in their respective political parties then and with time, the alliance was solidified to become a fertile ground for the new alliance to germinate.
It is on record that the PGF’s first meeting was held in Lagos on February 5, 2013 and hosted by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Raji fashola (SAN). By extension, the PGF as a power bloc in the Nigeria Governor’s Forum (NGF) played a significant role in strengthening the Forum as a formidable force capable of challenging the ruling PDP. It was through their growing influence that they were able to determine the direction of the NGF’s last election where Governor Amaechi of Rivers State defeated Jonah Jang of Plateau State who was the Presidency’s adopted candidate for the position. Although the Jang faction later formed a parallel NGF, it was obvious that the PGF had used that singular election to test its strength and make a statement.post by expdonaloaded.blogspot.com..Kayode Fayemi’s managerial ability was brought to the fore when he served as Amaechi’s Canpaign Manager at the election. And in the bid to canvass for Ameachi’s re-election as NGF chair, the campaign team entered into alliance with some PDP governors, especially the G7.Two events were remarkable in the conduct of the NGF election: The use of telephone jammer, a device which was installed in the venue of the election and which jammed every telephone line within 50 meters radius at the venue. Through this the Presidency could not get in touch with the governors and as such could not influence their decision. None of the governors could be reached on phone once they entered the premises of the election. And the recording of the proceedings of the election and the leakage of the video to the public also helped the pro-Amaechi governors.
Interestingly however, one of the governors who did the recording with his telephone’s camera device did so just to catch fun. But immediately the pro-Jang governors left the venue and started granting interviews that the election never took place, the video footings became handy as a major tool. The video was downloaded by the governor and made available to the public. The revelation from the video helped to debunk claims by Governor Olusegun Mimiko and other pro-Jang governors that the election never held. The video showed the process of the election, the counting and the eventual declaration of Amaechi as winner. The decision of the then President Jonathan to back the Jang-led faction also boomeranged because of the revelation of the video. The video also helped some governors to openly identify with Amaechi once it was realised that their position had been captured in the video.
The fallout of the election paved the way for the G7 to declare its romance with opposition publicly. Within weeks of intense lobbying and the failure of the PDP leadership, five of the G7 governors defected to the opposition and thus gave APC16 states governors at formation.
The APC governors, who were so resolute and determined to wrest power from the PDP played leading roles in the consolidation of the merger plans. It was the APC governors under the umbrella of the PGF that chose the name, APC, which was later approved and adopted by the merger committee.
The PGF meetings in Maiduguri later harmonised the logos of the three merging parties, ACN, ANPP and CPC, while the meeting in Nassarawa state recommended the slogan – CHANGE!
Political observers and social analysts believe that the outstanding performances and landmarks achievements of many of the governors in their respective states also contributed immensely to the acceptability of the new party.
The governors also played a significant roles at the party’s convention and in the emergence of its national leaders. They were particular on the kind of leadership the party should have at the national level and worked assiduously towards realising that the right candidates emerged.
The story would not be complete without mentioning their significant roles in the funding of the new party, especially the convention as well as the presidential primaries where they were responsible for the expenses of their respective state delegates.
The litmus test for the party was the presidential convention which was expertly handled, once again by the former Governor of Ekiti State, John Kayode Fayemi, who was the convention’s committee chairman. The convention, which remains the talk of the town till date, was regarded as the best organised convention in the country. And it is not a gaingsaying that, the success of the election assisted to give the APC campaign a great deal of credibility. It must be noted that the convention was well supported by the government of Lagos state as Babatunde Raji Fashola (BRF), deployed massive logistics, resources and personnel to ensure the success of the convention which took place at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Sirulere, Lagos.
Even when some of the presidential aspirants of the party were sceptical about the choice of Lagos, the governors encouraged them to accept its choice because of the massive support promised them by the Lagos state government which they may not enjoy in other state. And truly, delegates and other stakeholders present had no cause to coplain as the state offered them unequalled form of hospitality.
The convention committee, under the able leadership of Fayemi, also assured the aspirants of level-playing field and got all of them to nominate a representative each to the convention committee so that they would have first hand information on the activities of the committee and also report back to them. This proved a master stroke and it increased the aspirants’ confidence in the process adopted by the Fayemi-led committee.
Despite the fact that two of the governors contested the presidential primaries against General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB), majority of the governors supported GMB candidacy. After GMB’s  emergence as flag bearer of the party, the governors wanted one of them as running mate to GMB. The prominent names were Amaechi, Fayemi, Fashola and Adams Oshiomhole.  But when the lot fell on Professor Yemi Osinbajo (PYO), they bowed to party supremacy and supported the GMB/PYO ticket.
While Amaechi emerged the Director General (DG), of the presidential campaign and ran an excellent and well structured campaign, Fashola was head of directorate for finance while Fayemi was head of Policy, Research and Strategy directorate.
And not a few political observers admitted that, the emergence of Buhari through a transparent convention handled by Fayemi, solid campaign directed by Amaechi and crucial logistic support from Fashola as well as overwhelming determination and dedication to the APC mantra ‘CHANGE,’ by the party’s governors that led to the sweeping away the sitting government, first in the anal of the 55 years old Nigeria.

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