Leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the South West have been called upon to learn how to manage their involvement in ‘slippery’ politics and crisis in the National Assembly in order to protect the region’s interest.
This advice was handed down by a former governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State, Ayobami Lam-Adesina, who added that the present political situation was strange to the country and that the South-South and the South-East, where the Peoples Democratic Party got most of its votes in the last general election, could replace the South-West in the present political set up, despite its contribution to the emergence of the APC as a mega party and its victory at the Presidential election.
He said: “We have never found ourselves in a position where the South-West will team up with the North to fight an incumbent President and dethrone him. In the past, we had regional parties but this is a new arrangement and even though I consider it not to be a big deal, I will call on South-West leaders in the APC to manage the situation carefully, especially after Femi Gbajabiamila lost out. It is however unfortunate that we found ourselves in a position where lawmakers fight themselves to win positions in the National Assembly.
“When the South-West ruled Nigeria, the North managed to play along with the region. It is time for the South-West leaders to understand the new politics and how to play it, irrespective of the contribution made towards the emergence of the APC as a mega party and now as a ruling party.”
According to Lam-Adesina, with many of the APC members from the North being former PDP members, it would be comfortable for them to turn to their former allies (PDP) from the South-South and the South-East to get what they want, especially if the position of the South-West did not suit their agitation.
“The South-West could lose out completely if the present situation is not well managed. Unfortunately, most of the present politicians from the zone have no years of experience to understand how to deal with a slippery situation like this. If the South-West is pushed aside, the South-East and the South-South are waiting to fill whatever vacuum that would be created.
“They are united by the PDP factor and they can easily trade that block votes with any other region to gain relevance in the Senate and House of Representatives. Already, they are doing it with success. We should not forget that majority of APC lawmakers from the North were in the PDP. They will be comfortable striking a deal with their former friends in the PDP.”
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