Buhari’s second term bid divides Accord Party

At a period when political parties in the country are organising and strategising toward their electoral success in the forth-coming general election next year, a major disagreement is erupting among leaders in the Accord Party (AP) across the country over the decision of some chieftains of the party to support the second term bid of incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

The decision however, runs counter to the wishes of some leaders of the party who had some months ago joined an alliance of 37 opposition parties who signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to contest the 2019 general election on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

At the signing of the MoU at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, the parties had agreed to work together under an umbrella as “Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP)” to unseat President Buhari.

Buhari last week secured the presidential ticket of the APC to fly the party’s flag at the 2019 general election; he was the sole candidate of the party in the primaries.

The president was reported to have polled 14, 842,072 votes in total across the federation.

However, the decision of the party leadership to renege on the earlier alliance entered into has not gone down well with some leaders in the party in the Southwest, who believe that the national chairman of the party and some national officers where putting their personal interest above the collective interest of majority leaders and have vowed never to support Buhari’s re-election bid.

A group in Ibadan was said to be piloting the support for the president; the group is alleged to be working with the national chairman of the party who hails from the same state and town with the President to realise the ambition.

A chieftain of the party in Lagos State and the party’s candidate for the Lagos State House of Assembly position in Ikeja constituency 1 in next year’s election, Niniola Adeola, told BDSUNDAY that the decision of some leaders of the party to support the president’s second term bid after they had approved the coalition would further divide the party ahead of the general election, while accusing the national chairman, Mohammed Nalado of master-minding the move.

“We are surprised because with the decision of the party leaders to back Buhari’s second term bid, after we had signed a memorandum to work with the PDP in the 2019 election, has created division within the party, some leaders in Ibadan group are also working with him. But here in Lagos we would not support Buhari.

However, Southwest leader of the party, Doyin Okupe, is said to be against such moves and was mobilising members of the party in Lagos, and Ogun to work for the presidential bid of Atiku Abubakar.

Okupe was recently disowned and accused of antiparty activities by Southwest leaders of the party, and for parading himself as the Southwest leader of the party.

But speaking recently, Okupe had accused the national leadership of the party of engaging in fraudulent activities, stressing that he was only interested in helping to rebuild the party.

“When I left the PDP a lot of people were wondering where I would go; a lot of my followers said I should go to APC, but I refused. I joined the Accord because I wanted to help reposition the party and that is what I have been doing. But some of the actions of the national leadership appear questionable,” Okupe said.

Lagos State chairman of the party, Femi Ikuomola, in an interview with BDSUNDAY, denied that there was any division in the party over the support for the president’s re-election bid, stressing that the party leaders were united and totally in support of Buhari’s second term bid.

“Well, division is normal in politics; some leaders may have gone on their own to sign an accord with the PDP which we are not in support of, but I can tell you that a lot of us are for Buhari. As am speaking with you now, I have the BoT leader with me now and we are all for Buhari.

“Some leaders are free to decamp, if they want but that is our position on the issue, go and meet with our leaders in Ibadan and this is what they would tell you,” he said.

Iniobong Iwok