State governors’ display of enormous powers can be linked to the crises rocking the two major political parties in the country, DIRISU YAKUBU writes
They wield enormous powers and with their exemption from being prosecuted owing to constitutional immunity; they are the closest replicas of emperors in today’s world. Governors in Nigeria are aware of their place in the determination of who gets what, when and how. Aware that they are “President” of their respective states, they spare no effort in demonstrating their near absolutism in the exercise of power and authority.
At the height of the feud, which nearly cost them a second term in office, President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice-President Atiku Abubakar realised, albeit differently, how governors can make or break presidential ambitions. While a politically smarter Atiku with an eye on his boss seat had cultivated a healthy relationship with governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party; an indifferent Obasanjo with a bossy disposition towards the state executives had to quickly retrace his steps by begging Atiku on bended knees to perish his ambition. It was a lesson learnt the hard way.
The victory of the All Progressives Congress in 2015 not only at the centre but in many states of the federation, offered a glimpse of hope that at least, governors would begin to act with a bit of moderation compared to the past. This was more so as the promise of change by the party elicited hope of the audacious type in the consciousness of many Nigerians.
Since its formation in 2013, the APC has had as its national chairmen Bisi Akande, John Oyegun, Adams Oshiomhole, Mai Buni, Sani Bello, and the incumbent, Abdullahi Adamu. Apart from Akande, all others with the exception of Adamu, were forced out by high stake intrigues orchestrated by the governors.
Pundits agree that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had to consult the APC governors before the party conducted its elective convention to pick Adamu as its chairman. With the statutory delegates ruled out for the convention, the governors had a big say on who got what in the National Working Committee.
Back in their respective states, the governors wield their big influence to whip members of state assemblies in line after gifting them exotic cars, living quarters or both in most cases. In the end, separation of powers, a critical element of federalism, takes the back stage as lawmakers find it difficult to take a firm position against their benefactor governors.
In the build-up to the 2019 general elections, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State showed the world how powerful a state chief executive could be in matters pertaining to party administration. Seen as a great financier of the PDP, the governor had worked behind the scene to ensure that the 2018 presidential primary was held in Port Harcourt, the state capital. A certain Atiku Abubakar had other ideas as he engineered a subtle campaign that could have seen the convention held elsewhere.
A furious Wike, in response, vowed to “teach the PDP a lesson,” should the party settle for a city other than Port Harcourt. Not prepared for a backlash, the Uche Secondus-led NWC took the event to the Garden City to the consternation of millions of Nigerians, many of whom argued that the party ought to have ignored the threat by Wike.
The crisis currently rocking the main opposition party is largely connected with state governors led by Wike, who believe that without their support, the PDP stands no chance of winning the 2023 presidential poll.
Like Wike, governors Seyi Makinde, Okezie Ikpeazu, Samuel Ortom and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Oyo, Abia, Benue and Enugu states, respectively, have literally withheld their support for the party until the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, leaves his seat.
Atiku and other chieftains of the party have met several times with Wike’s camp, offered concessions and made promises, but the governors are adamant that only Ayu’s removal will be good enough to see them return to the Presidential Campaign Council’s fold.
Huge financial sacrifices have been made flying top party chieftains to meet with the aforementioned governors all in a bid to resolve the crisis, but for Wike and his loyalists, a deal is not close until Ayu returns to his Maitama, Abuja residence in a forced or voluntary retirement.
Some ex-governors are not left out of the sheer absurdity. The crisis that is brewing in the South-West PDP is partly informed by former governor Ayo Fayose’s insistence that he be recognised as the leader of the party in the zone. Not prepared to have that, Makinde called his bluff, arguing that as a sitting governor, no one merited the honour more than him. It took close to a year for the party to regain a sense of direction when Fayose finally embraced the leadership of the Oyo State governor.
Worth mentioning here is the widely reported fallout between the then APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, and the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki. Once friends and allies, Oshiomhole handpicked Obaseki as his successor, but they soon fell out with the governor openly complaining of how he was not allowed to have a say in federal appointments coming to the state.
With Oshiomhole succeeding Oyegun as the APC chair, it soon became glaring that Obaseki had to look elsewhere for a ticket if he was interested in a second term in office. The investment banker-turned politician was shocked when he was denied the opportunity to participate in the primary election of his then party, the APC, by the national chairman.
In a rare show of uncommon solidarity, governors, regardless of party affiliation, lined behind one of their own, who had then crossed over to the PDP. In the election, Oshiomhole and the APC candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, suffered severe electoral defeat even in APC strongholds. Both men have remained in political oblivion, with their future now facing uncertainty.
Following the composition of its Presidential Campaign Council, the APC has been engulfed in internal wrangling and Tinubu is now set to appoint more members to provide jobs for governors’ boys.
Speaking on the growing influence of state governors, Haruna Abdullahi, a member of the 2019 APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, said the state chief executives needed to realise that they were holding power in trust for the people.
He stated, “They should know that they are in power for the sake of the people. They are not there because they are the most educated or influential. Every four years, they seek votes from the common man to become governors. They are supposed to use this power moderately. The fact that they are shielded from prosecution while in office is also an issue that needs to be addressed.
“Some of them, who were very powerful yesterday, have had cause to answer questions on their stewardship. A few of them were found guilty and jailed. Those in office today should know that every new day is one day less of whatever is left of their tenure.”
On his part, a lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, said the excesses of governors could be checked “through the well known principles of party supremacy and party discipline,” emphasising that “the tail can’t wag the dog and an agent cannot be greater than the master.”
In what is fast becoming a trend, governors who completed the constitutional two terms often see the Senate as their retirement home. Incumbent Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, is set to make a return to the Senate in 2023 with insinuations making the rounds that he has been offered the Senate presidency in the event of Atiku’s victory.
The travails of Senate President Ahmed Lawan has been traced to the Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, who on realising that he had purchased the presidential Expression of Interest and Nomination forms, quickly got the barely known Bashir Machina to declare interest in the Yobe North Senatorial District seat. Lawan lost at the primaries to Tinubu and his attempt to make Machina act as a placeholder failed. After several efforts to reclaim the ticket proved abortive, including legal options, the Senate President recently accepted his fate.
In his contribution, Asukwo Archibong, a good governance advocate and 2019 presidential candidate of the defunct Nigeria for Democracy argued that the weakness in the nation’s democratic system largely contributed to the powers the governors boast of today.
“The power of governors revolves round access to state funds and lack of accountability. Simply put, corruption and immunity gives power to governors. They tend to use state funds for electioneering purposes without facing any severe consequences. Because of the easy availability of state funds, they are generally thought to be able to deliver their states for their parties’ presidential candidates,” he stated.
Archibong pointed out the many ways loopholes in the polity were being exploited by governors to their maximum advantage, saying, “With money, they also influence who is elected into the National Working Committees of their parties.
“The withdrawal of a governor’s support for a candidate in either an intra-party election or a general election can signal the end of the candidate’s political ascent. In the current crises in both the PDP and the APC, the withdrawal of a governor’s support can negatively affect the prospects of the party’s presidential candidate in the poll,” he added.
A former Edo State Commissioner for Information and until recently a member of the PDP, Kassim Afegbua, told our correspondent that happenings in his former party were fallout of political treachery by a powerful figure, stating, “The PDP crisis is a product of injustice and political manipulation that gave birth to Atiku’s emergence as the candidate. Today, the PDP is skewed against the South.
“The presidential candidate, director-general of the campaign council, the chairman of the party and the spokesmen are all from the North. Meanwhile, the party is stronger in the South with nine governors than the North with five governors. The real cause of the PDP crisis is lack of internal cohesion, injustice, false promises, empty rhetoric, pretences and dishonesty on the part of those who are dictating the fate of the party.”
He commended governors elected on the platform of the ruling party for walking their talk in ceding the party’s presidential ticket to the South, saying, “The APC, to the best of my knowledge, is not in crisis. The APC governors are talking of inclusion. That’s fair enough. The fact that the APC governors recognised the need to cede the presidency to the South is enough reason for me to celebrate them. They are different from the man who says he’s a unifier, but cannot unite his party. Isn’t that ridiculous and contradictory?”
On his part, a political commentator, Jackson Ojo, said in the past, leaders knew their places in party administration, noting, “What we had then was the supremacy of the party. The national chairman of the party was the leader of the party; the state chairman was the leader of the party in the state.
“This particular political experiment we are going through now started in 1998 when Solomon Lar was the National Chairman of the PDP. The principle of the supremacy of the party was in place. Immediately former President Olusegun Obasanjo was voted for, he changed it. And that does not mean that it is reflected in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“So, they changed it to the principle of the highest office holder of the party to be the leader of the party, meaning that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the leader of his own political party. The state governors became the leaders of their parties in their own respective states. At the local government level, the chairman is the leader of the party.”
Ojo added, “In Nigeria today, what they call the governors’ forum has given them undue influence and enormous powers such that they can even take on the President and dictate to him. However, the President is the Commander-in-Chief and national leader of the party even though the states have more power because without the states, there will be no President. They are the ones that control power at the people’s level.
“When you look at it extensively, you will discover that there is no state today where a governor is not dictating how the local governments are to be run. The governors handpick local government chairmen and appoint an electoral committee, which will now dictate the outcome of the local elections.
“You will discover also that the ward, local government and state levels are being controlled by the governors. So, by the time they come out as a united force, they can even frustrate the effort of the President. Nigerian governors today are more powerful than other governors across the world.
“They are so powerful and there’s nothing anybody can do except the National Assembly enacts a law that will put the principle of the supremacy of the party, which allows for the state chairman of the party to be the leader of the party at the state level. Before the switch in the system, a national chairman could sit somewhere and invite the President or any governor for questioning, but that cannot happen now. If the governors today are united in a bid to remove the President, they will do even more than the National Assembly.”
A chieftain of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Anthony Sani, is of the opinion that Nigerians must demand accountability from their leaders at all times. He said, “Given the nature of politics and how power affects ideals, how power affects people in power and also how power affects people upon whom power is exercised; the only way to check the executive power of governors is for Nigerians to make judicious use of their democratic rights and ensure that votes count so that the ensuing leaders will be accountable to the voters.”
As long as the governors continue to wield unrestrained powers, the parties on which platform they are elected will be at their beck and call. And until the parties devise means of self-funding, governors will remain emperors whose orders must be carried out to the letters by party leaders and supporters.
