Fresh Crisis Hits APC As Aregbesola, Kalu, Nnamani Removed From Presidential Campaign

Fresh crisis has hit the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as close political allies, and ranking members of the party have been removed from the revised list of the presidential campaign council, PCC.

THE WHISTLER reports that the amended PCC list was released on Wednesday evening by the party’s National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore.

A detailed examination of the PCC’s new composition revealed that former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola had been dropped.

Aregbesola is the Minister of Interior in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet and, until recently, was one of Tinubu’s closest political allies.

He orchestrated Tinubu’s election in 1999 as the Director of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Campaign Organisation, BATCO, and later used an independent campaign organisation to re-elect him in 2003.

Aregbesola was elected governor of Osun State through their alliance and served two terms before being appointed minister.

However, the alliance was thrown into disarray as a result of their political differences in Osun. Aregbesola unsuccessfully sought to get his ally on the ballot as the APC candidate for the 2022 Osun Governorship election, as opposed to Tinubu’s cousin, the current governor, Adegoyega Oyetola.

This prompted multiple attacks on Tinubu as his followers abandoned Oyetola, resulting in his defeat by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Ademola Adeleke.

However, all appeared to be well once Aregbesola, who is regarded as Tinubu’s most powerful ally in Lagos’ heavily populated Alimosho district, was included in the previous 422 PCC list.

However, the new names revealed that the minister’s name is notably absent, indicating that the crisis that plunged into cold war is far from resolved.

Surprisingly, Orji Kalu, a self-proclaimed Tinubu supporter and mobilizer from the Southeast, has been dropped.

Kalu had campaigned for Senate President Ahmad Lawan, who was also running for the APC presidential nomination.

He did, however, declare his support for Tinubu’s presidential quest and began campaigning, which resulted in his name being included to the PCC.

It’s unclear why his name was removed from the amended list.

Former Enugu State governor Chimaroke Nnamani and former Edo State commissioner for information Kassim Afegbua are among those whose names have been removed.

The initial list released by PCC Secretary James Faleke in September, which plunged the party into disarray, included both Nnamani and Afegbua, who are not APC members.

Nnamani, a serving senator on the PDP platform, generated controversy with contradictory statements from the APC, while refusing to withdraw his name from the list.

He remains the Senatorial candidate of the PDP in the 2023 senatorial election.

Afegbua, who was the spokesman for the PDP presidential campaign in support of Atiku in the 2019 election, was also dropped, despite his opposition to Atiku’s re-emergence, claiming it was the turn of the South.

His tough stance led to his exit from the party as he said he will support a candidate from the South. He eventually backed Tinubu, who’s stoutly supported by Adams Oshiomhole, who appointed him commissioner in Edo State.

Kalu, who is the Senate chief whip, has been replaced by the party’s governorship candidate in the state, Ikechi Emenike, who by the development emerged the sole Tinubu Campaign Coordinator for Abia.

Afegbua who was included in the initial list as secretary of the public affairs directorate has been replaced with Gideon Obakahan.

Our Correspondent had reported that to pacify the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, he has been named the Deputy Chairman in the campaign while Tinubu emerged Deputy Chairman 2.

Despite being three weeks into the campaign, the APC has yet to launch their presidential campaign.