IMPEACHMENT:Â Facts have emerged that the face-off between Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode may disintegrate the ruling APC in Lagos.
The present crisis will either make of mar APC chances in the 2019 governorship election.
Impeachment plots against Governor Akinwunmi Ambode
Impeachment plots against Ambode started swirling around political meetings around Lagos House and the State House of Assembly on Tuesday.
The governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Haruna, however, dismissed the reports of impeachment simply saying “it is not true.â€
Emissaries sent by Ambode to Tinubu had been shut out, making the resolution of the Ambode crisis difficult.
The situation left many political stakeholders in the lurch, with many saying that they were confused.
This was mainly caused by the fact that Tinubu as at last night had not made a pronouncement.
However, the body language of the national leader was reflected by the fact that many of his trusted aides were said to have gravitated towards Sanwo-Olu.
One source said: “It is difficult to say anything right now really but it is true that some people have collected forms for Jide Sanwo-Olu. And if he has collected the forms, it means he has the blessing of Asiwaju.
He would not have collected the forms without Asiwaju’s blessing.â€
It was leant that though efforts were being made for reconciliation, it was gathered that the face-off worsened seriously on Monday after Ambode went to Abuja to collect the APC governorship form.
He was said to have obtained the form without a full reconciliation with Tinubu.
After collecting the form, Ambode proceeded to make a public declaration at the Old Task Force Ground, Alausa, Ikeja, without the obvious presence of chieftains and leaders of the party.
The fact that the declaration was not done at the party headquarters at Acme Road, Ogba, in Lagos sent negative signals as to the possibility of his estrangement from the Tinubu mainstream in his re-election bid, a source said.
Few of the local government chairmen who attended the declaration left midway and some even left before the ceremony started at 4.00 p.m. on Monday.
Before the declaration ceremony, chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the APC, Babatunde Balogun had held a closed-door meeting with all the 57 local government chairmen at the party’s Acme Road office before they later dispersed and shunned the governor’s declaration ceremony.
It was reliably learnt that the party members were currently confused and are awaiting the declaration from Asiwaju Tinubu.
Ambode weighing options Ambode yesterday summoned a closed-door meeting of some of his top associates at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, in order to weigh the options for the governor.
The outcome of the meeting could not be deciphered as at press time yesterday.
Though the crux of the meeting was unknown, it was gathered that the governor was open to all options.
The options include dumping the party for another or walking away to wait for another opportunity from the party.
The governor’s capacity to fight back within the party or outside, it emerged, had been limited by his strained relationship with the Lagos State House of Assembly.
There were reports from within the House that the governor had instigated a plot to remove the speaker of the House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, a strong Tinubu loyalist. That plot quickly unravelled.
It was also learnt yesterday that a sizeable proportion of the members of the State House of Assembly attended a meeting at the party secretariat to discuss the development.
One of the sources, who spoke under anonymity said the lawmakers have resolved to commence impeachment moves against Ambode as soon as they resume from the recess.
A member of the State House of Assembly estranged from the Tinubu mainstream who spoke on the condition of anonymity said yesterday: “It could be rumour, but the source I heard it from was an indication that it is nothing far from the truth.
“Although, it was debunked, but the people I heard it from were those I believed knew what they were saying. The people I spoke with gave it a possibility that, it is real.
Asked, where the impeachment move is coming from, he said, “Unfortunately, it is coming from both the Lagos State House of Assembly and all the LCDAs.
According to another source, all the chairmen of APC in 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs have signed the nomination form of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu as an alternative choice.
Genesis of Troubles for Governor Akinwunmi Ambode
Ambode’s troubles with the political establishment in Lagos had for long been reported in political circles in the state.
A South-West governor close to Tinubu was said to have been at the forefront of the agitation to stop Ambode’s second term ambition.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, and Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, it was claimed had prevailed on the APC leader to support Ambode’s re-election plan.
At the centre of the allegations against Ambode was that the governor alienated the political mainstream in the state.
Some others described the governor as heady with a capacity to decapitate Tinubu and his associates should he get a second term.
The issue of the PSP operators in the disposal of refuse was said to have been very touchy for the political elite, many of whom were entrenched in the PSP scheme as a way of servicing the political base.
Ambode, however, dismantled the scheme without as much appreciation of their role.
Even worse for the governor was the fact that the alternative arrangement made to replace the PSP operators have not done a good work, leading to mounting heaps refuse in the commercial capital of the country.
Party stalwarts had also complained that traditional acts of patronage that normally came the way of government did not come from Ambode.
However, Ambode it was claimed, decided not to patronise the political leaders on the premise that he had left politicking for Tinubu while he concentrated on the act of governance.
Shocking revelation on the face-off between Ambode and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
The face-off between Ambode and Tinubu came to the fore recently at a stakeholders’ meeting at the party’s secretariat, at Acme Road, Ogba, Lagos where Tinubu throughout the meeting failed to raise the hands or endorse a second term for Ambode which was a rude shock to members in attendance.
It was gathered that various support groups which had been created for Ambode’s re-election campaign had for some time been put on hold, pending final clearance from Tinubu.
Failed efforts
On different occasions, recently, some APC chieftains (names withheld) have confirmed that a number of political leaders and traditional rulers had impressed it on Tinubu not “to listen to those inciting him against Ambode.â€
APC chieftain who confided to us at the weekend, simply stated, “Ambode is at a crossroads†because all his supporters have backed.
All efforts to resolve the difference met a brick wall with Tinubu who insisted on a fresh candidate (kept to his heart) for the job.
Oba Akiolu was said to have tried to convince Tinubu to change his mind, but all proved abortive.
According to the chieftain, “It is only Tinubu and Ambode that can resolve the issues, not even President Muhammed Buhari.
The issue is like that of a married couple having a family grudge.
No third party can really know the source of their fight let alone resolve it.
The two, Tinubu and Ambode, must have a closed-door meeting without a third party to settle this current imbroglio.
www.sojworld.com © September 12, 2018
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