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APC Congress: Fresh Crisis Over 60-40 Sharing Formula

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4 years ago

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  • Crisis festers in Lagos, Osun, Kwara, Zamfara, Ekiti, Ogun, Rivers, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, others

  • Tension over marching order on petitions

IN what appears a definite stand, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has directed the appeals panels set up last week to work on petitions arising from the just-concluded controversial ward congress, to strictly work with the party’s constitution and congress guidelines in resolving the logjam in many state chapters. 

The directive, which is contained in the letter of appointment handed over to chairmen of the panels, is already generating fresh tension in many state chapters of the party where parallel congress took place, with the crisis in the Osun State chapter boiling over at the weekend.

The order to stick with constitutionality and due process is bound to upset a lot of applecart in many state chapters, where groups considered to be in the mainstream may end up losing out, considering prevalent allegations of dominant factions not abiding by the guidelines in arriving at their victories.

While the national leadership of the party, led by Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni, encouraged consensus arrangement to avoid a rancorous congress, it added a caveat that all tendencies within the party in each state chapter should have a buy-in.

According to Buni, where consensus is not agreed on, factions are to go for elective congress. Allegations of dominant factions cornering the entire exercise, without consensus agreement and not resorting to election, have rent the space since the exercise was conducted.

In giving the marching order, APC said, “you are expected to adhere strictly to the guidelines of the exercise and the constitution, in receiving and determination of complaints arising from the ward congresses.”

The appointment letter, sighted by Sunday Tribune, was signed by the Secretary, Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Mr John James Akpanudoedehe and dated August 12, 2021.

The full letter reads: “In furtherance of the provisions of the guidelines of the ward congresses, as adopted by the Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee. “The chairman of the CECPC, Mai Mala Buni, has approved your nomination as the chairman of the ward congresses appeals committee for …(redacted) state. “As a responsible organisation, the party is not oblivious of the fact that with the sheer magnitude and scope of the ward congresses, there may be persons who may be dissatisfied with the exercise, hence this committee.

“You are expected to adhere strictly to the guidelines of the exercise and the constitution, in receiving and determination of complaints arising from the ward congresses.”

Despite the resolve to go constitutional, Sunday Tribune can also report that behind-the-scenes moves for peace and reconciliation in the party may birth a political solution to the crisis in the state chapters.

The planned masterstroke being reportedly fine-tuned by the embattled national leadership of the party is expected to harmonise multiple ward executive lists, submitted or being paraded, in each of the state chapters, where factions held parallel exercise.

While the appeal committees would still listen to aggrieved caucuses within the party in state chapters, available insider information pointed at the committees already armed with a general mandate to accommodate all major tendencies in feuding state chapters.

Appeals committees’ final reports are expected to include recommendations for power sharing by feuding factions.

Sunday Tribune learnt a 60:40 ratio is on the card for consideration. The national leadership will either ratify or reject suggestions from the appeals panels. Factions favoured as the mainstream groups are expected to take the lion’s share, after the review of complaints from each state chapter. It was learnt that the party is working to delegitimise winner-takes-all approach for peace to reign in the conduct of the concluding part of the exercise.

While the proposition is said to have been mentioned to the national leader of the party, President Muhammadu Buhari, a source noted that nothing was conclusive, as the party waits on him for final approval.

Buhari returned to the country Friday night from medical tourism to London, where another national leader of the party, former Lagos State governor, Senator Bola Tinubu, is recuperating after an alleged knee operation. Political Action Committees (PACs) affiliated to the former governor have launched a nationwide campaign for him to succeed Buhari, who visited him in London on Thursday, before his departure the next day.

Lagos State, the political base of Tinubu, however, is one of the state chapters hardest hit by the intra-party crisis rocking the ruling party.

Coming off the ward congress, four factions emerged in the state with three submitting independent elected executive members’ lists. While Tinubu’s faction is holding on to the mainstream through the caretaker committee led by Mr Tunde Balogun, there is a major bloc within the party known as APC Democrats led by a former ally of Tinubu, Fouad Oki. Also in the loop is an emerging group known as Lagos4Lagos led by Mr Olajide Adediran, a gubernatorial aspirant for the 2023 election in the state.

He is said to be a protégé of another former governor of the state and allegedly being funded by a former governor of a neighbouring state. The agenda of his group is to ensure an indigene of the state succeeds Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2023.

The fourth breakaway faction known as the Conscience group is led by Mr Moshood Salvador, a former state chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He defected to the ruling party, following a protracted leadership tussle in Lagos PDP, only to claim being sidelined by chieftains of the ruling party.

Apart from the Oki group, all others submitted results from their parallel congress to the party.

Feelers from the mainstream group, however, suggested total refusal of the proposition, with accompanying threat to quit the party, if the national leadership should go ahead with the plan. Oki’s faction is yet to make its position known officially as the group says it will approach the appeal panel next week with its case and congress result.

Apart from Lagos, the proposed political solution is also expected to encounter strong pushback in party chapters in Ogun, Rivers, Kwara, Osun, Delta, Akwa-Ibom, Zamfara, Anambra, among others.

In Ogun, former governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has refused to accept the political leadership of the governor, Mr Dapo Abiodun. While Amosun is favoured at the centre because of his strong affinity with Buhari, Abiodun enjoys the backing of Tinubu who shepherded him to the governorship seat, despite stiff opposition from then governor, Amosun.

Political watchers are certain Amosun won’t play second fiddle to Abiodun, despite the latter’s hold on the party in the state.

In Rivers, the two dominant figures in the state chapter of the party which is in opposition to the ruling PDP, Mr Magnus Abe and Minister of Transport, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, have moved from being opponents to political enemies. All efforts at reconciliation have proved abortive. The congress has further widened the gulf, putting any political solution in jeopardy.

In Kwara, where APC is the ruling party, the governor, Mr Abdulraham Abdulrazaq and his erstwhile backer, Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, have parted ways, irreversibly, according to insider information.

Apart from holding parallel ward congress, supporters of the minister have begun mass movement into another political platform, possibly foreclosing any reconciliation effort. Apart from the public spat about campaign funds, amid allegations of corruption, one of the parties to the feud has reportedly vowed not to have anything to do with the other side.

In the 2023 governorship contest, a three-horse race is likely, with PDP and the breakaway faction giving Mr Abdulrazaq a run for his strategy. In Osun, the festering crisis between the governor, Mr Gboyega Oyetola and his predecessor-in-office, Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, isn’t showing any signal of slowing down.

As a member of the caretaker running the national office of the party, Oyetola is favoured against the minister and even if a rapprochement is worked out on 60:40 ratio, the amount of bad blood already generated by their disagreement may not be easily washed away by a political solution.

There are fears the minister’s group could play the spoiler when Oyetola is up for re-election next year.

In Delta State, where APC is in opposition to the ruling PDP, Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, has beaten his competitors like Minister of State for Labour, Mr Festus Keyamo, to the diadem, staying in strong control of the party amid his rumoured governorship interest in 2023. If he concedes to the political solution, he would be seen to be gracious unto others who lost out in a contest they claimed never took place.

Similar scenario is playing out in places like Anambra, where it is Andy Uba against Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, in Akwa-Ibom, where the caretaker secretary Mr Akpanudoedehe, is being heckled by other factions, the most outspoken, being the group loyal to former governor and Niger Delta minister, Godswill Akpabio.

Culled from the Tribune News Nigeria

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Lifestyle

Kaduna Governor Commissions Nigeria’s First 100-Building Prefabricated Housing Estate

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4 weeks ago

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November 14, 2025

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Kaduna, Nigeria – November 6, 2025 — In a major milestone for Nigeria’s housing sector, the Governor of Kaduna State has commissioned a 100-unit mass housing estate developed by Family Homes and executed by Karmod Nigeria, marking the first-ever large-scale prefabricated housing project in the country.

Completed in under six months, the innovative project demonstrates the power of modern prefabricated construction to deliver high-quality, affordable homes at record speed — a sharp contrast to traditional building methods that often take years.

Each of the 100 units in the estate is designed for a lifespan exceeding 50 years with routine maintenance. The development features tarred access roads, efficient drainage systems, clean water supply, and steady electricity, ensuring a modern and comfortable living environment for residents.

According to Family Homes, the project represents a new era in Nigeria’s mass housing delivery, proving that cutting-edge technology can accelerate the provision of sustainable and cost-effective homes for Nigerians.

“With prefabricated technology, we can drastically reduce construction time while maintaining top-quality standards,” said a spokesperson for Family Homes. “This project is a clear demonstration of what’s possible when innovation meets commitment to solving Nigeria’s housing deficit.”

Reinforcing this commitment, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State emphasized the alignment between the initiative and the state’s broader vision for affordable housing.

“The Family Homes Funds Social Housing Project aligns with our administration’s commitment to the provision of affordable houses for Kaduna State citizens. Access to safe, affordable and secure housing is the foundation of human dignity. We have been partnering with local and international investors to frontally address our housing deficit,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Mr. Ademola Adebise, Chairman of Family Homes Funds Limited, noted that the project embodies inclusivity and social progress.

“The Social Housing Project also reflects our shared vision of inclusive growth, where affordable housing becomes a foundation for economic participation and improved quality of life.”

Karmod Nigeria, the technical partner behind the project, utilized its extensive expertise in prefabricated technology to localize the process, employing local artisans and materials to enhance community participation and job creation.

Industry experts have described the Kaduna project as a blueprint for future housing initiatives nationwide, capable of addressing the country’s housing shortfall more efficiently and sustainably.

With this pioneering development, Kaduna State takes a leading role in introducing modern housing technologies that promise to reshape Nigeria’s urban landscape.

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Books

The Pioneer’s Burden: Building the First Private Network in a Vacuum of Power

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1 month ago

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November 4, 2025

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  • Book Title: The Making of Bourdex Telecom
  • Author: David Ogba Onuoha Bourdex
  • Publishers: Bourdex
  • Reviewer: Emeaba Emeaba
  • Pages: 127

In the history of Nigerian entrepreneurship, stories of audacity often begin with frustration. A man waits hours in a dimly lit government office to place a single overseas call, his ambitions held hostage by bureaucracy. From that moment of exasperation, an empire begins. Such is the animating pulse of The Making of Bourdex Telecom, David Ogba Onuoha Bourdex’s sweeping autobiographical account of one man’s effort to connect the disconnected and to rewrite the telecommunications map of Eastern Nigeria.

At once memoir, corporate history, and national parable, the book reconstructs the emergence of Bourdex Telecommunications Limited—the first indigenous private telecom provider in Nigeria’s South-East and South-South regions—against a backdrop of inefficiency, corruption, and infrastructural neglect. Its author, a businessman turned visionary, narrates not merely how a company was built but how a new horizon of possibility was forced open in a society long accustomed to closed doors.

Bourdex begins with a stark diagnosis of pre-deregulation Nigeria: a nation of over 120 million people served by fewer than a million telephone lines. Through a mix of statistical precision and personal recollection, he paints a portrait of communication as privilege, not right—of entire regions condemned to silence by state monopoly. His storytelling thrives in such contrasts: the entrepreneur sleeping upright in Lagos’s NET building to place an international call; the Italian businessman in Milan conducting deals with two sleek mobile phones. That juxtaposition—between deprivation and effortless connectivity—serves as the book’s moral axis.

From these moments of contrast, Bourdex constructs the founding myth of his enterprise. What began as an irritation became a revelation, then a crusade. “I saw a people left behind,” he writes, “a region cut off while others dialed into the future.” His insistence on framing technology as a means of liberation rather than profit underscores the moral ambition that threads through the book. The Making of Bourdex Telecom reads not like a manual of business success but like an ethical manifesto: to build not simply for gain, but for dignity.

As the chapters unfold, Bourdex’s narrative oscillates between vivid personal storytelling and granular technical detail. He recounts his early business dealings in the 1980s and ’90s, the bureaucratic mazes of NITEL, and the daring pursuit of a telecommunications license under General Sani Abacha’s military government. There is a cinematic quality to his recollections—the tense midnight meetings in Abuja, the coded alliances with military officers, the improbable friendships that turned policy into possibility.

These sections recall Chinua Achebe’s The Trouble with Nigeria in tone and intention: both works diagnose the systemic failures of governance but find redemption in individual initiative. Yet Bourdex’s narrative differs in form. Where Achebe offered moral critique, Bourdex offers demonstration—an anatomy of perseverance in motion. He documents the letters, negotiations, and international correspondences with Harris Canada, showing how an indigenous company emerged through sheer force of will and global collaboration.

Such passages risk overwhelming the reader with acronyms, specifications, and telecom jargon—R2 signaling, SS7 interconnection, E1 circuits—but they also lend the book an authenticity rare in corporate memoirs. What might have been opaque technicalities become, under Bourdex’s hand, instruments of drama. The machinery of communication becomes metaphor: wires and waves as extensions of faith and tenacity.

To situate The Making of Bourdex Telecom within Nigeria’s socio-political history is to confront the paradox of private enterprise under public decay. The book chronicles the twilight of NITEL’s monopoly, the hesitant dawn of deregulation, and the emergence of entrepreneurial actors who filled the void left by government paralysis. In this sense, Bourdex’s story parallels that of other indigenous pioneers—figures such as Mike Adenuga and Jim Ovia—whose ventures in telecommunications and banking transformed the national economy from the late 1990s onward.

Yet Bourdex’s tone is less triumphant than reflective. He does not romanticize deregulation; he portrays it as both opportunity and ordeal. The government’s inertia, the labyrinthine licensing process, and the outright extortion by state agencies form the darker undertones of his tale. His clash with NITEL’s leadership—recounted with controlled indignation—stands as one of the book’s most gripping sequences. When a senior official demanded an illegal payment of ₦20.8 million for interconnection rights, Bourdex’s defiant reply, “You are not God,” rang out like an act of civil disobedience. In such moments, the narrative transcends the genre of business autobiography and enters the moral theatre of national reform. The entrepreneur becomes citizen-prophet, challenging a corrupt establishment with the rhetoric of justice and self-belief. That blending of economic narrative with civic conscience is perhaps the book’s most compelling feature.

Stylistically, The Making of Bourdex Telecom occupies an intriguing space between oral history and polished memoir. The prose is direct, rhythmic, and often sermonic, reflecting its author’s background as both businessman and public speaker. Anecdotes unfold with the cadences of storytelling; sentences sometimes pulse with the energy of spoken word: “Amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic.” The repetition of such aphorisms imbues the work with a sense of conviction, though occasionally at the expense of subtlety.

Where the book excels is in its evocation of atmosphere—the dusty highways between Aba and Lagos, the sterile corridors of power in Abuja, the crisp air of Calgary where the author first glimpsed technological modernity. These scenes transform what could have been a linear corporate chronicle into a textured work of memory.

Still, the narrative structure is not without flaws. The absence of an external editor’s restraint is occasionally felt in the pacing; digressions into technical exposition or moral reflection sometimes interrupt narrative flow. Readers accustomed to the concise storytelling of international business memoirs—Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog or Elon Musk’s authorized biography—may find the prose dense in places. Yet such density mirrors the complexity of the terrain Bourdex navigated. His sentences, like his towers, are built from layers of persistence.

Beyond its entrepreneurial chronicle, the book doubles as social history—a record of Eastern Nigeria’s encounter with modernization. The chapters on “The FUTO Boys,” a cadre of young engineers recruited from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, offer a microcosm of the new Nigerian professional class emerging in the late 1990s: educated, idealistic, and determined to prove that technical expertise could thrive outside the state. Their improvisations—installing antennas by candlelight, building networks amid power outages—embody the collective grit that sustained Bourdex’s vision.

The narrative’s cumulative effect is generational. Through the story of one company, we glimpse a society in transition—from analogue isolation to digital awakening. The book captures that liminal moment when the sound of a dial tone became a symbol of freedom.

Running through The Making of Bourdex Telecom is a persistent theology of success. Bourdex attributes every turn in his journey to divine orchestration: friendships “placed by the Invisible Hand,” setbacks reinterpreted as “divine redirections.” Such language, while characteristic of Nigerian entrepreneurial spirituality, acquires here an almost literary force. It recasts corporate history as providential narrative, where the invisible infrastructure of grace mirrors the visible architecture of towers and transmitters.

For some readers, this piety may feel excessive; yet it provides the emotional coherence of the book. The author’s faith is not ornamental—it is constitutive. Without it, the story of Bourdex Telecom would read as mere ambition. With it, it becomes vocation.

The foreword by Abia State Governor Alex Otti and the preface by former Anambra Governor Peter Obi frame the book as both inspiration and instruction. They read Bourdex’s career as parable: the triumph of private initiative over public inertia. Yet their presence also situates the work within Nigeria’s broader discourse on nation-building. The Making of Bourdex Telecom is not only the autobiography of an entrepreneur; it is a treatise on indigenous agency—on what happens when Africans cease to wait for imported solutions and begin to engineer their own.

In this respect, the book extends its influence beyond its immediate industry. Its lessons—about courage, timing, friendship, and faith—extend to any field where innovation must contend with adversity.

Judged as a work of literature, The Making of Bourdex Telecom is direct and sincere. Its prose favors clarity over ornament, and its authenticity gives the story a compelling sense of truth. Bourdex writes not to embellish, but to bear witness—to a time, a struggle, and a conviction that technology could serve humanity. The result is a hybrid work: part documentary, part sermon, part memoir of enterprise.

As a contribution to Nigerian business literature, it deserves serious attention. Few firsthand accounts capture with such detail the messy birth of private telecommunications in the 1990s—a revolution that reshaped the country’s economic and social fabric. In its pages, we hear both the crackle of the first connected call and the larger resonance of a people finding their voice.

Bourdex’s central message endures: progress begins when frustration becomes purpose. His journey from the backrooms of NITEL to the boardrooms of international telecoms is not merely personal triumph; it is a chapter in Nigeria’s unfinished story of modernization.

In the end, The Making of Bourdex Telecom stands as more than the history of a company. It is an ode to enterprise as nation-building, and to the stubborn optimism of those who refuse to let silence define them.

See the book on Amazon: >>>>>

_________

♦ Dr. Emeaba, the author of “A Dictionary of Literature,” writes dime novels in the style of the Onitsha Market Literature sub-genre.

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Houston

Houston and Owerri Community Mourn the Passing of Beloved Icon, Lawrence Mike Obinna Anozie

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2 months ago

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October 3, 2025

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Houston was thrown into mourning on September 19, 2025, following the sudden passing of businessman and community advocate Lawrence Mike Obinna Anozie, who peacefully joined his ancestors. Immediate family member in Houston, Nick Anozie, confirmed his untimely death and expressed gratitude for the outpouring of love and condolences from both the Houston and Owerri communities.

Lawrence was born to Chief Alexander and Lolo Ether Anozie of Owerri in Imo State, Nigeria, and will be dearly remembered by family members, friends, and the entire Houston community.

An accomplished accountant, the late Lawrence incorporated and successfully managed three major companies: Universal Insurance Company, LLC, Universal Mortgage LLC, and Universal Financial Services. Through these enterprises, he not only built a thriving business career but also created opportunities for countless individuals to achieve financial stability. His contributions to entrepreneurship and community development will remain a lasting legacy.

According to the family, arrangements for his final funeral rites are in progress and will be announced in due course.

Lawrence will forever be remembered as a loving and compassionate man who dedicated much of his life to uplifting others. He helped countless young Nigerians and African Americans overcome economic challenges by providing mentorship, financial guidance, and career opportunities. His generosity touched the lives of many who otherwise might not have found their footing. A devout Catholic, he was unwavering in his faith and never missed Mass, drawing strength and inspiration from his church community. To those who knew him, Lawrence was not only a successful businessman but also a pillar of kindness, humility, and faith whose legacy of service and compassion will continue to inspire generations.

For more information, please contact Nick Anozie – 832-891-2213

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