All Progressives Congress

All Progressives Congress
Chairman John Odigie Oyegun[1]
National Secretary Alhaji Mai Mala Buni
Founded February 6, 2013 (2013-02-06)
Merger of ACN, CPC, ANPP
Headquarters 40 Blantyre Street, off Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Wuse II, Abuja, FCT
Ideology Big tent,
Federalism,
Social conservatism
International affiliation Socialist International (consultative)
Colours              Green, white, blue
     Red (costumary)
Seats in the House
225 / 360
Seats in the Senate
60 / 109
Governorships
22 / 36
Website

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is a political party in Nigeria, formed on 6 February 2013 in anticipation of the 2015 elections.[2][3][4] APC candidate Muhammadu Buhari won the presidential election by almost 2.6 million votes.[5] Incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat on 31 March.[6] This was the first time in Nigeria's political history that an opposition political party unseated a governing party in a general election and one in which power transferred peacefully from one political party to another.[7] In addition, the APC won the majority of seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives in the 2015 elections, though it fell shy of winning a super-majority to override the ability of the opposition People's Democratic Party to block legislation.[8][9]

Formation

Formed in February 2013, the party is the result of an alliance of Nigeria's three biggest opposition parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) – and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) – merged to take on the People's Democratic Party.[10][11] The resolution was signed by Tom Ikimi, the who represented the ACN; Senator Annie Okonkwo on behalf of the APGA; former governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, the Chairman of ANPP's Merger Committee; and Garba Shehu, the Chairman of CPC's Merger Committee.[12] Ironically, less than 2 years before the party's historic victory in the 2015 elections, Messrs Annie Okonkwo, Tom Ikimi and Ibrahim Shekarau resigned from the party and joined the PDP.[13][14] [15]

The party received approval from the nation's electoral umpire Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on 31 July 2013 to become a political party and subsequently withdrew the operating licenses of the three predecessor parties (the ACN, CPC and ANPP). In March 2013, it was reported that two other associations – African Peoples Congress and All Patriotic Citizens – also applied for INEC registration, adopting APC as an acronym as well, reportedly "a development interpreted to be a move to thwart the successful coalition of the opposition parties, ahead of the 2015 general elections."[16] It was reported in April 2013 that the party was considering changing their name to the All Progressive Congress of Nigeria (APCN) to avoid further complications.[17]

In November 2013, five serving Governors from the governing PDP defected to the APC, as well as 49 legislators who will now join the ranks of 137 legislators in the APC as a result of the prior merger of the smaller opposition parties.[18][19][20] This initially gave the APC a slim majority of 186 legislators in the Lower House out of a total of 360 legislators; however, subsequent political wrangling and pressure from political factions and interests outside the National Assembly of Nigeria, gave the party only 37 additional legislators thus giving the APC a nominal majority of 172 out of 360 Legislators, as opposed to the PDP's 171 (though some smaller PDP-allied parties hold the balance of the other seats.[21] This was further confirmed when the party seated 179 members on January 15, 2015 when the House resumed after a long recess to finally affirm its majority.[22] The governors who defected to the APC were Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State. It had been previously reported that Governors Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State and Sule Lamido of Jigawa State were to set to defect from the People's Democratic Party to the APC; however, both ended up remaining with the People's Democratic Party. In the 2015 elections, Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu ran as a senatorial nominee of the People's Democratic Party for the Niger State east senatorial district, losing in a landslide to the APC's David Umaru.[23]

On 12–13 December 2014, the APC was admitted as a consultative member into the Socialist International.[24]

Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees
President Vice President Election Outcome
Muhammadu Buhari Yemi Osinbajo 2015 Won

Prior to the formation of the APC and its victory in the 2015 elections, Muhammadu Buhari had previously contested (and subsequently lost) the Nigerian presidential elections of 2003 and 2007 as the presidential nominee of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the 2011 Nigerian presidential election as the presidential nominee of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

Political ideology

Economic issues

The APC is generally considered to be a center-left political party that favors controlled market or regulated market economic policies, and a strong and active role for government regulation. A substantial number of its political leaders are followers of or politicians who subscribe to the social democratic political philosophy of Obafemi Awolowo and the socialist and anti-class views of Aminu Kano. Moreover, the majority of the APC's base of political support is in southwestern Nigeria and the Northern Nigeria, which are dominated by the country's largest ethnic groups, the Yoruba and the Hausa-Fulani, respectively.

Social issues

Most political parties in Nigeria are socially conservative as a reflection of the views of the populace. However, compared to Nigeria's other major party, the People's Democratic Party, the APC is considered a more socially conservative party. This is in part due to the party being dominated by an older generation of Nigerian politicians and the fact that a substantial base of its voters live in the predominantly Muslim Hausa-Fulani parts of Nigeria. Like the PDP, the APC is against same-sex relations, and strongly favors social conservatism on moral, religious and cultural grounds.

The APC is more supportive of state-autonomy advancing state police as part of its manifesto.[25] Its social policy is a combination of social nationalism. Despite the parties' domination by pro-devolution politician like Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande, the parties presidential bearer and the CPC wing is less inclined to federalism and this basic tension is somewhat of ideological strange bed fellows accommodated in context of desire to win and combine forces in the 2015 election cycle.[26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ APC Admin. "All Progressives Congress - APC, Press Releases, Events, News, Political Parties - Nigeria". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "The Merger This Time!". PM News. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  3. ↑ Maram, Mazen (7 February 2013). "Nigerian Biggest Opposition Parties Agree to Merge". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  4. ↑ Opoola, Murtala (10 February 2013). "Nigeria: Welcome, All Progressives Congress". AllAfrica. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  5. ↑ "Election Result-Independent National Electoral Commission". INEC. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Nigeria election: Muhammadu Buhari wins". BBC News. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Nigeria makes history in presidential election". 31 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "APC wins 214 House of Reps' seats". Punch. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "APC wins 64 seats in Senate". Punch. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  10. ↑ Agomuo, Zebulon (11 February 2013). "Possible risks in opposition merger ahead 2015". Business Daily. Archived from the original on 14 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  11. ↑ Akor, Ambrose (18 April 2013). "Nigeria's Key Opposition Party Approves Merger Plan". Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  12. ↑ Agbakwuru, Johnbosco (10 February 2013). "Nigeria: New Party – Buhari, Tinubu, Threaten Jonathan With Armoured Personnel Carrier, APC". AllAfrica. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  13. ↑ ""APC lacks internal democracy" – Ex-Deputy Chairman, Annie Okonkwo rejoins PDP". Daily post. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Tom Ikimi dumps APC, attacks Tinubu". Premium Times. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "BREAKING: Ex-Kano Governor, Shekarau, dumps APC for PDP". Premium Times. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  16. ↑ Owete, Festus (21 March 2013). "INEC, All Progressives Congress meet over APC". Premium Times. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  17. ↑ "All Progressives Congress may adopt APCN as new name". Osun Defender. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  18. ↑ "In Political Earthquake, 5 PDP Govs Defect to APC". This Day Live. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  19. ↑ "49 House Members Decamp to APC, Articles - THISDAY LIVE". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  20. ↑ John Alechenu, "PDP’s loss, APC’s gain", Punch, 27 November 2013.
  21. ↑ John Ameh, "Lawmakers jubiliate as 37 PDP Reps defect to APC", Punch, 18 December 2013.
  22. ↑ Olu Famous. "APC finally defeats PDP in House of Reps, Takes the Majority - OluFamous.Com". Olu Famous. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  23. ↑ "Election: APC candidate defeats Niger governor Babangida Aliyu". Vanguard (Nigeria). 29 March 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  24. ↑ "Socialist International - Progressive Politics For A Fairer World". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  25. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/APCNigeria/posts/265244810319754
  26. ↑ http://www.post-nigeria.com/devolution-of-power-atiku-buhari-lock-horns/

External links

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