OPINION: Balancing Political Tendencies and Inclusivity in Party Leadership

By Okoi Obono-Obla

Even though I am critical of the predilection of the political governing elite to share or zone positions—whether in government, elective, appointive, or executive—within the governing party at the national, zonal, state, senatorial, local government, and ward levels,

 it is undoubtedly the vogue and the mentality they embrace. I have no choice but to tag along so that they do not perceive me as a maverick or someone with the tendency to rock the boat.  

For the purpose of maintaining balance and appeasing all blocs and political tendencies within the party, All Progressives Congress (APC), It has become imperative to rethink leadership arrangements. Accordingly, I suggest that the Governor should not come from the same State Bloc as the State Chairman of the Party.  

Rethinking the leadership arrangements will further ensure inclusivity in the ruling party in Cross River State, especially as we inch towards the end of the present State, Local Government Area, and Ward executive committees in early 2026, depending on whenever the National Working Committee ( NWC) decides to schedule State Congresses to elect new executives, 

I am aware that there is already a precedent, when former Governor Ben Ayade picked and imposed a State Chairman from the same senatorial district he hailed from. Surely, that was what happened, but such a skewed arrangement that led to imposition of inferior and undemocratic methods cannot, in good conscience, continue to be the norm or cited as precedent in a party that claims to be progressive. 

Former Governor Ayade may have been inclined to impose such an arrangement given the revolutionary manner in which he entered the APC in 2021, adopting a totalitarian and unreasonable style to seize control and maintain his grip on the party would not augur well in this present circumstance.

We, as progressives, must not copy bad precedents or follow the mentality of retrogressive actors who hide under the guise of zoning to practice tribalism, sectionalism, clannishness, or parochialism in a diverse society such as ours.

 It is the height of backwardness to tout “this is my turn” or “this is our turn” as justification for exclusionary politics. Instead, there must be a balance of forces and fair representation within the various coalitions, tendencies, and blocs that coalesced to make the APC in Cross River State what it is today. 

Serious consideration must be given to the fact that the party’s victory in 2021 was not the product of one individual’s dominance, but of collective efforts across diverse groups.  

Conclusion

Therefore, to sustain progress and credibility, the APC in Cross River State must resist the temptation of repeating skewed arrangements and undemocratic precedents. 

In other words, balance, inclusivity, and the carrying along of disparate tendencies and interests are not just ideals, but are necessities for building a truly progressive party that reflects the diversity of its members and the society it seeks to govern.  

 Okoi Obono-Obla is a legal practitioner, an APC Chieftian and was a former aide to fore President Buhari