Nigeria’s ruling party splits

By Abubakr Salim July 5, 2018

Nigeria’s governing APC party has split in two. The rift is seen as a major threat to President Muhammadu Buhari’s bid for a second term in office with presidential and parliamentary elections less than a year away.

The APC came to power in 2015 and has been plagued with an internal crisis for more than a year. This worsened recently following the election of new national and local leaders as some key party members alleged they were treated unfairly.

The APC’s breakaway faction, known as Reformed APC, is led by Buba Galadima, a former ally of President Buhari.

It is believed to have the backing of some senior Nigerian politicians including the senate president, speaker of the lower house of parliament and some state governors.

They say that President Buhari’s government is incompetent. The splinter group is likely to join forces with the opposition to challenge Mr Buhari as he seeks re-election next February.

BBC