By Tino Innocent
This is no longer politics. This is war. And it is happening inside Tinubu's own house.
The biggest, messiest intra-party fight in the APC is raging right now, and all the gladiators are Tinubu's own men.
Let me break it down for you:
THE ACTORS:
1. HOPE UZODIMMA: The President's blue-eyed boy. His second term as Imo Governor is winding down and his next dream is clear - Senate. Not just to go to the Senate, but to TAKE OVER the Senate. He secured the APC ticket in his constituency until this morning that it was squashed by the court, and word on the street is he wants Akpabio's seat - the Senate Presidency.
But Hope has another enemy: Wike. Wike accuses Hope of meddling in Rivers politics and secretly backing Fubara during their brutal fight. So Wike has vowed to block Hope's Senate ticket by all means. His weapon? A shadowy outside group called the 'Rainbow Coalition'.
2. ROCHAS OKOROCHA: From the SAME senatorial zone as Hope. Rochas claims HE won the APC senatorial primary, but that Hope hijacked it. He went to court. And this morning, drama: The court disqualified Hope Uzodimma and declared Rochas Okorocha as the authentic candidate.
Hope can still go to the Court of Appeal, but the damage is done.
3. WIKE: The FCT strongman. Tinubu's most prized outsider-inside. Loyal to a fault, but loyal on his own terms.
4. AKPABIO: The Senate President. Tinubu's alleged rubber stamp in the Red Chamber. The man who has swallowed everything to make Tinubu's agenda sail through.
And Rochas? Just a bystander who has now become the kingmaker.
NOW HERE IS TINUBU'S NIGHTMARE - CHECKMATE EVERYWHERE:
This is a trap with no good option for the President.
SCENARIO A: If Tinubu backs his beloved boy Hope and uses federal might to help him win at the Appeal Court...
Will Wike still work for Tinubu? Wike is not a man you betray and expect to smile. If his arch-rival Hope is imposed, Wike could sabotage everything in Rivers, FCT and the entire South-South. You know Wike - when he pulls out, he doesn't just pull out, he pulls the rug.
SCENARIO B: If Tinubu is seen to be in Hope's camp, what happens to Akpabio?
Akpabio will feel stabbed in the back. This is a man who has endured insults of being called a 'rubber-stamp' just to please Tinubu. And now you want to bring his replacement right under his nose? If Akpabio feels betrayed, who will deliver Akwa Ibom for Tinubu in 2027? That state will be in play for the opposition overnight. His morale will die.
Tinubu is boxed in.
Hope won't step down - he sees Senate President in his future.
Wike won't step down - he sees betrayal and wants revenge.
Akpabio won't step down - he sees his throne threatened.
Rochas won't step down - he now has a court judgment in his pocket.
All of them see Tinubu as weak, distracted, and desperate for 2027. So they are digging in. No one wants to shift.
For the first time, Tinubu is not fighting Atiku or Obi. He is fighting his own loyalists. And any move he makes, one of his pillars will collapse.
How does he survive this without becoming collateral damage in his own party?
This is no longer 2023 politics. This is survival politics.
The next days and hours will reveal everything.
Watch this space. APC is about to test if Tinubu is truly a master strategist or amala political strategist or just a lucky beneficiary.
What do you think?
