By Peter Inyali
With the ruling APC primaries for National and State Assembly seats coming to an end, candidates must realize that the real political battle is only beginning. Beyond the celebrations, thanksgiving services and victory messages lies the more difficult task of reconciliation, consolidation and political survival ahead of 2027. Unfortunately, many candidates still appear to be waiting for Governor Bassey Otu and the party structure to do the heavy lifting for them at a time the leadership itself is battling multiple pressures and distractions.
That is why candidates who emerged from the primaries must quickly learn from what Sen. Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe has done in Cross River North. Rather than wait endlessly for the party to unite everyone, Jarigbe moved swiftly to stabilize his political environment by bringing many of his former opponents closer. That is the kind of political maturity and urgency others must now embrace if the party hopes to remain strong and united ahead of the general elections.
Elections are not won merely by securing tickets; they are won by building relationships after the contest. Aggrieved aspirants may not immediately forget the bitterness of the primaries, but serious politicians understand that reconciliation is not automatic. It requires deliberate effort, humility and strategic engagement from those who emerged victorious.
Ordinarily, the party should have immediately swung into reconciliation mode after the primaries. But politics does not always move according to ideal expectations. The APC in Cross River is managing several interests and challenges simultaneously. That is why candidates cannot afford to sit back waiting to be spoon-fed politically. Every candidate must begin to mend fences, strengthen alliances and reassure supporters who feel alienated after the primaries. The opposition is not sleeping. It is gradually building momentum, growing in confidence and expanding its support base across the state.
To the aggrieved aspirants, their anger is understandable. Primaries are emotional contests filled with expectations, investments and sacrifices. But at some point, peace must be given a chance. Politics is ultimately about interests, negotiation and survival. Destroying the party structure out of anger may eventually hurt everyone involved, including those currently dissatisfied with the outcome of the primaries.
As for those accusing Governor Bassey Otu of favouring certain aspirants, the truth is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The Governor is a politician before anything else. Every political leader naturally supports people he believes he can trust to protect his vision, political structure and legacy. The real reason many people are angry is not necessarily because some aspirants were favoured, but because they were not the beneficiaries of that support. That may be painful politically, but it is neither new nor unusual in politics anywhere in the world.
The bigger danger now is complacency. The recent court judgment invalidating INEC’s guideline on the submission of digital registers within a specified timeframe by political parties has effectively opened the door for dissatisfied aspirants to defect to other parties and still contest elections. That means the opposition will continue to grow in strength and numbers. While that growth may not necessarily pose a serious threat to the Governor’s reelection, it could become a major problem for other candidates who fail to unite their bases and reconcile aggrieved supporters early enough.
APC candidates across the state must therefore stop waiting for rescue from above and begin to do the hard political work themselves. Sen. Jarigbe has already shown the pathway on how it should be done; reconcile, consolidate and move on. Others should learn quickly, because elections are not won by victorious primaries alone, but by how effectively political wounds are healed afterward.
*-Inyali Peter, Ph.D.*
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