A quiet but intense political battle is brewing within the ruling party in one of the South-East states, unfolding barely one year and a few months ahead of the much-anticipated governorship primary. While no formal declarations have been made, investigations reveal that powerful interests are already maneuvering aggressively to determine who succeeds the current governor in 2027.
At the centre of the tension are two dominant political camps — one firmly rooted within the state and the other operating largely from outside the region but wielding considerable influence at the federal level. Both camps are locked in a slow but high-stakes struggle to control the process that will produce the ruling party’s governorship candidate in 2027.
The external camp has recently demonstrated its reach by influencing strategic appointments, including ambassadorial nominations, sometimes extending even to individuals outside the state of its leader.
Sources told INNONEWS that the feud escalated when external forces moved to recommend a preferred candidate for the ruling party’s 2027 governorship ticket. The intervention reportedly angered the state’s sitting governor, who views the move as a direct intrusion into his state’s internal political affairs.
The outside bloc, led by a powerful Minister from outside the South-East, is believed to be backing a loyal ally — a former governorship candidate of the opposition party in the state in 2023. This camp argues that the individual deserves political compensation from the ruling party for his role in weakening the opposition at the national level.
However, the governor has pushed back forcefully. Those familiar with the development told this newspaper that the prerogative to shape succession within the state lies with the governor and the party structure on the ground, not with external actors, regardless of their federal standing.
In retaliation, the governor’s camp is said to have strategically wooed key political interests and played a significant role in facilitating the defection of one opposition governor to the ruling party. The move is widely interpreted as a calculated counterstroke, particularly as the defecting governor has maintained a long-standing, frosty relationship with the powerful Minister — described by insiders as a “peace of the graveyard.”
Beyond the immediate succession battle, sources say the intent of the powerful Minister is to politically neutralise his adversary (the governor) in his state by subtly deploying an ally of his as part of a broader plot to undermine the governor’s influence and weaken his Vice-Presidential ambition ahead of 2031.
Party insiders and close allies of the governor were said to have cautioned presidency officials that any attempt to impose a candidate from outside the state could fracture the ruling party, weaken grassroots mobilisation, and inadvertently hand a strategic advantage to the opposition.
Findings further reveal that the rivalry transcends the 2027 governorship contest. Both camps are already scheming for relevance in the post-2027 national political order, with eyes firmly fixed on the Vice-Presidential ticket of the APC in 2031, when the presidential slot is expected to rotate to the North.
Control of the state is therefore being viewed by both sides as a vital bargaining chip in future national negotiations, making the struggle far more intense than a conventional succession dispute.
Within the ruling party at the national level, anxiety is mounting that the silent conflict between the Governor and the Minister could soon spill into the open if not carefully managed.
Although no formal intervention has been announced, sources indicate that the presidency is fully aware of the unfolding developments and is monitoring the situation closely.
Supporters of the state governor remain confident, telling this newspaper that his camp firmly controls the party structure within the state and cannot be easily overruled by an “outsider”
The external bloc, however, believes that sustained pressure, strategic alliances, and federal leverage could still tilt the balance in its favour as time goes by.
EDITOR’s NOTE: Images Are Caricatures Of The Actors Used To Illustrate The Story
