APC Governors: Power Drunk, Pocket Heavy, Delivery Zero?

The Real Gist Behind APC's Governorship Wahala

E don reach the point where we need to ask ourselves one serious question: are the governors flying the APC flag actually working for the people, or are they just collecting salary, building mansions, and fighting each other for who will be Abuja's next oga at the top? Because from Kano to Lagos, from Imo to Zamfara, the gist coming out of these APC-controlled states is not exactly the stuff of political excellence. E get as e be, abeg.

Recently, a top political figure summed up the APC internal situation with refreshing honesty, saying: "It is all of that; influence, intrigues, rivalry which is normal in politics. Another name for politics is intrigue which we're used to." Translation? The wahala you see on the surface is just a fraction of what is bubbling inside. The real drama is happening behind closed doors, in government houses across the country, while ordinary Nigerians are hustling for fuel and NEPA light.

The Power Struggle Nobody Wants to Talk About

Let's start from the top of the wahala pyramid. APC controls a significant number of Nigeria's 36 states, yet the internal divisions within the party's governorship circle have become almost legendary. The battle between the Tinubu camp and other factions inside APC is not just a Lagos matter — it has tentacles stretching into states like Kano, where former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje's drama with the Kwankwasiyya movement gave Nigerians enough popcorn content to last a decade.

In Zamfara State, the situation is almost Nollywood-level dramatic. Governor Dauda Lawal has been navigating a minefield of political enemies, including loyalists of his predecessor Bello Matawalle who decamped to APC and dragged his mess along with him. While governors are busy trading political blows and trying to outmaneuver each other, banditry and insecurity in the state continue to claim lives. Na so the people suffer while their leaders dey do chess.

Specific States Where the Wahala is Real

• Imo State: Governor Hope Uzodimma has faced consistent allegations of mismanagement of state funds, with opposition figures and civil society groups raising questions about the state's infrastructure versus the billions that have passed through government coffers. The EFCC has also had cause to look in Imo's direction more than once in recent years.
• Kano State: The turbulence following the transition from Ganduje to Abba Kabir Yusuf (though Yusuf is NNPP) exposed deep APC rot in the state. Ganduje himself is facing a turbulent legal cloud around allegations of bribe-taking, with video evidence that went viral years ago still haunting his political career.
• Plateau State: Governor Caleb Mutfwang is managing inherited APC crises while communities continue to suffer deadly attacks. The question citizens keep asking is — where is the governance?
• Niger State: Governor Mohammed Bago has been in the eye of controversy regarding contracts and constituency projects, with opposition voices raising alarm about the accountability of public funds.

Corruption Allegations: Na Allegation or Na Fact?

Now, make we be clear here — we are journalists, not judges. Several of these governors have faced allegations of corruption, not convictions. Nigerian courts have not pronounced many of them guilty, and some are still actively contesting or responding to these claims. But the pattern is worrying enough to ask hard questions.

The EFCC under Olanipekun Olukoyede has been making noise about going after corruption regardless of party, but Nigerians have been hearing that song since Nuhu Ribadu days. What we see in practice is that most serious corruption investigations involving sitting APC governors tend to move at the speed of a Lagos traffic jam on a Monday morning.

What makes the situation more complicated is that the APC, as a party structure, seems more interested in who controls the 2027 political machinery than in whether governors are actually delivering roads, hospitals, and jobs to their people. Politicking has replaced governance as the primary occupation of too many of these men.

Political Laziness: The Quieter Crime

If corruption is the loud sin, political laziness is the quiet one that nobody talks about enough. When was the last time you heard a genuine, innovative policy announcement from an APC governor that actually changed lives at the grassroots? When did any of them roll up their sleeves for something beyond commissioning projects that were started by their predecessors?

The truth is that many of these governors have perfected the art of "settlement politics" — keeping traditional rulers, youth groups, and media houses happy enough to avoid serious scrutiny, while actual governance takes a backseat. They attend Aso Rock every other week, fly to Dubai during public holidays, and show up for commissioning ceremonies with oversized scissors. Na governance be that?

What Nigerians Are Actually Saying

Talk to ordinary people in these states and the frustration is palpable. A teacher in Imo will tell you her salary comes irregularly. A trader in Zamfara will tell you the road to her market has been "under construction" since 2019. A civil servant in Niger State will whisper to you about how contracts are shared like suya at a naming ceremony — among the same circle of friends and cronies.

The APC governors are not a monolith — some, like Seyi Makinde's counterparts in APC states, have attempted genuine reform. But as a collective, the brand has been damaged by the loudest and most visible failures.

The Verdict: E Don Do?

Calling every APC governor a fraudster would be irresponsible and legally problematic — and that is not what this conversation is about. But calling out a systemic culture of impunity, internal power struggle, weak governance, and shielded corruption within APC governorship circles? That one, the evidence supports.

Nigerians deserve governors who govern. Not politicians in governors' clothing who are too busy playing 4D chess for 2027 to fix the potholes outside your house. Whether APC or PDP, the people at the bottom — us — are the ones paying the price for elite political drama.

As one political elder wisely (and honestly) put it, politics is intrigue. But intrigue without delivery is just expensive theater. And Nigerians have had enough of watching that show.