POLITICS TODAY

Nigerian Political News Media
APC convention rips Govs apart, revolt looms against Buni
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…As State party chairmen go underground

…Confusion over aspirants’ letter demanding postponement

…Convention sub-committees yet to be seen

The cloud over the National Convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) scheduled for February 26 hung still last night with the party’s governors split into two camps.

The issues in contention are whether the convention should proceed as scheduled and which of the six geo-political zones should produce the party’s next national chairman.

Adding to the uncertainties was the emergence of a letter yesterday by some party members seeking offices at the convention to propose the postponement of the meeting.

Some party office holders dissociated themselves from the letter.

It was also gathered that many state chairmen of the party have gone underground to resist an attempt to coerce them to sign a document on convention shift.

This development, sources said, prompted the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) to conclude plans to replace the Chairman of State APC Chairmen Forum, Hon. Ali Bukar Dalori (Borno) with his Taraba State counterpart to force others in line to endorse postponement.

The pro-shift governors are said to have proposed that the CECPC should keep running the affairs of the party until after the conduct of the primaries for the 2023 polls.

The same forces have been trying in the last 72 hours to force the state chairmen of APC chapters to sign a communiqué to demand the postponement of the convention.

Most of the chairmen have gone underground to resist the coercion to sign a document on convention shift.

The governors also remain divided over the zone that will produce the next national chairman of the party.

Although the governors had conceded the slot to the North-Central, some governors reneged and opted to prevail on a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, from the North-East.

Most of the governors have however rejected the Dogara option by insisting on conceding the office to North-Central.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that most members of the Caretaker Committee led by Governor Mai Mala Buni subscribed to the postponement of the convention, but it has been difficult for the committee to table it before the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF).

It was learnt that the committee was afraid of a ‘likely revolt’ against the Buni-led committee.

Attempts by some governors to prevail on state APC chairmen to call for the postponement of the convention have also failed.

Most of the party chairmen at the state level are said to have “gone underground.”

Some governors supporting the retention of the Caretaker Committee and the postponement of the convention have not been able to gain the control of the PGF to achieve their aim.

A governor, who spoke in confidence, said: “The battle at hand is for the soul of the party. The CECPC members including Buni are in support of the postponement of the convention. It is emerging to all of us that Buni appears interested in the presidency in 2023.

“Buni’s personal, vaulting ambition is what’s driving him, but he doesn’t know how to even discuss this with us – his supposed allies who put him on the job

“All the governors are opposed to convention shift except Yahaya Bello (Kogi), who is a presidential aspirant, Hope Uzodinma (Imo) and Ben Ayade (Cross River).

“These anti-convention governors cannot constitute themselves into Progressive Governors Forum (PGF). They are in the minority and they don’t even want the same thing.

“One wants to be President, the other (Uzodinma) wants to be vice president to a Northern candidate. What unites them is that they are not keen on the unity of APC but they will eventually lose out.

“We are 22 and they are either three or four. We know the President will go by the position of the majority because he is democratic.

“Up till now, they cannot officially announce a postponement because they know the President’s position. Instead, they are using sleight of hand. They are in charge. If they want a postponement, why hide behind one finger?”

Responding to a question, the governor said Buni and the CECPC were in a fix.

The governor added: “Mai Mala cannot do it (postponement) because he knows the views of the majority of governors including first term governors. They were trying to play a divide and rule card between first and second term governors but we insisted that the right thing must be done.”

A party source claimed that most state APC chairmen have gone underground to avoid being forced to sign any communiqué for the postponement of the convention.

It was also confirmed by another governor that all his colleagues have directed their party chairmen “not to endorse any document on postponement of the convention.”

“I think those who may have signed are those from Taraba, Yobe, Kogi and Imo states. Others have gone underground, having been directed by their governors to ignore convention postponement drive.

“In frustration, the CECPC has concluded plans to replace the Chairman of State APC Chairmen Forum, Hon. Ali Bukar Dalori (Borno) with his counterpart from Taraba State, Tukur El-Sudi Ibrahim, to pave the way for the postponement of the convention to March 12 or indefinitely.

Nation


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