- Party prepares for congresses, convention, NEC to meet Monday
Omololu Ogunmade and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
After a flurry of meetings spanning over
24 hours, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Wednesday finally caved
in to President Muhammadu Buhari’s rejection of the tenure elongation
approved for the elected and appointed executives of the party at all
levels, and resolved to go ahead with congresses and a convention for
the election of new party executives
Following the resolution reached by
various stakeholders of the party on the tenure elongation, the National
Working Committee (NWC) of the APC led by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun as
well as executives at the state and local government levels will be
expected to step down on June 13.
By siding with Buhari on the issue, it
means that the National Leader of the APC, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who
had pushed for Oyegun’s ouster, has gotten his way.
At a meeting held Wednesday between some
governors of the APC and members of the NWC, the party agreed that it
would adhere to Buhari’s advisory to drop the one-year extension granted
to the executives at the February meeting of the National Executive
Committee (NEC) of the APC.
The decision was a follow up to the
meeting five governors of the party had with Buhari at the State House,
Abuja Wednesday, where it was agreed to hold the congresses and
convention of the APC to pave the way for the election of new
executives.
It was also agreed at the meeting with
the NWC that the job of the technical committee set up by the party
leadership on Tuesday to review the tenure elongation issue was a mere
formality.
However, the committee headed by the
Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong was asked to go ahead and conclude
its assignment including a position paper that will be presented to the
party’s next NEC meeting scheduled for Monday.
Addressing reporters at the end of a four-hour meeting with the governors, Oyegun said all issues relating to the disagreement over tenure elongation had been resolved.
Addressing reporters at the end of a four-hour meeting with the governors, Oyegun said all issues relating to the disagreement over tenure elongation had been resolved.
“Today, the governors and the National
Working Committee of the party decided to sit and look at the issues
that are seemingly dividing us. I want to say to you with absolute
satisfaction and pride that all the issues you have been commenting
about in the last two days have been completely and totally resolved,”
he said.
Oyegun, who was flanked by Governors
Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, Atiku
Bagudu of Kebbi State, Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Abubakar Badau of
Jigawa State, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun
State, Jubril Bindow of Adamawa State, Simon Lalong of Plateau State and
Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, however, appeared to contradict the
governors when in one breath he said that with the resolution of the
issue, APC was now “back tougher as one big family”, but in another
breath added that the technical committee headed by Lalong would take a
decision on the tenure elongation quagmire and present its
recommendations to NEC on Monday.
“We are back in business as one united
and happy family. I want to say also that yesterday we set up a
technical committee as ordered by NEC.
“From the very first minute that we called them to action, they have worked non-stop because I emphasised when I was inaugurating them that their report was time sensitive.
“From the very first minute that we called them to action, they have worked non-stop because I emphasised when I was inaugurating them that their report was time sensitive.
“It is sensitive because we have already
sent out notices for the meeting of NEC which will hold on Monday. I am
glad to say that the chairman of the technical committee has reported
that his report will be ready this evening or tomorrow morning.
“This report will be placed before NEC
on Monday, April 9 and the appropriate decision will be taken.
Thereafter, we will announce to you the further steps that we are going
to take resulting from NEC consideration of the recommendations when we
receive them.
“The bottom line is that the APC
leadership is back as one happy, united and focused party; strongly
behind our president and strongly behind our governors in all the
states,” he said.
Reinforcing Oyegun’s remarks, APC
National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdulahi, also said whatever
option the party takes will be decided by the technical committee.
“It is left for the NEC to decide and if
the committee recommends that the position of NEC should be maintained
then there would be no need for an elective convention and then the
president and those who are concerned that the decision we have taken is
correct or not will have more confidence in the position of the party.
“But if the committee recommends that
congresses should be held then NEC will consider the report and at the
same time decide whether to reverse itself. However, as I speak with you
there is no evidence whether the committee will recommend this way or
the other way,” he said.
Abdullahi said what the Zamfara Governor
Abdulaziz Yari had told journalists that there will be congresses and
convention to replace the out-going executives was his personal opinion
and not yet that of the party.
However, a party source dismissed the
contradictory statements by Oyegun and Abdullahi, stating that they were
face-saving remarks made to give the impression that the technical
committee will reverse the decision to jettison the tenure elongation
for the party executives.
According to him, the governors had met
with Buhari in the morning and proceeded to meet with the NWC where it
was firmly decided that there will be no tenure elongation but
congresses and the convention of the party.
He also revealed that the governors are committed to funding the elective convention to ensure its success.
The source added that governors had to
go to Oyegun to appeal to him not to be obstinate on the extension of
his tenures and that of other executives, and in return, he demanded
that as long as he remains the chairman of the party, he should be
allowed to pick members of the convention committees in accordance with
the APC constitution.
Before meeting with the NWC, five
governors of the APC had met with the president Wednesday, with a
resolve to abide by the party’s constitution.
The five governors, who are also staunch
supporters of the president and his call for fresh party elections were
Yari, Lalong, Okorocha, Ganduje and Amosun.
The president had at the NEC meeting of
the party held on March 27, expressed his objection to the February
approval given by the same NEC for the extension of the tenure of the
APC executives, saying the extension violated both the Nigerian
constitution and that of the party.
But Wednesday, the governors said
following their meeting with the president on Tuesday at the State
House, they resolved to hold another meeting later at night on the same
day, during which they resolved to abide by the president’s admonition
that the provisions of the party’s constitution on the party elections
should be upheld.
According to the governors, the entire
APC Governors’ Forum had resolved that in accordance with the
president’s counsel, fresh congresses and convention should be conducted
from the ward to the national level.
In his briefing after meeting with the
president Wednesday, Yari who admitted that they failed to brief
journalists after the Tuesday meeting, claimed that there was no
disagreement among them as widely reported.
On Tuesday, following the intensity of
the argument among them, the governors emerged from the meeting wearing
long faces and declining to answer questions from journalists.
But Yari said following consultations after the Tuesday meeting, they had all resolved to support the president’s position.
“Gentlemen of the press, you know
yesterday (Tuesday) we left you in the dark after the meeting and today
(Wednesday) we have seen so many headlines that there was a disagreement
between the governors over the issue of party chairman or about the
party leadership.
“No, we had a meeting with Mr. President
yesterday (Tuesday), and we extended the meeting till last night and we
followed up with the consultations with the president now.
“We consulted and all the 24 governors of the APC are on the same page with Mr. President that we are going to respect our party constitution.
“We consulted and all the 24 governors of the APC are on the same page with Mr. President that we are going to respect our party constitution.
“We are going to respect the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So, we collectively
agreed that we will have congresses at all levels – local, state and
national.
“And the committee set up by the
national secretariat of our party headed by the governor of Plateau
State is presenting its report later today (yesterday).
“The governors are also meeting with the
National Working Committee of the party today (yesterday) so that we
come up with convention committee names as well as the timetable for the
congresses and the convention.
“So, there was no deadlock in our meeting. We have progressed and very soon, you will have the names of the convention committee members as well as the timetable,” he said.
“So, there was no deadlock in our meeting. We have progressed and very soon, you will have the names of the convention committee members as well as the timetable,” he said.
Also briefing, Okorocha said there was
no crisis among the governors, noting that they only had to contend with
the belief among some of them that there was insufficient time to
conduct fresh party congresses, arguing that it was in the attempt to
thrash out the matter, that it was insinuated that there was a rift
among the governors.
Okorocha, who echoed Yari that they
again met with the president and resolved to proceed with Buhari’s
suggestion to conduct fresh congresses leading to the election of new
party leaders, added that their resolve on reversing the issue of tenure
elongation did not translate to a no confidence vote on the current
leaders of the APC.
Okorocha, who said the outgoing party
leaders were free to participate in the proposed fresh elections in
their respective domains, added that an election timetable would soon be
rolled out.
“I just want to let you know that there
is no crisis in the APC at all. And we want to use this opportunity to
advise the media to stop spreading rumours of a crisis in the APC. There
is no single crisis in APC.
“The issue was that some people believed
that we did not have enough time to organise party congresses and the
convention. Some people felt that it was a good idea, but the most
important thing is that if we do not go ahead (to organise fresh
congresses/convention), we will be contravening both our party
constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
That is the major issue that we had that they called a crisis. We do not
have such a thing.
“This morning, we met with Mr. President
to fine-tune issues. One, regarding the congresses and convention and
we have resolved that the congresses at all levels will be held and the
chairman is also fine-tuning the arrangement for the convention in that
same light. To this effect, the convention committee will be set out. It
will be announced.
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