APC governors insist on February National Convention

17 Jan APC governors insist on February National Convention

Governors elected on the platform of Nigeria’s ruling party, APC, met Sunday night and resolved that the party’s convention must hold in February.

The APC has been unable to hold a convention and elect new national leaders since its former leadership, led by Adams Oshiomhole, was sacked in 2020. The party has since been led by an interim management committee led by the Yobe State Governor, Mala Buni.

At their meeting Sunday, the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), an umbrella body of APC governors gave assurance that the party’s national convention will hold in February.

Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi and Chairman of the PGF gave the assurance while speaking with journalists at the end of a closed-door meeting on Sunday night in Abuja.

Mr Bagudu, who did not give a specific date for the event, said the February date as approved by President Muhammadu Buhari was sacrosanct and still feasible for the conduct of the event.

He added that the APC Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), as an organ of the party, was in the best position to announce the specific date for the convention.

“We are one group of stakeholders in the party and our party respects institutions. The appropriate organ of the party that will announce a date for the national convention is the CECPC,” he said.

Mr Bagudu said the meeting passed a vote of confidence on the Buni-led CECPC and two other governors, Governor Muhammed Bello of Niger and Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun.

He noted that the governors had done an incredible job of running the party successfully and had mobilised people into the party fold, saying that the PGF was very happy with their conduct.

Those in attendance at the meeting included the governor of Borno, Babagana Zulum; Jigawa, Mohammad Abubakar; Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu; Niger, Abubakar Bello; Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai; Ekiti, Kayode Fayemi; and Kogi, Yahaya Bello.

Others were the governors of Cross River, Ogun, Zamfara, Ebonyi, Osun, Lagos State, Imo, Plateau, Kano State and Nasarawa.

The Deputy Governor of Anambra, Nkemakonam Okeke, represented his governor at the meeting.