There is a strong indication that the National Convention of All Progressives Congress (APC) may not hold in February as scheduled as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) disclosed that it is yet to receive an official notice from the party.
In a chat with The PUNCH, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, said the APC had not yet sent any notification. He, however, said the party still had time to do so.
He said, “Before any political party conducts its convention for the election of officers, it is required to serve the commission a 21-day notice as provided by Section 85 (1) the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). Between now and the end of February is more than the three weeks required by law. Therefore, while the party has not served any notice yet, there is still time to do so.”
Meanwhile, governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will meet on Sunday in Abuja to discuss their next line of action on key issues, including the party’s national convention.
LEADERSHIP Friday gathered that the meeting of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) billed to hold at Kebbi Government Lodge, Abuja, with the forum’s chairman, Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State, playing host, will among other things discuss the party’s national convention, its zoning arrangement and the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which has been sent back to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Yesterday, LEADERSHIP exclusively reported that the governing party will not hold its national convention billed to produce its national chairman and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) in February.
Bowing to pressure from stakeholders, the party’s leadership had resolved to postpone the national convention on grounds that pending issues such as the ongoing reconciliation process carried out by the national reconciliation committee chaired by former Nasarawa State governor, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, were still not resolved.
It was also gathered that the party leadership deems it inappropriate to hold the convention when APC membership register is yet to be ratified at the national level after the registration and revalidation exercise held across the states has not been ratified at the national level.
The APC governors had at its meeting in November last year agreed to hold the national convention in February 2022.The next day, they approached the presidential villa to brief President Muhammadu Buhari on their stand, after which the PGF chairman, Bagudu, announced the February date to journalists.
Following the announcement, about nine members of the party indicated interest to contest for the national chairmanship position of the APC, with the majority of them from the North Central region.
