APC postpones Feb. 26 National Convention, risks disqualification by INEC

With just few days to the February 26 scheduled date for the National Convention of the ruling All progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday, bowed to pressures mounted by some state governors as he approved a postponement of the event.

The National Convention which would have held this Saturday, February 26, has now been moved by two weeks to March 11.

The latest development also puts the party at risk of disqualification by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which had placed a 21-day timeline for conclusion of party internal electoral processes ahead of the 2023 General Elections.

It would be recalled that a letter to INEC, penultimate Thursday, Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) confirmed the February 26 date for the National Convention, even as the party has yet to confirm its readiness to address the fears and complaints raised by its reconciliation committee.

The confirmation of the February date fulfilled the statutory 21-day notice to the electoral body for the political exercise.

The letter was delivered Thursday morning at the headquarters of the electoral body.

The letter dated 2nd February, 2022, signed by the Chairman of CECPC, Gov Mai Mala Buni and Secretary, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, reads in part: “Follow up to our letter referenced APC/NHDQ/INEC/19/021/40 dated 11 July 2021 on the NOTICE FOR THE CONDUCT OF NATIONAL CONVENTION.

“This is to inform the Commission that our great Party has scheduled to hold its National Convention on Saturday, 26% February 2022.

“This serves as a formal notification under the provisions of Section 85 of the Electoral Act (2010) as amended.

“Kindly arrange for your officials to monitor the exercise accordingly.”

However, strong speculations emerged, last week, over plans by party leaders to present a proposal to President Buhari requesting for approval for a two-week extension to enable party leaders adequately prepare for the convention and sort out issues related to logistics.

Also, an inside source within the APC had earlier, Friday, hinted at a postponement of the National Convention, saying the uncertainty surrounding the zoning of offices may force a decision by the leaders of the party.

“People have not bought forms and people cannot buy forms if the zoning is not done, and forms cannot come out until the zoning is done. That is when aspirants will know what kind of forms they are buying. If you don’t know the zoning, you can’t buy a form.

“There are no committees; all the sub-committees have not been set up as we speak. I remember that at the last convention, there were over 20 committees besides the main convention committee.”

The postponement is also at the instance of the APC Reconciliation Committee, in the light of the confusion, specifically requested an additional week to address ongoing petitions from dissatisfied members.

The Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led reconciliation committee, which was inaugurated on September 15, 2021, had requested an additional week to address pending petitions from aggrieved members.

The national reconciliation committee was, therefore, established to tackle the issues that have engulfed the APC in numerous states have fallen short of its goal.

The Adamu committee was tasked with resolving the conflicts that arose from the country’s ward, local government, and state congresses.

According to the APC’ s schedule, the Adamu- led committee was supposed to submit its report in the first week of February.

On February 14, 2022, the party planned to begin selling forms to all applicants for national offices, with all associated paperwork due on or before February 19, 2022.

On February 19, 2022, subcommittees would be announced, and screening of all applicants for national positions would take place between February 20 and 22, 2022, with screening appeals hearing and resolving objections resulting from the screening process on February 23, 2022.

All statutory and chosen delegates to the national convention will be accredited between February 24 and 25, 2022, ahead of the meeting’ s February 26 date.

However, due to the reconciliation committee’s failure to provide its entire report, the party’s schedule of activities may need to be adjusted.

Senator Adamu, chairman of the reconciliation committee, said the committee was still collecting petitions and wanted another week to deal with them.

”As of Sunday, we had received 47 petitions in all, and you may be interested to know that individuals were waiting for us to submit their petitions even this morning. We promised Nigerians that we would do everything in our power to ensure that everyone who has been wronged has a fair hearing, and we are following through on that promise. Because we are acting as boys’ scouts, we had to come today to submit this interim.

”Before making a complaint, a good scout obeys. As a result, we’ve been asked to submit the report as of this morning. Our interim report has been filed. There is more work to be done, as we stated when presenting the study. It’s still a work in progress when it comes to reconciliation. And while we cannot claim to have taken care of everything that has come before us, by the time the final report is done, we will be able to provide you with the actual report.

”We are still receiving petitions as of today. People are still flocking in to visit us, and in all fairness, we can’t stop them. It’s still a work in progress when it comes to reconciliation. Nobody will tell you that political confrontations are sometimes founded on ego, and other times on perception; nobody of us has control over this. Nobody has done so. So, while we can’t prohibit them from delivering their petitions, we’ll do everything we can to promote the first ones to the party.”

Senator Adamu further noted that once the committee’s findings are submitted, it will be up to the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led APC caretaker committee to impose sanctions on members who refuse to participate in reconciliation efforts.

Meanwhile, former Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Mohammed Lukman, had earlier, described alleged plans to postpone the party’s National Convention as a mutiny against the party’s leadership.

In a press statement, earlier Monday, Mr Lukman was reacting to the news in the media of plans by the party’s Caretaker Committee to shift the February 26 date of the national convention to a later date.

The Ex-PGF DG lamented that the ruling party is being held captive by a small group of leaders whose only interest is to impose themselves as presidential or Vice-Presidential candidates for 2023 elections.

He alleged that the uncertainty surrounding the APC’s National Convention is by a minority group of governors in connivance with the leadership of the party’s Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee.

“There is so much uncertainty created to ensure that the party is manipulated to meet the aspirations of these leaders. Sales of forms to aspiring candidates for party offices to be contested at the National Convention was to commence on Monday, February 14, 2014. The speculation was that forms could not be sold until the zoning of offices was finalised.

“Following the departure of President Muhammadu Buhari to the EU-AU Summit in Brussels, the argument became that zoning will only be finalised after his return. Then it became that there was disagreement among Governors on zoning. The latest is that some Governors are opposed to some party offices coming to their zones because of their Presidential or Vice-Presidential ambitions.

“As things are, today being February 21, 2022, the National Convention is just five days away. Sub-Committees to handle specific responsibilities of organising the convention were expected to have been announced on Saturday, February 19, 2022. The CECPC has provided no information. Now that President Buhari has returned from the EU-AU Summit, the old deceptive argument about Governors having a meeting with President Buhari to decide on zoning and other matters related to the convention has started again.

“Why should the CECPC wait for the meeting of Governors and President Buhari before it set up sub-committees to organise the National Convention? If Governors and the President are the ones to organise the National Convention, why do we have CECPC? It is that the leadership of the CECPC is incompetent, or it is deliberately using the meeting of Governors and President Buhari to create uncertainty in the party as part of the plot to achieve its dubious plan of blocking the convention from holding,” the former PGF boss argued.

Lukman, who described himself as a freelance APC Campaigner, called on members and leaders of conscience to rise to the occasion and salvage the party.

“As a party, APC is now in a state of emergency. Any slip will destroy the party. It is not the period to allow dishonest political leaders to gamble with the party’s survival and, by extension, weaken the nation’s democracy. We must do everything to restore some minimum standards by leaders at all levels. Every party leader and member must wake up to the challenge of saving the party. APC is a product of sacrifices by leaders and members. Every sacrifice is required now to save the party,” he said.