APC crisis may worsen as group vows to challenge plans for zonal congresses

A group within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), APC Rebirth Movement, led by Aliyu Audu, has vowed to drag the party to court over plans by the Governor Mai Buni-led Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) to organize zonal congresses.

The threat was made by Audu while fielding questions Tuesday on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme.

Audu said, among others, that the APC constitution had no provision for zonal congresses and described the Buni-led CECPC as incompetent and without direction.

“We are going to challenge the planned zonal congresses in court. There is no place for such in our party constitution.

“The Buni-led committee has shown that it is not only incompetent but without direction. It has failed and should be disbanded,” he said.

The national convention of the ruling party has, in the last 24 hours, suffered a lot of hiccups with contrasting outcomes which have thrown the existence of the party leading into the 2023 election years into jeopardy.

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Ripples Nigeria had reported on Monday that the convention of the party would suffer another postponement as there were indications that President Muhammadu Buhari had given his approval for it to be shifted due to unresolved internal crisis rocking the party.

According to an insider who confided in Ripples Nigeria, the President’s decision was taken on Sunday night at a meeting of the party’s Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) which agreed to shift the convention earlier scheduled for Saturday, February 26.

Some of the issues raised included the inability of the party to constitute and publish names of the convention sub-committees to be forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Later same day, the party, rising from a meeting in Abuja, confirmed that it had postponed its convention initially scheduled for February 26, 2022

The stance was a confirmation of the speculations on ground that the ruling party could postpone the convention due to unresolved issues such as zoning of offices as well as crises in some states.

The decision to postpone the convention was conveyed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a letter dated February 21, 2022, and signed by Buni, and Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, the Secretary of the CECPC.

In the letter, the party reveresed itself and said the national convention has been rescheduled for March 26.

While addressing journalists at the end of a closed-door meeting of the party stakeholders in Abuja, Akpanudoedehe, disclosed that the preparation for the convention would begin on March 24 and terminate on the 26th of the month.

Also on Monday, a few hours after the party had reversed itself on the national convention, APC governors held an emergency meeting with the view of solving the internal crisis currently rocking the party.

The meeting which held at the Kebbi State Governor’s House in Abuja, was to discuss the unending controversy of the convention and the internal wrangling that has continued to engulf the party from various quarters that forced the party leadership to shift the exercise by another one month.

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