Lack of Funds Forces APC to Shelve National Convention

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has shelved plans to hold its national convention on April 29, THISDAY has learnt.

The national leadership of the ruling party which had been under pressure to hold a national convention since emerging victorious at the 2015 presidential election, shelved the exercise citing financial difficulties.

According to the APC constitution, it is mandatory for the leadership to hold a mid-term national convention at least once in two years and critics of the current leadership have been blaming the National Working Committee (NWC) led by the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, for failing to abide by this provision.

But last month, the party issued a statement assuring that its national convention will now take place not later than April 29.

In the same vein, the NWC went ahead to set up an adhoc committee, to review the party’s constitution and submit recommendations for onward ratification at the mid-term convention.

The party also said that it would hold state congresses before the convention to nominate delegates and to fill vacancies that occurred principally from political appointments, deaths and resignations.

However, signs that the party might not go ahead with the convention as scheduled came when the constitution review committee headed by the National Legal Adviser, Muiz Banire, had to abandon its assignment.

THISDAY gathered from a key leadership source at the weekend that the party could not fund the activities of the constitution review committee which had submitted it budget to Odigie-Oyegun.

Thisday, April 9, 2017

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