The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: APC

  • Presidency: APC yet to decide on zoning

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu, has said that the party has not taken a decision on zoning of the presidency.

    He said this while fielding questions after he led a delegation comprising the National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore; Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, and the Chairman of the campaign committee for the Ekiti election, Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, to present the governorship candidate for the June 18 election in Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, to President Muhammadu Buhari. Adamu said no decision has been reached on the zone to produce its presidential candidate for the 2023 election. This comes as the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) led by Prof. Ango Abdullahi, has begun fresh moves to pressure major political parties to throw their tickets open to all sections of the country, saying that “power shift arrangement is already dead and buried.”

    While stating that the APC was yet to decide, he maintained: “I am today privileged to be the chairman of the party. The party is greater than me. The party has not made a decision and I cannot preempt what the party decision will be.”

    On why the ruling party had set the cost of nomination and expression of interest forms for the presidential ticket at a staggering N100 million, governorship ticket at N50 million, Senate at N20 million, and N10 million for the House of Representatives, Adamu asserted that the for APC, the strategy was to discourage parties that have no chance of winning election to sponsor individuals to play the role of spoilers. According to him, the cost also had to be exorbitant because of the need to raise sufficient funds to successfully prosecute coming elections.

    He said: “On the issue of cost of forms, we have no regrets whatsoever. We did some homework. We know what it takes to go through primaries, go through presidential campaign, go through election of the president.

    “We also do know that there are citizens who are qualified to contest but who are not serious contenders, who will just want to take anything cheap by the roadside, and assert what they call their rights and create problems for our party.”

    (Sun)

  • 2023: Prominent APC leaders in South West shun Fayemi’s event in Ibadan

    THE launch of the national agenda by the National Prosperity Movement aimed at drumming support for the presidential ambition of Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi in 2023 suffered a major setback as prominent leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in South West shunned the gathering held at the International Conference Centre, ICC, Ibadan.

    Investigations by Vanguard revealed that the party leaders from the zone distanced themselves from the meeting in solidarity with the APC National leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, who has since signified interest to contest for the President in next year’s election.

    Some of the party chieftains, who spoke on why they stayed away from the event, described the aspiration of current Governors’ Forum Chairman, Fayemi, as dead on arrival.

    The venue of the event, which was largely occupied by attendees mainly from Ekiti state, also had political aides of Governor Fayemi and some politicians from Osun state.

    In his paper presentation at the event, the Director General, Development Agenda for Western Nigeria, DAWN, Mr. Seye Oyeleye said the unity and progress of the Nigerian-Nation-State have been heavily marred by the systemic and structural deficiencies evident in Nigeria prior to independence which

    was subsequently worsened by the intervention of the military.

    While explaining the need to establish a relationship between the Nigeria Agenda, Civic Nationalism, and Leadership, Oyeleye also harped on the need for a broad-based constitutional development process for the sustainable development of the country.

    “The national question in this context simply refers to deliberating on the efforts that will accommodate the competing and often, diverse interests and ideologies

    of several ethnicities, tribes, religions, cultures and some would say class, existing within

    one geographical entity. It is the debate as to the order of the relations between the different ethnic, linguistic and cultural groupings so that they have the same rights and freedoms, access to power, and an equitable share of resources.”

    He noted that Nigeria’s present and future needed to be determined by the will of the people, saying Nigeria is currently being run against the will of the people, as the constitution serving as the social contract of the country is illegitimate without any input from Nigerians.

    Addressing Nigeria’s constitutional deficiency, the DAWN boss said it was the first step to addressing the national question and consequently pursuing the Nigeria Agenda.

    “All other efforts aimed at solving our challenges are tantamount to putting the horse before the cart. The structural and systemic inefficiencies would continue to stall progress and breed disunity.” He stated

    (Sun)

  • Yari, Marafa dump APC for PDP

    Former Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari and Senator Kabiru Marafa have defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following months of rancour within the ruling party in the state.

    Zamfara State PDP chairman, Col. Bala Mande (Retd) disclosed this after a stakeholders’ meeting in Gusau, the state capital, yesterday.

    He told journalists that discussions on the defection of the former governor and senator had been finalised and that they had reached an agreement to work for the progress of the party.

    “We have all agreed to work for the development of the party and the PDP in the state has welcomed them to its fold. We will ensure justice and fairness to all members even after we have won elections in 2023. The date for their grand reception to our party will be announced later, but we are going to implement all the agreements reached during the stakeholders meeting,” Mande said.

    Publicity Secretary of Yari faction of the APC, Ibrahim Magaji, confirmed the development, but did not give further details.

    “Yes, it is true we are moving to opposition PDP, and this is all I can say for now,” Magaji said.

    Yari was among the aspirants for the national chairmanship of the APC.

    Daily Sun also learnt that former Governor of Kebbi State, Adamu Aliero is also expected to defect from APC to PDP in the coming weeks.

    (Sun)

  • 2023: APC NWC divided over political appointees’ resignation

    There are fresh fears that the All Progressives Congress (APC) may run into troubled waters as its leadership appear divided over decision to officially order political appointees at the state and federal levels to resign ahead of its primaries.

    The party’s National Working Committee (NWC), in its last two meetings, had failed to reach a common ground on compelling appointees vying for elective positions in 2023 or aspiring to vote as delegates to resign their appointments.

    A member of the NWC told Daily Sun that while some leaders of the party, including the National Chairman, Adamu Abdullahi, are of the view that a circular should be released mandating political appointees vying for various positions to resign, the National Legal Adviser, Ahmed El-Marzuk, has resisted the decision.

    The source said APC governors were also notified to issue an ultimatum to their appointees aspiring to contest the 2023 polls to resign. It is believed that the notification had informed the decision of Ondo, Ekiti, Kaduna and Gombe governors to issue deadlines to their appointees to resign and focus on their political aspirations.

    The NWC source, however, said El-Marzuk, who hails from President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state of Katsina, is opposed to the idea of officially issuing a circular, counselling instead that the party hierarchy waits until the Court of Appeal rules on an appeal filed by the National Assembly challenging a Federal High Court judgment in Umuahia on the matter.

    The legal adviser is said to have cautioned that NWC members remain neutral on the matter in order not to incur the wrath of members of the National Assembly or some ministers in Buhari’s administration.

    It was learnt that the issue of the resignation of appointees would form the thrust of discussions when NEC members meet in Abuja on Wednesday.

    It was also learnt that Buhari, who had earlier instructed the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami to explore other options, when lawmakers failed to amend Section 84(12) of the new Electoral Act, is unwilling to compel his appointees to resign, until the judgment of the Court of Appeal rules.

    “Many NWC members are worried that the party could run into trouble if the expected judgment doesn’t work in their favour,” the source said.

    Section 84 of the new Electoral Act stipulates that anyone holding a political office, ministers, commissioners, special advisers and others, must relinquish the position before they can be eligible to participate in the electoral process either as a candidate or delegate.

    It state: “No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”

    The provision further states that where a political party fails to comply with the provisions of the Act in the conduct of its primaries, its candidate for election shall not be included in the election for the particular position in issue.

    Within President Muhamamdu Buhari’s cabinet, those to be affected include ministers of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation,Abubakar Malam; Aviation, Hadi Sirika; Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu; Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami; State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba; Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio; State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare.

    (Sun)

  • Tinubu meets APC Gov after Osinbajo declares

    The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress and presidential aspirant, Bola Tinubu, is currently meeting with members of the Progressives Governors Forum at the Kebbi State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja.

    The meeting is coming less than 24 hours after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo hosted the governors at his Aguda House residence on Sunday evening; where he disclosed his intention to run for the APC presidential ticket.

    Although Tinubu is yet to officially declare for office, he had in January informed the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), of his intention to succeed him.

    At the time of filing this report, 14 governors were already seated with the presidential hopeful.

    The governors in attendance include Governors Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Bababjide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, Gboyega Oyetola of Osun, Mai Mala Binu of Yobe, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa, amongst others.

    Details later…

    (Punch)

  • Court declines to sack Ayade, deputy for defecting to APC

    The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, dismissed the suit the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, filed to declare the seat of Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State and his Deputy, Ivara Esu, vacant, following their defection to the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC.

    The court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Taiwo Taiwo, held that the duo could not be sacked from their positions, other than through statutory procedures that were stipulated in sections 180, 188 and 189 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

    It held that defection to another political party was not stated as one of the grounds for the removal of either a governor or his deputy.

    “The 3rd and 4th Defendant cannot be removed except by Constitutional provision.

    “This court has no power to declare vacant the seat of the 3rd and 4th Defendants”, Justice Ekwo held.

    PDP had in its suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/975/2021, prayed the court to sack both Ayade and his deputy, contending that the duo, having abandoned the political party that sponsored their re-election, ought to vacate their respective offices.

    It had among other things, urged the court to declare that, “in view of the provisions of section 221 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the democratic system of governance operated in Nigeria, votes at the election and elections are won by political parties and not their candidate or the candidates sponsored at the election by the political parties”.

    It prayed the court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to immediately, “receive from the plaintiff (PDP), the name of its candidates to replace the 3rd and 4th defendants (Ayade and Esu) for the purpose of utilising the lawful votes cast in favour of the plaintiff or in the alternative directing the 1st defendant to hold a gubernatorial election for Cross River State in accordance with Section 177 of the Constitution excluding the 3rd and 4th defendants who are disqualified from participating in the election by virtue of Section 192 (1) (b) of the Constitution) arising from abandonment of the majority lawful votes and the offices occasioned by the action of the 3rd and 4th defendants by reason of their becoming members of the 2nd defendant who did not win majority of the lawful votes cast at the election”.

    Aside from Ayade and his deputy, the INEC and APC were also cited as Defendants in the matter.

    (Vanguard)

  • 2023 presidency: Why APC should support Ngige (Opinion)

    WARREN Gamaliel Bennis (1925-2014), an American author and scholar, regarded as one of the pioneers of contemporary leadership studies, famously said: “Leadership is the ability to translate vision into reality.”

    The deduction that could be made from this statement is that a leader who has a dream must have the passion to pursue it. Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, re-echoed this notion when he addressed African leaders during the wave of elections across the continent in 2020.

    Speaking under the auspices of Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Blair recalled that he came into the UK government in 1997 full of enthusiasm and optimism with a significant mandate from the people and a majority in the parliament, but swiftly found out that the set of skills that brought him into power was largely redundant when it came to governing.

    According to him, the one was about persuasion and the other, was about getting things done, and over time, he realised that the core challenge was turning the great vision into a practical reality (implementation).

    Regrettably, since independence in 1960, Nigeria still grapples with the challenge of producing leaders who cannot translate vision to reality. We have a leadership selection process that more often than not, produces either leaders who do not have a vision or those who have a vision but lack the passion to pursue it. The attendant consequences include maladministration, widespread corruption, mismanagement of public resources and the ripple effects, such as rising cost of living, poverty and underdevelopment, and decaying infrastructure, among others.

    However, the coming general election presents another golden opportunity for Nigerians to change the leadership trajectory to guarantee a prosperous and bounteous future for the country. In the meantime, politicians have started indicating interest in various offices, including the office of the President. By the time of writing this piece, several politicians have indicated interest to contest the presidential elections under different platforms.

    A fortnight ago, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige told Channels Television that he was seriously consulting to run for President in 2023. Ngige said: “I told my constituents that were urging me last December that I will do some consultation and speak to them in April during Easter.

    So, I am doing my consultation.” Prodded further by the interviewer, Seun Okinbaloye, the minister quipped: “I am qualified to be President although I am yet to inform my boss, President Buhari.” The two-time minister further disclosed that some Nigerians, including a former Inspector General of Police, have asked him to run.

    Ngige, however, made it clear that he would not be running based on regional sentiments but as an eminently qualified Nigerian from Alor in Idemili South Local Government Area in the South-East of Nigeria. “I will not wear the toga of an Igbo President,” he said.

    I was not baffled by this statement being somebody conversant with Ngige’s Zikist inclinations and belief in one strong indivisible, equitable, fair and just Nigeria.

    Besides, in a clime like ours where politicians deploy ethnicity and even religion to capture power, it is heartwarming to note that we still have politicians like Ngige who eschew primordial sentiments from politics. Whilst some politicians would only run if their parties zone the ticket to their section of the country, Ngige has chosen not to be a provincial candidate.

    The good news here is that if elected President, the former Anambra State government intends to make the entire country his constituency. Prior to the Channels Television interview, the Anambra State chapter of the APC had in December last year adopted a resolution, urging him to run for the presidency. He asked the party faithful to give him until the coming Easter to decide. Ever since the pressure on him to contest has gained more momentum.

    As somebody who has followed Ngige’s flourishing political career, I see him as somebody capable of translating vision to reality. Apart from his sound educational background, vast public/private sector experience, versatility and other outstanding leadership qualities, the medical doctor- turned-politician has distinguished himself, beginning from his days as the governor of Anambra State (from May 29, 2003-March 16, 2006), senator representing Anambra Central (June 2011-June 2015) and the Minister of Labour and Employment (2015 till date).

    In his current assignment as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Ngige’s interventions have been felt in critical sectors of the country, such as Work, Health and Education.

    He contributed immeasurably to the success of the Second Niger Bridge, one of the five legacy projects of the Buhari government. The multi-billion naira bridge is billed for commissioning by October this year, having reached 91 per cent completion, according to the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola.

    Also, courtesy of Ngige’s interventions alongside his counterparts in the Ministry of Health, the Federal Government released N32b as a hazard allowance to doctors and other health workers at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the government and the health workers have concluded negotiations on a new hazard allowance, expected to be more meaningful than the N5000 the workers have been earning as a hazard allowance since 1991.

    In his ministry, he has demonstrated to the delight of the organised labour, “the penchant for leaving open the door of frank discussions, open negotiations and genuine reconciliations”. In 2019, he played a key role in the negotiation of the N30,000 minimum wage for workers in Nigeria. He returned Nigeria to the frontlines of international labour and diplomacy by taking the country back to the Governing Board of the International Labour Organisation, ILO, in 2018, after about 10 years of absence. His political sagacity propelled him to the position of the leader of Africa and Asia Ministers of Labour. In 2019, he became the President of the government group of the 187-member nation UN agency.

    As governor of Anambra State, he laid the foundation for the rapid development of the state through massive infrastructure development. For instance, the Ngige administration executed 105 road projects cutting across the three senatorial zones of the state and some linking Anambra to neighbouring states.

    He also invested heavily in healthcare development, education and provision of security while salaries and pensions were promptly paid. He initiated the process of returning schools to the original owners (the churches) and began the process of getting voluntary agencies to partner with the government in the management of hospitals.

    Even as an opposition senator in the seventh Senate, he attracted power projects to the South East and his Anambra Central senatorial district, courtesy of his position as the Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Power and as a member of the Committee on Health, co-sponsored alongside Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, the bill that produced the Health Act 2013, among other bills.

    Ngige’s exploits in these offices have continued to earn him accolades both locally and internationally. For instance, in February this year, he was inducted as a Distinguished Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Corporate Governance, INSLEC, a leading global body of both present and aspiring leaders, entrepreneurs and people in corporate governance.

    According to the President/Chairman of the council of INSLEC, Professor Gabriel Emecheta, the decision to elect Ngige as a Distinguished Honorary Fellow of the institute, speaks volumes about his pristine and differentiated worth as a leader, mentor and bridge builder. Similarly, the Chairman of, Planning and Resource Committee, Prof. Ayandiji Aina extolled Ngige’s creativity, confidence, decisiveness, humility and trustworthiness, describing him as a conflict manager of great extinction.

    This same February, Ngige received a commendation from the French President, Emmanuel Macron for exhibiting diplomatic finesse while receiving the French delegation that came to seek Nigeria’s support for the candidate of France for the post of the Director-General of International Labour Organisation, ILO. Macron made the commendation in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari. In conclusion, I am of the opinion that the APC should support Ngige.

    Being a consummate politician, he has all it takes to offer Nigerians purposeful leadership that would consolidate on the enormous gains of the Buhari administration. Chukwunyere, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Abuja.

    (Vanguard)

     

  • PDP accuses Presidency and APC of plot to alter the newly enacted Electoral Act

    PDP accuses Presidency and APC of plot to alter the newly enacted Electoral Act

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, accused the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of plot to alter the newly enacted Electoral Act.

    PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said it had uncovered plots by the government to ‘orchestrate’ an amendment to the Electoral Act, so to introduce new clause that would allegedly compromise the 2023 polls.

    The opposition party claimed the ploy is to create an avenue for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to alter the timetable for the 2023 general election. It claimed APC wants the election timetable pushed forward because the ruling party is running behind schedule.

    “The APC, having realised it is running out of time and cannot meet up with the already released electoral timetable now seeks to frustrate and derail the ongoing electoral process.

    “The PDP has it on good authority that the President Muhammadu Buhari presidency has perfected plots to use the APC leadership in the National Assembly to orchestrate an amendment to the Electoral Act to create opening for INEC to alter its already released 2023 election timetable and schedule of activities to accommodate the APC.

    “Our party has information about how the APC has been mounting pressure on INEC to push forward the already scheduled dates for the 2023 general election.

    “The PDP vehemently rejects this plot by the APC which amounts to shifting the goal post in the middle of the game and cautions INEC to resist such heinous design against our democracy.

    “The election timetable has already been released, political parties have commenced processes, Nigerians have since set their minds on the election dates to vote out the APC and there is no going back on that resolve.

    “The PDP, therefore, cautions the Buhari presidency and the APC leadership in the National Assembly to note that any attempt to alter the timetable is an invitation to serious political crisis in the country as Nigerians will firmly resist them.”

    The party called on its members in the National Assembly to be vigilant and firmly resist the alleged plot to alter the Electoral Act. Similarly, it charged all lovers of democracy; the civil society, the media, organised labour and the international community to stand against alleged attempts to derail the democratic process.

    Meanwhile, the PDP has extended deadline for the sale of nomination forms from April 1 to April 8.

    The party, in a statement by Ologunagba, also extended the deadline for the submission, as well rescheduled the date for the screening of aspirants.

    (Sun)

  • Court strikes out suit challenging legality of Rivers APC excos

    A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has struck out a consolidated suit by Ogechi Ogwu-Edwin and four others and Alaibo Soibibo and four others against the All Progressives Congress, APC, and former state Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party, Isaac Ogbobula.

    The separate suits, which were later consolidated, had challenged the legality of the APC and its Caretaker Committee Chairman, Isaac Ogbogbula, to conduct congresses of the party in the state.

    The claimants had approached the court, seeking an injunction against APC over the conduct of congresses.

    The suit had prayed the court to stop APC from going ahead to do anything with the outcome of the congresses because they (applicants) were allegedly refused access to nomination forms after making payment for the said forms.

    However, Justice Charles Wali in his judgement, yesterday, agreed with the defendants counsel’s prayer that the court should set aside the suit for lacking in merit on the ground of lack of proof of service.

    Wali held that the claimants, instead of effecting service at the head office of the first defendant (APC), which is in Abuja, served them in Port Harcourt office, which was against the provisions of the law.

    The court dismissed the suit for lack of jurisdiction, noting that the suit was statute barred and had become academic exercise.

    (Vanguard)

  • APC crisis: Confusion over APC leadership

     

    There may not be light at the end of the tunnel in the precarious situation facing the All Progressives Congress (APC) as both the proposed March 26 national convention and unresolved headship of the party are still shrouded in controversy and doubts.

    While the myriads of legal suits and constitutional hurdles on the side of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), pose serious challenge to the certainty of holding the convention, on the chosen date, the antagonism from some members of the APC Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) and members of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) against Governor Mai Mala Buni have combined to complicate the leadership problem.

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    On assumption of office on Monday, the acting Chairman CECPC, Governor Sani Bello of Niger State had created the impression that the door was shut behind Governor Buni, noting that he could not account for his future within the party. Governors Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State escalated the doubt when they emphasized that Buni was as good as gone. According to El-Rufai, Governor Sani Bello is in charge and he has the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari and 19 of 23 APC governors. Buni, he said, can only return as Governor of Yobe State but never as chairman of the party.

    “President Buhari ordered his removal and this has been implemented,” he said. “Governor Bello has taken over and things are moving according to plan. The party will be restored and convention will take place as scheduled. The 19 governors and their deputies are solidly behind this move.” His Ondo State counterpart, Akeredolu, alleged that Buni was working with “Yahoo Yahoo” politicians to stop the party’s convention.

    But in a confession that appears to complicate the situation, Governor Sani Bello-led CECPC has admitted that Buni is still in charge of the party. Speaking during a press conference at the national secretariat of the party, Mr Ismaeel Ahmed, Caretaker Committee member representing the Youth, said that the position of Governor Buni, as the chairman of the CECPC, was incontrovertible, emphasising that Bello is only on acting capacity.

    The new spokesperson of the ruling party further insisted that the March 26 proposed national convention is sacrosanct despite the misunderstanding trailing the correspondence with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stopping the emergency virtual National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for March 17, 2022.

    According to him the March 26 date has not changed. He explained what happened. “The chairman wrote a letter and transmitted power to Governor Bello to enable him go for medical treatment,” he said. “Those are two emergencies. He has a medical emergency, that cannot wait for the Convention. We have a convention that cannot wait for him to be healthy. So, one has to leave for the other, whichever, he has transmitted a letter and Governor Sani Bello has been acting appropriately. Why is it so difficult for people to understand that?

    “So, Governor Sani Bello is acting on the full authority of the Caretaker Committee and with the full authority of the stakeholders and with the full consent of Governor Mai Mala Buni. It is very clear and simple. If anybody has issues with any of our decisions, he can head to court. For now, we are doing it with the full backing of the law. So, there is no ambiguity on this, absolutely none.”

    But the rejected letter from INEC requesting the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) emergency virtual meeting based on the discrepancies in the signatories has heightened the doubt for the party’s national convention. On the position of the Caretaker Committee, Ahmed said: “We fixed 17 March for the NEC meeting of the party which is meant to ratify, of course, the March 26 convention and to update the members of NEC on the details of the exercise. Convention will hold on March 26. I am not only a youth leader or internal spokesperson of the party, but also a lawyer. And we have served a notice to INEC. We served that notice on the 5th of February and that was the required 21 days. If you are going to make any adjustment to that date, all you need is a letter. You don’t need another 21 days and that letter was since written about two weeks ago, when we realised that we couldn’t hold it on the 26th of February. The moment, the CECPC agreed on March 26, that letter was written to INEC. INEC has accepted that letter.”

    He continued: “The issue of the date of convention is not in question, not in INEC, not certainly with us. That is settled. We have complied with all the rules and have notified INEC as appropriately expected for us to do. So that’s no longer an issue. Somebody asks, what is the status of the NEC meeting that we signed. I think Prof. Tahir Maman who is overseeing the legal department would be addressing you once all these issues are clarified but notice has been sent out for NEC meeting. We are still on that, whatever it is that’s going on.”

     

    (Vanguard)

  • INEC – We don’t recognise Sani-Bello as APC chair

     

    There seems to be no let up in the crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Yesterday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the party could only remove the National Chairman of Caretaker / Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Governor Mai Mala Buni, and other officers after a 21-day notice to the electoral body.

    INEC said it cannot attend the emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of APC next week because the party was yet to comply with relevant laws and regulations.

    It faulted the party for notifying it of its NEC meeting without the signatures of Buni and the Secretary of CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedohe.

    It asked APC to follow due process if it wanted to effect change of leadership.

    INEC made its position known in a March 9, 2021 letter to APC by the Secretary, Mrs. Rose Oriaran-Anthony.

     

    (The Nation)

  • Imo APC crisis: Okorocha and Uzodimma faction lay claim on chairmanship

    Crisis is brewing among the members of the Imo state chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, as Daniel Nwafor, led faction, loyal to former governor Rochas Okorocha said he would still conduct the activities of the APC in the state, as the chairman.

    Nwafor’s statement came through his Acting Publicity Secretary, Micheal Anyanwu, on Monday in Owerri, while reacting to the statement by Macdonald Ebere’s camp jubilating that Ebere “is now the authentic chairman of APC in Imo.”

    Nwafor boasted that “We implore the National leadership of our great party to respect and uphold the democratic ethos, norms and values of for which our party is renowned.

    “While we are not perturbed by the triviality jamboree and fanfare of February, 3, it is important to clarify that the authentic, duly elected legally recognised and competent chairman of our great party in Imo State remains Daniel Nwafor.”

    “Existing judgements delivered by courts of competent jurisdiction in favour authenticated the Nwafor- led State Working Committee as the properly constituted and lawful leadership and executives of our great party in the State.

    “The judgement unless upturned by the supreme court is still standing. And ruled that not even the NEC of our party can truncate our lawful tenure until completed,” Nwafor said.

     

    (Vanguard)