APC Governors Disagree On Zoning Of Party Chairmanship, Other Positions

It is obvious that the national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may not hold on February 26, as governors elected on the party’s platform have remained divided over zoning of the national chairmanship, other party positions and, by extension, the 2023 presidency.

It was gathered reliably that a meeting of the Progressive Governor’s Forum (PGF) convened yesterday to deliberate and arrive at a consensus after which they would communicate their decision on the knotty issue of consensus and zoning of party offices ended in deadlock.

The APC governors were said to be sharply divided over zoning of the national chairman to either the North Central or North East.

An impeccable source close to the PGF told this paper the disagreement over zoning the party chairman to the North East or North West unsettled the governors as some of them insisted that the national chairman of the party must come from the North Central in other to pave way for a vice presidential candidate from the core North, particularly the North East.

“It was a very stormy session; the governors did not take a final stand because they were divided about the chairmanship position. Some of them want the national chairman to come from the North Central, while others maintain that it must go to the South East.

The meeting ended without a definite position on zoning and consensus and that is why they could not meet President Buhari as a forum as earlier scheduled”, the source who did not want his name in print said.

This paper had reported exclusively on Monday that the failure of the governors and other party power brokers to decide on these two thorny issues has altered the programme for the convention which was shifted from February 5 to February 26.

Besides, the schedule of events leading to the party’s convention which was supposed to commence with the sale of forms for party offices on Monday did not go as planned following disagreements over zoning and consensus that led to a stalemate.

It was also learnt that as of Monday, the forms for party positions were yet to be printed, adding that certain knotty issues pertaining to zoning and consensus may have been responsible for the hitches.

So far, no fewer than 11 aspirants from the North are in the race for national chairmanship position.

Those coming from the North East are Sen Ali-Modu Sheriff, a two-term former governor of Borno; Danjuma Goje, also a former governor of Gombe State, and Sylvester Monidafe, all from the North East.

Those from the North Central include a former deputy national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Malam Saliu Mustapha; a former governor of Nasarawa State, Sen Tanko Al Makura; Sen Mohammed Sani-Musa; minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, George Akume; Abdulaziz Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State and a former Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), and the youngest aspirant, Mohammed Saidu Etsu from Niger State.

Meanwhile, Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, said yesterday that there was nothing wrong if the national convention of the APC does not hold on February 26 as scheduled.

Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Buhari at the presidential villa, the governor however expressed hope that the convention would hold on the 26th of this month.

According to him, APC is the largest party in Africa and their internal mechanism is different from other smaller parties, adding that APC is already the party on the ground controlling the federal government and 21 state governments.

He noted that the discretion on how and when to hold the party’s convention should be an internal party affair.

He said, “So, I think we should just watch because under the constitution of APC, buying of forms is one thing. We have three modes that we can adopt to elect our officers, either by direct primaries, by indirect primaries, or by consensus.

“What of if APC has adopted consensus and is not yet brought to the public knowledge? We don’t need again to begin to sell forms. We are democratic enough to know when to shoot and when not to shoot. I think you should just bring your people who have not joined APC to join the party.” On the whether the convention would hold as scheduled, the governor said, “Of course, that is the decision of the party and there is nothing wrong even if it doesn’t hold. What is important is that we must have our convention.

“We have said it’s on the 26th. If anything for any reason tomorrow it is not doable in the opinion of the party, we will move. But that does not mean that there is any intention to move.

“We shouldn’t worry about little issues. I think our focus and attention should be towards having a workable democracy in Nigeria, like we have shown by supporting government policies and programmes and then being patriotic.

“Our democracy will do better if supported with the right attitude. You may not like my face, but the federal government is the federal government, and the state government is the state government. We should be able to exhibit a sense of nationalism and patriotism. We should be able to support a government that is in power.

“Today, the president, even though produced by APC, is president of all the political parties in Nigeria and the government of all the political parties in Nigeria. This mentality of war, war, war; politics, and democracy is not about war. It’s about ideology and the ability to sell your policy and the people buy into it. So, I’m confident that our party, contrary to the expectations in some quarters, will be stronger and stronger as we make progress.

“And of course, in the nearest future, I’m very confident that APC will still be in power. Majority of the political class in Nigeria understands that APC is the party to beat and that is why they are joining day by day.

On his reasons for meeting with the president, the governor said he came to brief the president on security and governance, as well as make some requests.

“In the same manner, I also used the opportunity to request Mr. President to consider locating a power generating facility in Nworie River where we have been able to empty all the flood control systems by balloon technology and the tide has gone up. And because of the sufficient water in the river now, we can use that river to generate electricity to serve the entire Owerri Metropolis,” he noted.

Meanwhile, concerned youths and other stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have called on the attorney general of the federation (AGF) and minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), not to interfere with the activities of the Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).

The youths alleged that Malami had prepared a list of delegates through the backdoor and was planning to prevail on the CECPC to accept it.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the group’s convener/president, Comrade Owolabi Abdullahi, described Malami’s action as an embarrassment to the party and the Buhari administration.

The youths called for the immediate resignation of Malami for planning to impose candidates on the party ahead of the national convention.

They stated: “Malami is on a mission to cause gross disaffection in the party through the imposition of candidates, most of which are his allies and cronies. As a matter of urgency, the AGF must desist from his ploy to dictate to members of the APC how to elect and whom to elect at the convention.

“The recent events in the buildup to the APC national convention slated for February 26th 2022, has indeed called for concern from all stakeholders; hence this press conference convoked to press for the immediate resignation of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami from office with immediate effect.

“We are indeed concerned that a high-ranking member of the government and the party in the mold of the Justice Minister would elect to undertake acts that are inimical to the ideals of the party, which are clearly outside his purview.

“Mr Abubakar Malami, in recent times, has been meddlesome in the affairs of the party, using his office to cause intimidation and harassment to the current leadership of the party into submitting to his whims and caprices.

“The Concerned APC Youth Forum finds his actions worrisome and an indication that the forthcoming National convention of the party might be in jeopardy due to the unwholesome activities of party members who have elected to make impositions of candidates the new norm at the expense of the array of credible candidates that have signified interest in the leadership positions in the party.

“We wish to state that the meddlesomeness of the AGF, Abubakar Malami, in the party’s affairs is unbecoming of a public official and the country’s chief law officer, whose conduct ought to be guided by fairness, equity and justice. But he has indeed displayed an apparent lack of grasp of the issues regarding equity and justice through his actions regarding the forthcoming National Convention of the APC”.

Speaking further, Abdullahi said as concerned stakeholders of the party, the AGF is on a mission to cause gross disaffection in the party through the attempt to impose candidates on the party.

“It is also more worrisome that the AGF, Abubakar Malami, has carried on like the party’s legal adviser at the expense of his responsibilities as the chief law officer of the country, which has caused the government monumental embarrassment in recent times.

“There are numerous cases where his legal advice to Mr President on critical matters of national concern has caused the government untold embarrassment and to the chagrin of the APC as a party of repute,” the group alleged.