APC gambles with 2023 as convention controversy persists

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is gambling with the 2023 general election as the controversies surrounding the February National Convention are drifting the party to an implosion that would validate the warning of President Muhammadu Buhari about its imminent defeat.

Apparently worried by the crisis in his party as a result of the delay in the fixing of the exact date and venue for the convention as the February timeline approaches, Buhari warned that if APC does not settle its disagreements before its convention, the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could take over in 2023.

The President at a recent interview on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) said: “If the party cannot agree, then the opposition will take over” while lamenting the pre-convention crisis rocking the party.

“What did the PDP do? They thought that the opposition could not come together. But when ACN, ANPP, CPC, APGA came together, before PDP realised it, they were off. They are still off. If the APC can’t agree on the convention, the opposition will naturally take over,” he said.

But more than a week after Buhari’s warning, the crisis has continued to fester with more divisions even amongst the APC Governors some of whom are believed to be no longer happy with the Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party led by their colleague, Governor of Yobe State, Mai-Mala Buni.

It has been reliably gathered that division amongst the Progressive Governors was responsible for the postponement of their meeting scheduled last Sunday to iron out issues and probably set the date for the convention as some of them are at daggers drawn to have their biddings done at the convention.

The aborted meeting was announced by a ranking member of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and

Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, at the end of a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Since then, there has been an uneasy calm amongst not just the Governors but other leaders of the party, including aspirants, especially those for the position of the National Chairman whose fate is at the moment hanging after they have carried out consultations across the country.

While the Caretaker has not set date and venue for the convention, there is a subsisting suit filed by some aggrieved members of the party to stop the exercise on grounds that state congresses are yet to be completed in all the 36 states of the federation.

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In the suit filed against the planned February convention, five aggrieved party members sued the APC, Yobe State Governor, Buni, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as the defendants.

The plaintiffs – Suleiman Usman, Muhammed Shehu, Samaila Isahaka, Idris Isah and Audu Emmanuel – through the suit dated January 4, 2022, urged the court to restrain the Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee from going ahead with the scheduled convention.

This led to media reports last week that the APC convention would hold in June, confirming speculations and insinuations that the Caretaker is plotting to serve out the tenure of the dismissed former National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole which is to expire in June.

This was however, denied by the APC CECPC Secretary, John Akpanudoedehe who called on the general public to “completely disregard fake news on the reported suspension of the planned National Convention”, assuring the public that the CECPC “is already embarking on consultations with party stakeholders to prepare the ground for a rancour-free National Convention.”

But the Director General of PGF, Salihu Lukman asked the Caretaker to stop lying to Nigerians and APC members as all consultations about organising the Convention ended with the meeting of APC Governors with President Muhammadu Buhari on November 22, 2021.

He said the CECPC should also stop claiming that it is waiting for the meeting of Progressive Governors before it takes all the necessary decisions to commence the process of organising the Convention.

Lukman stressed that such a claim is not only dishonest but also taking the support of Progressive Governors for granted, which is why Progressive Governors have been reduced to punching bags of all party members regarding all the challenges facing the party.

He said: “Progressive Governors, like all party members will not associate themselves with any act of disrespect to decisions validly taken in consultations with President Buhari. They will not take the responsibility of actions or inactions of the CECPC. Every responsibility of organising the Convention is vested with the CECPC.”

The Director General of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) urged the Mai-Mala Buni-led CECPC to resign

in the event that it is unable to implement the decision to hold the Convention in February 2022, as decided, to save the APC, its leaders, including Governors) and members from the current spate of avoidable public embarrassment.

Lukman observed that the CECPC has no respect for President Buhari, which is responsible for why they are doing everything possible to sabotage decisions validly taken to hold the APC National Convention in February after consultation with the President.

He said the failure of the APC Caretaker Committee to announce any date and venue for the National Convention in that latest statement is a slap on the face of Nigerians and an insult on party members.

“On November 22, 2021, the Chairman of PGF His Excellency Abubakar Atiku Bagudu led a delegation, which include the CECPC Chairman, His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni, to President Buhari to finalise consultations on the date of the Convention. Immediately after the meeting with President Buhari, His Excellency Bagudu announced the agreement reached with President Buhari to the effect that the Convention will hold in February 2022.

“With such an agreement, the responsibility of the CECPC is to go ahead and start organising the Convention. With almost two months after, the CECPC has not issued any notice of the Convention to anyone. Not even the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which by the provision of the Electoral Act as amended is required to be given at least 21 days’ notice.

“The truth must be told, the responsibility of organising the February 2022 APC National Convention rests squarely with the CECPC. At this point, it will be necessary to remind all members of the CECPC and by extension all leaders of APC that part of the reasons that made it very necessary to dissolve the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole led National Working Committee (NWC) was the disrespect for leaders and members of the party, especially by Comrade Oshiomhole, the former National Chairman of the party.

“The CECPC leadership have returned the party back to mode of open disrespect for any recommendation given. It is even worse now given that the CECPC is ready to sacrifice the future of the party. Clearly, what is staring us in the face is that all the bad leadership records under Comrade Oshiomhole led NWC is about to be met and outstripped by the present CECPC,” said.

Meanwhile, sources close to the CECPC confided in BusinessDay that the Committee will be meeting on Tuesday this week to constitute sub-committees for the convention and fixe the date for the exercise.

“The Caretaker Committee is meeting on Tuesday to set up sub-committees and also put the date for the convention to settle the matter hence the issue is bringing so much misunderstanding in our party. The Caretaker, especially Governor Buni doesn’t want to take what President Buhari said on NTA for granted”, the source said, pleading for anonymity.

Akpanudoedehe had on December 20 the meeting of CECPC said the Committee resolved to setup sub-committees on budgeting and other relevant structures for the February National Convention.