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Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari has appraised recent developments in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and warned the leaders and members of the party to desist forthwith from name-calling and backstabbing.
Rather, he said, the party must be ready to put its house in order ahead of the planned national convention of the party holding in Abuja on March 26, 2022.
The embattled Chairman of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, is expected back in the country on Monday to assume the leadership of the party.
As Buni is being expected back to take over, the acting Chairman of the party and Niger State governor, Mr. Abubakar Sani Bello; Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and their counterpart in Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, arrived London Saturday night to meet with Buhari.
This is as the ruling party has clarified that the National Secretary of the party, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, did not resign his position, and was not sacked by the party.
As the governors elected on the platform of the ruling party await the outcome of the meeting between Buhari and some stakeholders of the party, they have also mounted pressure on Akpanudoedehe to sign the notice of the scheduled meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
President Buhari, in a statement issued on Saturday by his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, tasked the leaders and membership of the APC to stop mudslinging ahead of the forthcoming national convention that will lead to the election of new national leaders to run the party for the next four years.
He also urged them to remain steadfast and maintain their unity if the party is to continue on the path of victory and its dominance at all levels throughout the country.
The president asked the APC members to look at the once-powerful, “main opposition” Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) now enfeebled and adrift and learn lessons in disunity, mismanagement and corruption.
He warned that ”they (PDP) failed in 16 years in power and a failure as opposition.
“Yes, we are entitled to our share of dissent and intra-party discord. These are common in all parties, left and right all over the world.
”But parties splintered by competing egos destine themselves to the worst possible fate”.
According to him, ”As the country prepares for the long run-up to the 2023 presidential election, we all expect a robust debate on the issues that matter and what is going in the APC should be a reflection of this, not the infighting we are seeing. There must be no more distractions ahead of the convention to choose new leaders.”
President Buhari recalled that the APC started with a confidence of victory, adding that the party today enjoys that confidence in nearly two-thirds of our 36 states.
Yet, he noted, this is a party that has been in existence barely for eight years, becoming the dominant party because it has thrown open its doors to defectors from other parties, big and small.
This alone, in addition to the fact ”we didn’t start on the note of arrogance of power, nor see government as a vehicle for self-aggrandisement, to be held at all costs, but a vehicle to bring development to all without discrimination-political, ethnic or regional to our dear country made this success possible.”
The party, the president further noted, is proud of the fact that in its short period of existence, it has won two general elections decisively and despite losing a few states in 2019, it steadfastly expanded its pan-Nigerian outlook with significant defections of the opposition governors and parliamentarians into its fold.
”Given all that is at a stake, we can expect contests into offices as we are now faced with to be heated although candidates and their promoters for party offices are not so much debating policy differences, differences of management, personality, character, and suitability for the most important leadership roles in our country and therefore the continent.”
Buhari also stressed that for more than a week, the internal management affairs of the APC have been afforded generous media coverage – over and above its importance to the voters of Nigeria.
He said: “It is important to ask what benefits the poor are getting during the period of intense negative coverage.
“When precisely the party’s convention is held and who is the party’s chairman is hardly a matter for the average voter: vastly more important is who convention delegates will elect as the party’s flagbearer in the coming weeks to take forward the party’s platform to the people in the general election in February next year.
“It is, therefore, important for the media to put such matters into perspective. No one is debating policy differences here. That is for the general election. None of the declared aspirants and any of those that may step forward will change because of who may be in the party in the chairman’s seat. It is essentially the same party.
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“Of course, the media are welcome to comment on the content of the character of the potential APC candidates; discuss their suitability for leadership; scrutinise their offer to the membership. But to focus on the routine internal divisions and magnify them into what they have become today is a waste of everyone’s time, amounting to no more than a discussion over seating arrangements.
This is not what Nigerians talk of in their communities. They incline only for things that matter.”
Bello, el-Rufai, Fayemi Meet Buhari in London
Meanwhile, the acting Chairman of the party and Niger State Governor, Bello; Kaduna State Governor, el-Rufai and their counterpart in Ekiti State, Fayemi, arrived London Saturday night to meet with Buhari.
A source in the ruling party said the visit was informed by “the urgent need to brief the president on events since the new Acting Chairman took over as well as bring him up to speed with the preparations for the March 17 NEC meeting and the March 26 National Convention.
“The team is also in London to check up on the President as he takes his deserved rest,” the source added.
The source added that the governors’ visit will put a final seal on all of APC’s plans for the National Convention, especially its NEC meeting believed to be a major determinant of what would happen at the March 26 convention.
Buni to Return This Week as Party Denies Sacking Akpanudoedehe.
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In a related development, Buni is expected back in the country on Monday to assume the leadership of the party.
One of Buni’s aides informed THISDAY on Saturday that as soon as the Yobe State governor returns to the country, he would take charge of the affairs of the party.
The aide, who pleaded anonymity, also stated that the acting Caretaker Chairman and Governor of Niger State, Bello is expected to vacate the seat for Buni to avoid dragging the party into any illegality.
He said: “He (Buni) is expected back on Monday and of course, with the position of INEC which made his position very clear and if you have read the dailies today, even the secretariat has backtracked and confirmed that he’s still in charge.
“As soon as he’s back, obviously, the next thing is to take charge. I am sure the party or the acting chairman now will not want to drag the party into any unconstitutionality or any illegality.”
Also, Buni’s Director-General for Media and Publicity, Mr Mamman Mohmamed said the acting chairman had stated in unambiguous terms that he was in an acting capacity.
He stressed that whenever the substantive chairman comes back, the acting chairman would have to give way.
Mohammed said: “This is what we expect and this position is very clear by the regulatory body of political parties, which is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). INEC as an institution has said that as far as it is concerned, Governor Buni remains the chairman of the party.
“I’m sure nobody will want to act in another illegality. So, he is coming back and I am sure the acting chairman will vacate his seat for the substantive chairman.”
Asked if Buni will go ahead with the NEC meeting slated for Thursday, Mohammed said it would be part of the issues that would be considered when Buni is back.
The ruling party has also clarified that Akpanudoedehe did not resign his position, and was not sacked by the party.
There was confusion at the national secretariat of the party last Tuesday over the fate of Akpanudoedehe.
While there were reports that Akpanudoedehe had tendered his resignation having read the handwriting from the new leadership, he had insisted that he was still the secretary except the President said otherwise.
However, the APC Director of Publicity, Mr. Salisu Dambatta in a statement issued on Saturday said the National Secretary never sent any resignation letter.
Dambatta stated: “Further to the media conference earlier held by the Spokesman of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Mr. Ismaeel Ahmed, the party wishes to note that the Secretary of the CECPC, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, never sent a resignation letter to the party to the best of its knowledge and neither was he sacked as some social media blogs speculated. All those are utterly false.
“The APC is one family, the Caretaker is one unit. We have an Acting Chairman who is racing against time to deliver a convention and committee members that are united in supporting him in carrying out that onerous mandate,” Dambatta explained.
He called on the public to disregard social media stories that are not rooted in fact or even sound reasoning.
THISDAY checks however revealed that the twist in APC’s narration may not be unconnected with the firm stand of the INEC not to recognise the Niger State Governor, Bello as the acting Caretaker Chairman.
Bello, who assumed the leadership of the party last Monday had written the electoral body notifying the commission of the party’s decision to convene for an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
The ruling party had scheduled its NEC meeting for Thursday, March 17, 2022, where it is believed that the leadership quagmire would be resolved.
It was gathered that Bello, upon resumption as acting Caretaker Chairman transmitted a letter dated March 8, 2022, informing INEC of the change of guard at the party’s national secretariat.
However, INEC in a letter signed by the Secretary to the commission, Mrs Rose Oriaran-Anthony and dated March 9, 2022, said the party must give it 21 days’ notice and that the letter was not signed by the party’s Chairman and Secretary.
It was gathered that INEC’s response forced the party’s stakeholders to bring Buni back to ensure that the emergency NEC meeting and the national convention of the party are held as scheduled.
In a related development, the governors elected on the platform of the ruling party are said to be waiting for the outcome of the meeting between Buhari and some stakeholders as part of the ongoing efforts to resolve the leadership crisis in the party.
It was gathered that the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami was in London, while Buni also flew to London from Dubai to be part of the meeting.
A source, who pleaded anonymity said: “Malami is in London. His mission is two-fold: one, to let Buhari know of the outcome of the Senate rejection of the amendment of Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act; two, to report on issues going on in the party. Buni was also in London but is expected back today or tomorrow.”
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Investigations showed that the NEC meeting of APC will go on as INEC has no power over the internal control of the parties.
Another party source told THISDAY that the Secretary, Senator Akpanudoedehe and the acting Caretaker Chairman and the Governor of Niger State, Bello met with one of the founding fathers of the party on Friday in Abuja.
At the meeting, it was gathered that the party chieftain urged Akpanudoedehe to sign the notice of the NEC meeting.
The source said some APC governors are also talking to the secretary to see the need to sign the notice and save the party from destruction.
The source noted that all efforts are to ensure that the convention date of the party is not postponed.
Iyobosa Uwugiaren, Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja