…lobby state chairmen to reject planned postponement

…c’ttee meets with Buhari on Friday

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) is scheduled to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari over the ruling party’s national convention next month. The meeting, according to a national chairmanship aspirant, is scheduled for Friday.

Meanwhile, investigations have revealed that some APC governors have been lobbying state party chairmen to meet and pass a vote of confidence in the CECPC headed by Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni. Should this happen, it will be the second time in one month the chairmen will be passing a vote of confidence in the committee.

A leader of the party, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the vote of confidence in the committee is to prevent the postponement of the convention. Since the committee fixed the convention for February, there have been allegations and counter allegations on the plot to postpone the convention. On meeting with the President, the National Chairmanship candidate acknowledged the allegations of the CECPC pushing for the postponement of the convention. The source said: “l’m aware that the committee members are pushing for the postponement of the convention, but for now the President is not disposed for that.

“They have scheduled a meeting with the President on January 7, which Friday, l expect that they will come up with an appropriate date after the meeting. “For those asking for the postponement of the convention, they are using that to buy favour, if any, from the Caretaker Committee.” On the chairmen, another source said some governors close to the CECPC had been contacted to lobby the state chairmen for a vote of confidence.

The source explained that the vote of confidence is to let the President know that the committee is doing well. He said: “The major challenge they are having is how to convince the chairman of the state chairmen forum and Borno State APC Chairman Ali Bukar Dalori. “Recall that at the last meeting they held and passed a vote of confidence in the CECPC and Dalori was not there. “You should also know that the governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, is not one of the “friends of the Caretaker Committee.”

The Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, had written to the CECPC demanding the postponement of the convention. The Senator representing Abia North had advised that the convention be done with the presidential convention of the party. However, some members have criticized the position of the former Abia State governor.

According to them, it will be counterproductive to the party.

The Director General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Salihu Lukman, advised the CECPC against postponing the convention. He said: “It is very difficult to excuse the CECPC from the campaign to postpone the February convention. If the CECPC is not interested in the postponement of the convention from the agreed February 2022 date, why is it difficult to make a formal announcement about the date and venue for the convention? Statutorily, by the requirements of the Electoral Act, the party is expected to serve a least 21-day notice of the convention to INEC, which basically means that if the convention is to hold any day before February 28, 2021, the notice to INEC should be given on or before February 7, 2022. That being the case, the temptation could be to argue that there is more time. Some reminders would be necessary at this point.” (Text, excluding headline from New Telegraph)

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