President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term and tenure extension for members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) dominated discussion as the NWC began a three day meeting in Abuja yesterday, Daily Trust has learnt.

The tenure of members of the NWC will expire in June but speculation is rife that they are working for their term to be extended until the election.

Proponents of tenure extension argued that this is the best way to go in order to avoid holding a convention and party primaries weeks apart.

They pointed out that the party should avoid a convention with all the attendant risk of a backlash as it goes into election year.

On the other side are some party chieftains who are not happy with the way things are being handled.

Sources say these are some of the thorny issues the party leaders will have to thrash out in the next two days.

The APC leaders during yesterday’s meeting also deliberated on how to convince President Buhari to seek re-election next year.

Sources said they also brought up the crisis ravaging its state chapters and the need to resolve them so as to improve the party’s chances ahead of 2019.

It was gathered yesterday that the NWC meeting, being presided over by the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, started addressing some of the key issues.

There was no official briefing for journalists on the outcome of the meeting.The meeting will continue today.

Intrigues over convention

It was gathered that the presidency was “in tune” with the planned extension of the tenure of Chief Oyegun’s led NWC.

“The argument is simple, if Oyegun and his team continue, it would be much easier for us to sail through President Buhari’s re-election bid,” a credible source said.

“Some APC governors are also in support of this because if we are to hold convention now for new party leaders to emerge, it would be difficult to galvanize forces,” he said.

Another source confirmed that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi who was rumoured to have been re-appointed as Director-General of President Buhari’s Campaign Organization is working closely with Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State to ensure that contentious issues within the party were resolved soonest.

The party’s NWC must convene the National Executive Committee (NEC) anytime soon because the tenure of the party officials at ward level will expire by February 24.

Chief Odigie-Oyegun had said on January 6 this year that the meetings of National Caucus and NEC would hold by the end of this month to endorse the timetable for congresses and national convention.

The APC national chairman added that the congresses and convention would hold between January and June this year.

But the activities lined up ahead of the congresses and convention and the actions of party leaders were now being received with suspicion after key political figures in the ruling party were believed to have commenced fresh moves to delay the process again, with the purported plan to elongate the tenure of the current NWC beyond June 13, 2018 when their tenure expires.

The plan was cited as the reason for the abrupt postponement of a routine meeting expected to involve the NWC members, the 24 governors and the party caucus in the National Assembly last Wednesday.

Crisis in states

The APC is enveloped in crisis in many states under its control and this is one of the issues the ongoing NWC meeting is working to resolve.

In Kano where the party got the highest votes in 2015, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is locked in intense fight with his predecessor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Various committees setup to resolve the crisis could not succeed, and sources said the APC leadership, on the orders of President Buhari would try to find a lasting solution to the problem.

“Kwankwaso came second to Buhari during the APC’s presidential primaries in 2015; the party will not afford to have a divided house in Kano,” a source close to the meeting, said.

Governor El-Rufai is also fighting with Senator Shehu Sani and other APC chieftains in Kaduna. They include Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, Tijjani Ramalan and Tom Maiyashi.

The situation is the same in Katsina where Governor Aminu Bello Masari is not seeing eye-to-eye with the likes of Mohammed Tukur Liman, Tijjani Zangon Daura, Sadiq Yar’Adua, Kabiru Murja, Sada Ilu among other party chieftains, a development that led to the formation of APC-Akida.

In Bauchi, Governor Mohammed Abubakar is having a frosty relationship with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, the three senators from the state- Nazif Gamawa, Ali Wakili and Hamma Misau as well as other legislators and senior party chieftains like ex- Police Affairs Minister, Dr. Yakubu Lame.

In Oyo State, Governor Abiola Ajimobi is fighting with the Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shitu.

The situation is the same in many states.

“All these are the tasks before the APC NWC meeting and we are trying to resolve them. We also want to ensure that our house is put in order in the South West and in the North Central while we consolidate our gains in the South East,” another source said.

We want presidency in 2023, Igbo APC leaders tell Buhari

A delegation of the All Progressives Congress leaders from the Southeast yesterday met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and asked him to support zoning of the presidency to the region in 2023.

They also reaffirmed the unanimous decision of the party in the zone on December 31, 2017 endorsing Buhari for a second term in office.

The delegation, led by Science and Technology Minister Ogbonnaya Onu, comprises former Senate President Ken Nnamani, former Ebonyi State Governor Martins Elechi, Senator Andy Uba, Senator Ben Uwajimogu, former governor of old Anambra State Jim Nwobodo, Senator Nkechi Nworgu, Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, former Labour Minister Emeka Wogu, Senator Uche Ekwunife, Hon. Tony Nwoye, among others.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Hon. Emma Eneukwu, National Vice Chairman, South East APC, said: ‘‘It is our conviction that four years is not enough for you to complete this worthy journey hence the need for another four years to enable you make Nigeria truly great.

“We implore Mr President, as a just and fair-minded leader, to make history by supporting the zoning of the office of the President in our great party to the South East at the end of your second tenure in office as President in 2023.”

He thanked Bujari for the several projects receiving attention of the Federal Government in the South East including , 2nd Niger Bridge, Enugu-Port Harcourt road as well as the Enugu-Onitsha –Owerri road, among others.

I’ll act with clear conscience - President

Responding, President Buhari said he would take decisions with a clear conscience and do the best he could do for all Nigerians.

‘‘I assure you that whatever I try to do, I will do it with a clear conscience and I’ll do the best I can do for all Nigerians,’’ Buhari said.

He thanked the delegation for their patriotism, sacrifices and support for the peace and stability of the country.

He commended the Southeast leaders for acknowledging the laudable and consistent efforts of his administration to restore Nigeria to the position of eminence.

‘‘I am very pleased for your patriotism and consistency in supporting our administration. You are always going around explaining things even at the risk of abuse.

‘‘I want you to know that I have not forgotten the efforts and sacrifices you have made in the successes I have achieved in my position and I appreciate what you are doing for the stability of our country and the future of our children and our grandchildren,” he said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/buhari-s-second-term-nwc-tenure-dominate-apc-meeting.html

Fuji house of commotion

I want to know reasons behind Buhari's second tenure bid and why sane person should vote for muhammadu Buhari

What a mess.
Nigerians please be wise for God's sake, someone that his immediate family is shading anyhow on social media and at every given opportunity, please Nigerians be wise, Aisha and Zahra know this man more than any of us. My people say that a frog does not jump out anyhow in daytime, something must be pursuing it.

We recognise that without the intervention of the PMB GOV'T, many state governments would have been unable to pay salaries last year.
CARRYGO BABA

emmie14:
I want to know reasons behind Buhari's second tenure bid and why sane person should vote for muhammadu Buhari

IF NOT FOR PMB.
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How would you know that Patience Jonathan mama is currently spending billions of dollars even while in the grave?
How would you know that Saraki kept N1.4b to himself from Paris Club refunds and is richer than Kwara state?
How would you know that $2.1b was shared by ATM Dasuki among ranks and files?
How would you know that Wale Oke hide N4b raw cash at Ikoyi's apartment?
How would you know that someone abandoned N400m at Kaduna's Airport without looking back for the fear of EFCC?
How would you know that over N1trillion was shared every year by the subsidy cabals yet you still had fuel scarcity?
How would you know that Tompolo was paid over N43b to protect our water ways by Jonathan?
Tell me, how would you know that over N240b was spent to import rice every year thereby leaving the local farmers poor as church rats?
How would you know that Deziani embezzled billion of dollars not to talk of the 56 choice property recently forfeited to the Federal Government through the court?
How would you know that Jamb who had over the years remitted N3million now remitted N8billion to the Federation account within one year?
How would you know that Fayose collected N4.7billion from Jonathan through Obanikoro to fund his Ekiti state election?
How would you know that Nigeria Customs can generate over N300b within first quarter of 2017 compared to N3b remitted over the years?
How would you know that Atiku and company (Intel) has been stealing from Nigeria government through the NPA for past 17years?
How would you know that some judges and lawyers are encouraging corruption through perpetual injunctions and what have you?
How would you know that Stella Oduah used her maids to launder N2.4b?
How would you know that Patience Jonathan also used her maids to launder over N13b even own Hotel worth N11b in Bayelsa?
How would you know that the unscrupulous ones hide billions of dollars on farms, grave hards, suckaway pits, tanks etc.?
How would you know that Deziani bribed INEC officials with N23b in the last 2015 elections to achieve victory for Jonathan and his cronies.
How would you know that Femi Aluko (Deziani's boy boy) bought a Yatch (Boat) worth N32b.
Hmmm, how would you know, how would you know...? if not for the Best President of our time.
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Like Oliver Twist, we are surely waiting to know more even if the National Assembly refused to pass the bill you sent to them (The Anti Corruption and Special Court bill) to Prosecute the corrupt elements in our midst besides our constitution which shelter the unscrupulous elites... the high and mighty ones in our society.
We all know that the House of Assembly/House of Legislatives are part of the rots in our country and we are eagerly waiting for them comes 2019.
We also know that their end is near because the lives of innocent people that died as a result of their callous ways will hunt them down.
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PMB, God bless and guide you for us.
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Share and let them know that we know everything..