Despite fixing its national convention for Feb­ruary 26, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may be facing another hurdle as various interest groups in the party are divided over the consensus arrangement being planned by the governors and the party leader­ship. ­

Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, who is the Chairman of the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Commit­tee (CECPC) of the APC, had an­nounced that the convention will hold on Saturday, February 26.

Buni, who made the an­nouncement at the APC Progres­sive Women Conference in Abuja on Tuesday urged the women to come out massively and contest in the forthcoming “national convention holding by 26th of February 2022.”

“We look forward to having more women contesting in the forthcoming national convention of the party slated for February 26th, 2022 and the 2023 general election. The party under my stewardship conducted the membership registration and revalidation exercise. We found it expedient to constitute a special committee on women and youths before the commencement of the exercise.”

However, speaking with Daily Independent on Tuesday, a credible source in the party said he was not surprised at the announcement as Buni and his colleagues in the APC Gover­nors’ Forum already had a date in mind since last year November when President Muhammadu Buhari approved February for the convention.

According to him, the gover­nors had kept the date hidden because they are unable to agree on a unity list and consensus can­didates for the vacant positions in the National Working Committee (APC), especially the position of the national chairman.

He also said the date was not announced so as to give the party’s National Reconciliation Committee headed by Senator Abdullahi Adamu ample time to reconcile the warring parties in many states and also find a common ground among the various interest groups within the party.

“The February 26 date did not come to me as a surprise at all. It is what the APC governors had planned all along. They already know the date of the national convention since last year when they announced that it will take place in February 2022.

“The reality is that like what their colleagues in the PDP did, the APC governors also wanted a consensus arrangement in electing members of the NWC. They know that given the mul­tiple crises in the party, there is no way the party can hold a na­tional convention with multiple aspirants and there will be no violence.

“But the issue right now is how to draw up the unity list. You know there are several groups in APC and they are interested in these positions. Aside the four major tendencies that coalesced to form the APC at the threshold of the 2015 general election, there are other splinter groups too that are very powerful in the scheme of things.

“There is a group belonging to President Buhari. These are majorly members of the defunct CPC. There is another group belonging to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the party. These are largely ACN mem­bers. There is the ANPP and APGA block. There is also the Progressive Governors group who are scheming to take charge of the affairs of the party and they are succeeding because one of them is the national caretaker chairman of the party”.

Daily Independent gathered that efforts by the governors to persuade the chairmanship aspirants to embrace the con­sensus arrangement has failed to achieve any result as none of them agreed to step down.

Among those who have indicated interest in the position of national chairman are a former deputy national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Saliu Mustapha; former governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Al-Makura; for­mer governor of Borno State, Ali-Modu Sheriff, and senator representing Niger East District, Mohammed Sani-Musa.

Others are former governors of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari; Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda; Borno State, Kashim Shettima; Gombe State, Danjuma Goje; Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Govern­mental Affairs, George Akume; Sunny Moniedafe and Moham­med Saidu-Etsu.

A source said the party may resort to a power sharing arrangement whereby the various groups will share the positions among themselves.

“The unity list is the issue because no group wants to play sec­ond fiddle to the other. That is the challenge for now but I believe it will be sorted out before February. The party may resort to a power sharing arrangement whereby if a group produces the national chairman, the other group will nominate the national secretary”, he said.

JosephXavier:
Going by this write-up, the chances of Tinubu becoming the APC flag bearer is constantly diminishing but he won't read the handwriting on the wall

If Yorubas really want to field a candidate, there are some qualified persons like Adesina the AFDB president who has the capabilities and qualities but they prefer to promote the calamitous Tinubu

saintjimos:
And this marks the end of APC

Odidigboigbo:
Al Makura is the Chairman, CPC block. You can take my word to ShopRite and shop with it.

JosephXavier:
Going by this write-up, the chances of Tinubu becoming the APC flag bearer is constantly diminishing but he won't read the handwriting on the wall

If Yorubas really want to field a candidate, there are some qualified persons like Adesina the AFDB president who has the capabilities and qualities but they prefer to promote the calamitous Tinubu

hisexcellency34:
is that the person Buhari want as chairman?

ChangetheChange:

Carry go Malami
Carry Go Buni
Carry Go Buhari
Consensus List is a must.
..Ride on
Who doesn't like the consensus List should go and form his own party and test his popularity if he wants to become president

johnmartus:
This convention must hold as it stipulated any aggrieved candidate can go to another party

Vistra40:


Even if your candidate is affected?

PrinceOfLagos:
They will shift the convention again

Tinubu go cry tire

Buni is giving Tinubu sleepless nights with the backings of aso rock cabals

E go choke jagajagabandit

AsampeteNwaanyi:
my comrade in arms