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The meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors scheduled with President Muhammadu Buhari for Sunday could not hold due to logistics reasons, Daily Independent gathered.
A presidency source, however, said the meeting which is expected to put a specific date to the national convention which had been tentatively fixed for February will now hold tomorrow.
There have been disagreements between stakeholders in the party on whether the convention should be postponed or hold in February as instructed by President Buhari.
Our source gathered that while some governors, led by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, want the convention postponed, the other camp led by Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, who is the chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) wants the convention to go ahead in February.
In December 2021, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor of Abia State and Senate Chief Whip, had written a letter addressed to the Yobe State governor and Chairman of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Mai Mala Buni, entitled, ‘Urgent Appeal for Postponement of APC National Convention.”
In the letter, Kalu who called for the postponement of the national convention also appealed to the party to consider conducting the presidential primaries and election of National Working Committee of the party on the same day.
Giving reasons why he wanted the convention postponed, Kalu had warned that holding the convention in February without sorting out minor disagreements that arose during the congresses would lead to implosion.
However, Kalu’s position was countered by some stakeholders in the party who believed that he was fronting for some people in the party who do not want the convention to hold so that the caretaker committee can remain in office.
Last week, the Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Salihu Lukman, in a statement, ‘Plausibility of February 2022 APC Convention: Open Letter to APC Leaders’, said the suggestion by the former Abia State governor was meant to put the governing party on the path of self-destruction.
Also speaking in a televised interview last week, President Buhari said that the ruling party must resolve its disagreements before the national convention or risk defeat by the opposition in the 2023 general elections.
According to Buhari, “We have a timeframe for the national convention, we have to work because the four-year circle is constitutional. It cannot be interfered with by anybody. So if the party couldn’t agree, then the opposition can take over.
“What did the PDP do? They saw that they can’t come together but when ACN, ANPP, CPC, APGA came together before PDP realised it they were off, they are still off, so they can see it.”
Speaking on Sunday, our source said a definite decision will be reached tomorrow during the governors’ meeting on whether the convention can still go ahead in February or not.
When reminded that the Buni-led caretaker committee has not set up any convention committee or given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the mandatory 21 days’ notice ahead of the anticipated February date for the convention, our source said President Buhari is sincere that the convention must hold in February.
He, however, said that during the meeting, those who felt the convention should be postponed and those in support of it holding in February will be allowed to present their case and a definite decision will be reached.
“The convention can still hold in February if the stakeholders agree. Today is still January 9. So, February is still a long time. If it will hold in February, it will likely be in month-end.
“Why many stakeholders are afraid that the convention cannot hold in February is because of the crisis in many state chapters. But thankfully, the national reconciliation committee led by Senator Abdullahi Adamu has been reconciling many aggrieved stakeholders. So, we are confident that if any date is fixed for the convention, there won’t be any crisis as predicted.
“Let’s just wait for Tuesday when it is agreed that the meeting will now hold. From there, we will know the way forward”, he said.
Independent
