On Tuesday, it was learned that one of the reasons postponing the convention was the fact that the party’s state chapters in Anambra and Zamfara had failed to undertake membership registration/revalidation and congresses.
Multiple cases stemming from the party’s state congresses, according to APC leaders who spoke to our correspondents, contributed in no small part to the uncertainty about the convention date.
On Tuesday, party members in 13 states where parallel congresses were held declared they would not drop the lawsuits they had filed to challenge the congresses.
They can sue if we host a convention and leave some states out – National secretary
Senator John Akpanudoedehe, the CENCPC’s National Secretary, told one of Punch’s correspondent that the party needs to clean up several problems before having its convention.
He claimed, for example, that the party had not performed membership registration and revalidation in the states of Anambra and Zamfara.
“Look at our party constitution,” Akpanudoedehe said. Someone can go to court and claim they were left out if we convene our conference and only one state is excluded.
“You know because of the Anambra State election, we did not conduct our membership registration and revalidation in Anambra.
“We did not do the same in Zamfara State too. We have to conduct these in the states before the convention. Every state must be carried along.
“There is no way you can exclude one state and say it is a valid convention. There are a lot of things we need to tidy up before the convention; congresses must be tidied up. Appeals must also be tidied up to guide the process of the convention.
“It is not because some people are agitating for a convention that we will rush to do something that will create more problems. This new car (APC) that we have bought, we cannot give it to a careless driver to go and crash it; we cannot.”
The APC, unlike the PDP, will not have zonal congresses, according to the national secretary.
“You are bringing the PDP template,” he said when asked if the APC will host zonal congresses. The APC does not hold zonal congresses; every national officer is chosen from within the state; if it is something we will consider, we will inform you. It’s not something we’re thinking about; it’s not something we do, but it’s something to contemplate.”
“I mentioned it before and I’ll say it again, there is nothing like parallel congress in our party,” the party scribe said of parallel congresses.
“Article 18 of the constitution, as well as articles 19 and 20, permit us to have congresses; that is the position of the party.
“We have a President in the person of Muhammadu Buhari, who is known worldwide as a respecter of the law. We also have a chairman, in the person of Governor Mai Mala Buni, a gentleman to the core, who equally insists on proper things being done; you cannot present illegality before these men and expect to succeed.
“We set up committees to go to states to conduct congresses, anything outside this, you are on your own; to even ask any question about the so-called parallel congresses is an attempt to destroy the APC.
“Any person or group within our party, who has an issue with the congresses, has an opportunity to seek redress at the level of appeal; that is why appeal committees were set up. Those who feel aggrieved one way or the other can take advantage of the Senator Abdullahi Adamu committee.
“You cannot do something outside the constitution and expect to succeed. I have said so many times that we are structured.
“I will repeat for the last time, anything outside what we have done in terms of ward, local government and state congresses is a nullity; that doesn’t mean where we have disagreements we will not intervene; that is why we have the Adamu committee.
“The APC is a family; we are bound to have disagreements among our family members, but we will reconcile ultimately; that is the beauty of our party that is progressively democratic.”
He also mocked the opposition PDP for saying it was prepared to defeat the APC come 2023.
“How can a party, while it was in power, one of its ministers bought a brassiere for millions of naira using public funds talk about beating a party, which is using public funds to rebuild the nation and restore hope?” Akpanudoedehe queried.
Concerned APC members, however, recommended the party’s leaders to take a cue from the opposition PDP and hold a convention to restore the party’s democratic credentials.
“We have no excuse not to have elected party leaders by now,” the group’s spokesman, Abdullahi Dauda, said in a telephone interview in Abuja on Tuesday.
“We are the progressives, but recent actions and inactions have called to question our credentials; we need to have our convention sooner and not later than December this year.”
In states, factions are adamant
Despite the APC’s national leaders’ warning, groups in Rivers, Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Delta, Osun, Kano, Abia, Zamfara, and Kwara states continue to fight for supremacy.
Different executive councils were elected in Rivers State by groups led by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and Senator Magnus Abe.
While Abe’s faction is led by Golden Chioma, a former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the Amaechi faction is led by Emeka Beke, a former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
When asked if the faction will take the parallel executive to court, Chris Finebone, the Amaechi faction’s Publicity Secretary, told one of our correspondents that the party would take necessary measures after the executive council’s inauguration.
Chioma, on the other hand, said that he was unaware of any division, pointing out that party officials were elected at state, local government, and ward levels.
The party is split in Kwara State, with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, leading sides.
Chief Sunday Oyebiyi, the minister’s faction’s Vice Chairman, told The PUNCH on Tuesday that, while the faction had not filed a new complaint over the congresses, it was waiting for the court’s ruling on the suit filed by the previous party chairman, Bashir Bolarinwa, over his alleged illegal dismissal.
Senator Tony Adeniyi, the state chairman of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju 2023, a pro-Bola Tinubu organisation, and Paul Omotoso, the state chairman of the APC in Ekiti State, differed over the suit filed by unhappy party members challenging the conduct of ward congresses in the state.
While Adeniyi ruled out the possibility of withdrawing the court case, claiming that the state APC leadership had continued to act arrogantly despite its unconstitutional act, Omotoso, who claimed that the aggrieved members had nothing to contest in court over the ward congresses, said, “Withdrawal of the case lies with the petitioners.”
Group Capt Sam Ewang (retd. ), an APC chieftain in Akwa Ibom State, said the party must resolve the conflict in its state chapter.
“Either the crisis is solved or the party perishes.” “They should anticipate the party to be dead in Akwa Ibom State if the national body cannot resolve it,” he said.
John Egbeji, a factional APC Chairman in Cross River State, said he expects the party to settle the conflicts that have arisen as a result of the congresses.
In Kano State, Alhaji Ahmadu Haruna Danzago, the newly-elected factional Chairman of the APC led by Ibrahim Shekarau, a former governor, asserted that the faction was recognized by the party’s national leaders.
Attempts to contact the state chairman and secretary of the APC group loyal to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, Abdullahi Abbas and Ibrahim Sarena, respectively, were unsuccessful since they did not pick up multiple phone calls.
Lani Baderinwa, the secretary of the APC faction in Osun State backed by Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola, said the group had filed a legal challenge against the party’s last local government congress.
Baderinwa, who claimed that there had been no negotiations between the group and the one backed by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, further stated that the case filed against the congress at the Federal High Court in Osogbo will proceed without interruption.
However, Mr Seun Soyinka, a spokesperson for the Lagos4Lagos Movement, informed one of our correspondents that the court would only be used if the national body failed to deliver justice.
The faction loyal to former Ogun State governor Ibikunle Amosun claimed that the party’s national leadership will recognize the faction because its delegates ran the state congress.
The faction loyal to Governor Dapo Abiodun, on the other hand, remained silent on the continuing party structure conflict.
In Delta State, the party is split among factions commanded by Ovie Omo-Agege, the Deputy President of the Senate, and Festus Keyamo, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment.
Donatus Nwankpa, the party’s immediate past Chairman in Abia State, informed one of our correspondents that the party has no splits in the state.
He did, however, advise the party’s national leadership to reject conservative forces in order to achieve genuine reconciliation.
The decision has been made. According to The PUNCH, the All Progressives Congress has yet to set a date for its national convention.
On Tuesday, it was learned that one of the reasons postponing the convention was the fact that the party’s state chapters in Anambra and Zamfara had failed to undertake membership registration/revalidation and congresses.
Multiple cases stemming from the party’s state congresses, according to APC leaders who spoke to our correspondents, contributed in no small part to the uncertainty about the convention date.
On Tuesday, party members in 13 states where parallel congresses were held declared they would not drop the lawsuits they had filed to challenge the congresses.
They can sue if we host a convention and leave some states out – National secretary
Senator John Akpanudoedehe, the CENCPC’s National Secretary, told one of Punch’s correspondent that the party needs to clean up several problems before having its convention.
He claimed, for example, that the party had not performed membership registration and revalidation in the states of Anambra and Zamfara.
“Look at our party constitution,” Akpanudoedehe said. Someone can go to court and claim they were left out if we convene our conference and only one state is excluded.
“You know because of the Anambra State election, we did not conduct our membership registration and revalidation in Anambra.
“We did not do the same in Zamfara State too. We have to conduct these in the states before the convention. Every state must be carried along.
“There is no way you can exclude one state and say it is a valid convention. There are a lot of things we need to tidy up before the convention; congresses must be tidied up. Appeals must also be tidied up to guide the process of the convention.
“It is not because some people are agitating for a convention that we will rush to do something that will create more problems. This new car (APC) that we have bought, we cannot give it to a careless driver to go and crash it; we cannot.”
The APC, unlike the PDP, will not have zonal congresses, according to the national secretary.
“You are bringing the PDP template,” he said when asked if the APC will host zonal congresses. The APC does not hold zonal congresses; every national officer is chosen from within the state; if it is something we will consider, we will inform you. It’s not something we’re thinking about; it’s not something we do, but it’s something to contemplate.”
“I mentioned it before and I’ll say it again, there is nothing like parallel congress in our party,” the party scribe said of parallel congresses.
“Article 18 of the constitution, as well as articles 19 and 20, permit us to have congresses; that is the position of the party.
“We have a President in the person of Muhammadu Buhari, who is known worldwide as a respecter of the law. We also have a chairman, in the person of Governor Mai Mala Buni, a gentleman to the core, who equally insists on proper things being done; you cannot present illegality before these men and expect to succeed.
“We set up committees to go to states to conduct congresses, anything outside this, you are on your own; to even ask any question about the so-called parallel congresses is an attempt to destroy the APC.
“Any person or group within our party, who has an issue with the congresses, has an opportunity to seek redress at the level of appeal; that is why appeal committees were set up. Those who feel aggrieved one way or the other can take advantage of the Senator Abdullahi Adamu committee.
“You cannot do something outside the constitution and expect to succeed. I have said so many times that we are structured.
“I will repeat for the last time, anything outside what we have done in terms of ward, local government and state congresses is a nullity; that doesn’t mean where we have disagreements we will not intervene; that is why we have the Adamu committee.
“The APC is a family; we are bound to have disagreements among our family members, but we will reconcile ultimately; that is the beauty of our party that is progressively democratic.”
He also mocked the opposition PDP for saying it was prepared to defeat the APC come 2023.
“How can a party, while it was in power, one of its ministers bought a brassiere for millions of naira using public funds talk about beating a party, which is using public funds to rebuild the nation and restore hope?” Akpanudoedehe queried.
Concerned APC members, however, recommended the party’s leaders to take a cue from the opposition PDP and hold a convention to restore the party’s democratic credentials.
“We have no excuse not to have elected party leaders by now,” the group’s spokesman, Abdullahi Dauda, said in a telephone interview in Abuja on Tuesday.
“We are the progressives, but recent actions and inactions have called to question our credentials; we need to have our convention sooner and not later than December this year.”
In states, factions are adamant
Despite the APC’s national leaders’ warning, groups in Rivers, Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Delta, Osun, Kano, Abia, Zamfara, and Kwara states continue to fight for supremacy.
Different executive councils were elected in Rivers State by groups led by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and Senator Magnus Abe.
While Abe’s faction is led by Golden Chioma, a former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the Amaechi faction is led by Emeka Beke, a former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
When asked if the faction will take the parallel executive to court, Chris Finebone, the Amaechi faction’s Publicity Secretary, told one of our correspondents that the party would take necessary measures after the executive council’s inauguration.
Chioma, on the other hand, said that he was unaware of any division, pointing out that party officials were elected at state, local government, and ward levels.
The party is split in Kwara State, with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, leading sides.
Chief Sunday Oyebiyi, the minister’s faction’s Vice Chairman, told The PUNCH on Tuesday that, while the faction had not filed a new complaint over the congresses, it was waiting for the court’s ruling on the suit filed by the previous party chairman, Bashir Bolarinwa, over his alleged illegal dismissal.
Senator Tony Adeniyi, the state chairman of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju 2023, a pro-Bola Tinubu organisation, and Paul Omotoso, the state chairman of the APC in Ekiti State, differed over the suit filed by unhappy party members challenging the conduct of ward congresses in the state.
While Adeniyi ruled out the possibility of withdrawing the court case, claiming that the state APC leadership had continued to act arrogantly despite its unconstitutional act, Omotoso, who claimed that the aggrieved members had nothing to contest in court over the ward congresses, said, “Withdrawal of the case lies with the petitioners.”
Group Capt Sam Ewang (retd. ), an APC chieftain in Akwa Ibom State, said the party must resolve the conflict in its state chapter.
“Either the crisis is solved or the party perishes.” “They should anticipate the party to be dead in Akwa Ibom State if the national body cannot resolve it,” he said.
John Egbeji, a factional APC Chairman in Cross River State, said he expects the party to settle the conflicts that have arisen as a result of the congresses.
In Kano State, Alhaji Ahmadu Haruna Danzago, the newly-elected factional Chairman of the APC led by Ibrahim Shekarau, a former governor, asserted that the faction was recognized by the party’s national leaders.
Attempts to contact the state chairman and secretary of the APC group loyal to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, Abdullahi Abbas and Ibrahim Sarena, respectively, were unsuccessful since they did not pick up multiple phone calls.
Lani Baderinwa, the secretary of the APC faction in Osun State backed by Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola, said the group had filed a legal challenge against the party’s last local government congress.
Baderinwa, who claimed that there had been no negotiations between the group and the one backed by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, further stated that the case filed against the congress at the Federal High Court in Osogbo will proceed without interruption.
However, Mr Seun Soyinka, a spokesperson for the Lagos4Lagos Movement, informed one of our correspondents that the court would only be used if the national body failed to deliver justice.
The faction loyal to former Ogun State governor Ibikunle Amosun claimed that the party’s national leadership will recognize the faction because its delegates ran the state congress.
The faction loyal to Governor Dapo Abiodun, on the other hand, remained silent on the continuing party structure conflict.
In Delta State, the party is split among factions commanded by Ovie Omo-Agege, the Deputy President of the Senate, and Festus Keyamo, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment.
Donatus Nwankpa, the party’s immediate past Chairman in Abia State, informed one of our correspondents that the party has no splits in the state.
He did, however, advise the party’s national leadership to reject conservative forces in order to achieve genuine reconciliation.
