APC National Convention: We Haven’t Been Notified, Says INEC

Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale

Expectations that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) might hold its national convention next month could be forlorn as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, claimed it hadn’t been notified by the party on the possibility of conducting its convention next month.

National Commissioner, Voter Education and Publicity of INEC, Mr. Festus Okoye, told THISDAY that the ruling party has yet to notify the electoral body about it.

Also, the APC has denied ever suspending the ward congresses in Zamfara, held last Saturday, even as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has raised the alarm as well as alerted Nigerians about plans by the APC to heighten tension, instigate violence and derail democratic practice and peaceful co-existence in the state.

But, Okoye, while explaining the conditions for national convention, said political parties were mandated by the Electoral Act to give INEC 21 days notice, whenever it planned to hold its national convention.

“There is no indication yet; they have not communicated to INEC,” he said.

However, a former National Executive Committee (NEC) member of APC, who pleaded anonymity, said the party would hold its convention between December and January.

He said insinuations that the convention would be shifted to June or July next was wrong.

“The convention is feasible; the insinuation that it will be shifted till June/July is wrong. It will be held between December and January. I know it is December, but it will still be given small space if there is any issue,” he said.

But another party, source who also pleaded anonymity, said the possibility of the party holding its convention next month was dicey. He said from all indications, the national convention of the party would be shifted to next year June or July.

“The convention is not holding next month. It is not feasible. If at all, it will be next year June or July. There is so much flexibility here (in APC) for now and they are not the ones making the decision. If Buhari comes back now, whatever he says will be the final. But next month isn’t feasible.”

Realistically, the crises rocking the various chapters of the ruling party make it difficult if not impossible to hold a national convention.

At the moment, Osun, Oyo, Zamfara, Kano, Kwara, Niger, Delta, Lagos, Imo, Enugu are all riddled with crises, which have defied logic and resolutions.

Meanwhile, the war of words between the Chairman of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the party and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buniand Senator Kabiru Marafa continued yesterday.

Spokesperson for the Marafa-led APC, Hon. Bello Maradun, in a statement issued yesterday said the malpractices under the Buni-led committee were at variance with the ideals of APC and President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

He challenged Buni’s Director General of Press and Media, Mr. Mamman Mohammed, to address the issue raised by Marafa.

“We believe strongly that the malpractices, we see under his questionable leadership of APCare incongruent with the ideals of APC and President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration,”he said, insisting that he wouldn’t be distracted by the outburst of Buni’s spokesman and lose sight of the real issues he raised.

In another development, APC has denied initially suspending ward congresses in Zamfara, held last Saturday.

APC had on October 27 written a letter to Marafa informing him of the constitution of the Wards Congresses committee with Alhaji Kabir Masari as the Chairman. Also, on November5, 2020, APC wrote another letter to Masari, chairman of the committee directing the immediate suspension of the ward congresses.

But Marafa said on November 10, the party wrote to INEC, informing the electoral body that it had rescheduled its congress in the state on November 13, 2020.

However, National Secretary of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party, Senator John Akpanudodehe, said the claim by Marafa was misguided.

“Our attention has been drawn to uninformed and misguided comments by Senator Kabiru Marafa regarding the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ward Congresses held in Zamfara State on Saturday 13th, November 2021” and urged Marafa and his cohorts not to reduce the political issues to a contest of personalities, but submit to party supremacy and internal dispute resolution structures adequately provided for by the APC Constitution.

“Anything outside this amounts to insubordination and indiscipline and the APC constitution is very clear on this,” Akpanudoedehe warned, adding that while APC would not join issues with Marafa, who is one of the party leaders in Zamfara State but chose to denigrate the party and its leaders, it was important to set the records straight.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the APC received intelligence reports bordering on the security of the Zamfara State APC Ward Congress Committee, hence the need to temporarily suspend their activities. That necessitated the letter of 5th November, 2021 to the Chairman of the Committee, Alh. Ibrahim Kabir Masari, only.

“After evaluation and consultations, the Committee, in a letter dated 10th November, 2021,was okayed to proceed with the conduct of the Zamfara State Ward Congresses on Saturday 13th, November 2021, which Senator Marafa participated.

“This had nothing to do with the 21 days notice for the conduct of Wards, Local Government Areas and State Congresses in Zamfara State earlier sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which subsists.”

The party explained that the letter to Masari, which Marafahas been brandishing was an internal administrative correspondence and was not copied to INEC nor any other agency or person(s) as the case may be, noting that the clarification was necessary to guide Marafa and his cohorts, who seem bent on misleading teeming party members in Zamfara State.

But the PDP, in statement by its National Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, further informed Nigerians of renewed plots by the APC in Zamfara State to impose an official reign of terror on the state by trying to use state apparatus of power to obliterate the PDP and stifle its constitutionally guaranteed rights in the state.

“Our party invites the public to note that since Governor Bello Matawalle left our fold to defect to the fizzling APC, his agents have been using compromised agencies of the state to tyrannise our PDP members and other well-meaning citizens of Zamfara state in a bid to cow them to submission.

“It is imperative to state that after the decamping of the governor, faithful members of our party immediately worked out strategies to reposition the party to effectively play the role of main opposition in the state.

“This included acquiring another befitting property to serve as PDP secretariat in the state as our former secretariat was converted to an APC office after the governor defected to their party,” the PDP stated.

Ologbondiyan said that the party secured a property in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital as its state secretariat. But, soon after moving into the property, the landlord terminated the contract.

He said that upon investigation, it was discovered that an agency of Zamfara State government, had threatened the landlord with demolition of the property should he continue to accommodate the PDP.

“We acquired another property, along Sani Abacha Way, also in Gusau as our secretariat. But to our dismay, the Zamfara Urban and Regional Planning Board, invaded the complex and placed a demolition notice on the property.

“With the second assault, it has become clear that the APC-led Zamfara state government is bent at ensuring that our party does not have a state secretariat in Zamfara State. We have been made aware that the plot is to obliterate the PDP and foist an oppressive one-party system on the state”, the party explained.