Uncertainty Looms over APC’s National Convention

• We’re yet to change April date, says party

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
There are indications that the national convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) scheduled for April 29 may not hold as planned.

A top member of the party who confided in THISDAY on the issue, said yesterday that the leadership of party is having difficulties convening the national convention.

But when contacted, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said he was not aware of any plan to stop the convention from holding as scheduled.

He told THISDAY on telephone yesterday that the National Working Committee (NWC) has not yet met on the issue and that he believes there is still time to get the processes going.
“The NWC discussed it at its last meeting last week and it was unanimously agreed that the convention will still hold as planned. If there is anything to the contrary. I definitely don’t know,” he said.

As part of preparations for the convention, the leadership of the APC had said it would embark on wide ranging consultations with leaders and stakeholders on some of the contentious issues.
But THISDAY gathered yesterday that the party might not have achieved the measure of success expected from the consultations, hence the delay in going ahead with plans for the national convention.

However, the ad hoc committee on constitutional review is yet to concluded its assignment.
THISDAY gathered from reliable sources at the party’s headquarters in Abuja that the constitution review committee headed by the National Legal Adviser, Muiz Banire, has discontinued their assignment.
It was learnt that part of the reasons that the review committee’s assignment was stalled is because some of the key stakeholders are not comfortable with the amendments being planned.

For instance, the source said many top leaders of the party are apprehensive over the intentions of the NWC to push for more disciplinary powers as well as plans to scrap the Board of Trustees (BoT).
There are also indications that APC governors and the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, are not on the same page over the schedule for the convention.
One of the governors was reported to have told Oyegun to his face that he and his NWC “cannot fix convention date for 97-member National Executive Committee (NEC).”
Another reason for the collapse of plans for the convention is the paucity of funds which the party has been experiencing in recent times.

The party’s leadership recently took a step to implement an initiative on how to raise funds internally from levies and voluntary contributions by party men, but that move has not yielded much result.
Following criticisms over the inability of the party to hold national convention almost two years after it ascended to power in 2015, as stipulated in its constitution, the leadership issued a statement promising that it would now take place not later than April this year.

In that vein, the party’s NWC had set up an ad hoc committee to review the APC constitution and to recommend relevant amendments which would be presented for ratification at the mid-term convention.

The party also said it would hold state congresses before the convention nominates delegates to fill vacancies that occurred principally from political appointments, deaths and resignations.
Also, the party is yet to set in motion the processes that would lead to the organising of state congresses as stipulated in its constitution.

Oyegun had said during an interactive session with governors elected on the APC’s platform that the national convention “will not be an elective convention.”
Also in a statement issued by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Abdullahi, the party explained that the convention would be used to fill vacancies that occurred principally from political appointments, deaths and resignations.

It also promised that this would be followed closely by another congress to nominate delegates into the mid-term non-elective convention of the party.

“The congresses will be followed by the national caucus meeting, and finalised by the NEC meeting of the party, which will consider and set the dates for the national convention, which is expected to hold not later than April of 2017,” he said.

According to Article 25 (A)(i) of the APC constitution which states that the National Convention of the party shall be held once in Two (2) years at a date, venue and time to be recommended by the NWC and approved by the NEC subject to the giving of the statutory notices to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and at least 14 days notice given to members eligible to attend.

Also, the constitution provides that the NEC might summon an emergency national convention at any time provided at least seven days notice of the meeting shall be given to all members eligible to attend.