Buhari’s Position on APC’s Tenure Elongation Has Given Us Bearing, Says North-east National Vice Chair

By Daji Sani in Yola

The National Vice Chairman, North East of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a member of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), Salisu Mustapha, has said President Muhamadu Buhari’s position on tenure elongation for the party executives has given the it a bearing.

He said the president’s position has not changed  party’s leadership for now, saying that the current members of NEC are still in full control of the party affairs until June 2018 when their tenure would officially expire.

Mustapha  further explained that the president has shown that he is a democrat and his  position on the  tenure elongation has put to rest the disagreement in the APÇ on the issue.

Mustapha who made the remarks yesterday during an interactive session with newsmen in Yola, Adamawa State, noted that the APC is not a party where one person stays at home and dictates what should be done in the party.

“We are opened to new ideas and ideas are meant to be challenged in order to improve the party and forge a stronger future for the party. The president’s statement has not changed anything within the party structure from the national to state level especially as to who is running the party right now.

“The tenure of this current executives is due to end in June, which means they are still in charge of the party affairs.

“However, the party has already set up a committee to look into the president’s comments with the view of finding the best solution to move the party forward.”

Mustapha emphasised that the statement by the president does not affect those at the helm of the party’s affairs nationwide unless the committee comes up with a decision which might be either for an elective congress or a decision to retain this current executives.

“I assure, whatever is the decision, everyone within the party will welcome it.

“But nothing has really changed concerning the leadership of the party from ward to the nation level.”

Responding to why the NEC’s tenure was extended, he said: “The two NEC meetings of the party in which one endorses the motion to reappoint this current NEC, state executives and ward executives to run the party’s affairs for one more year and that decision was reached due to the fact that we considered that we will be having series of party elections within 10 months.

“We will have ward, local governments, state governments congresses, we will also be having zonal and national conventions and we will also be having primaries for state assembly,  governorship, National Assembly and national convention, which are tedious. So it was agreed that we should reappoint this present NEC to continue running the party’s affairs.

“It was in the second NEC that the president raised the observation that the decision is contrary to the constitution of the country and that of the party based on the advise from the legal department.”