Convention: APC Ready To Roll, Appoints Abdulrazaq Zoning Committee Chairman

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has started putting the wheels in motion for its national convention on March 26. The formation of an eight-member committee on the zoning of party offices, led by Kwara State Governor Abdulrahaman AbdulRazaq, was the most recent move. Senator John Akpanudoedehe, National Secretary of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), announced this in a statement yesterday.

In a telephone conversation, however, Akpanudoedehe hinted that the ruling party’s leadership had yet to meet over President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent signing of the Electoral Act into law.

However, as the convention team prepared to begin, principal officers of the Senate and some ruling party senators, led by Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan, and his deputy, Omo-Agege, announced that they had endorsed Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West) for the position of National Chairman.

Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, the former governor of Borno State and a frontrunner for the party’s chairmanship, said he was unaware of Buhari’s alleged endorsement of Adamu as the party’s next national chairman.

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Meanwhile, in Kwara State, Hon. Benjamin Issa Ezekiel, an APC chieftain and Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, said Malam Saliu Mustapha, one of the chairmanship aspirants from the North-central geopolitical zone, remained the state’s “unity candidate” for the office of APC chairman.

“His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) and Governor of Yobe State, has approved the appointment of the Party’s Zoning Committee for the forthcoming National Convention,” Akpanudoedehe said in a statement.

Other members of the committee include Ovie Omo-Agege, the Deputy President of the Senate, who will serve as deputy chairman of the zoning committee. Professor Etim Nyong, Dr. MB Shehu, Mustapha Salihu, Senator Teslim Folarin, and Mr. Sadeeq Sule-Iko Sami were named to the committee, with Mr. Nkem Okeke, the Deputy Governor of Anambra State, as Secretary.

The committee is expected to submit its report on March 7, according to Akpanudoedehe.

However, during a meeting held at the Senate wing of the National Assembly complex on Wednesday evening, with the ranking senator in attendance, some senators endorsed Adamu.

The APC senators, who number around ten, are said to have resolved to support Adamu in his bid to become the party’s national chairman at the party’s upcoming national convention on March 26 in Abuja. According to sources, the senators also agreed to engage other stakeholders, including some of the chairmanship contenders, on the importance of putting their ambitions aside and supporting the chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture to become the ruling party’s chairman.

Sani Musa (Niger East), one of the aspirants who is also a serving senator, attended the Wednesday meeting. However, he was unable to confirm whether he had agreed to give up his ambition and support Adamu.

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The senators took a group photo at the end of the meeting, with Adamu on the right flanking the Senate President.

Senators Ovie Omo-Agege, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, and Senator Jubril Barau were all present at the meeting.

Senators Bello Mandiya and Opeyemi Bamidele were also present.

Although it was widely assumed that Buhari had expressed his preference for Adamu as the consensus candidate for national chairman, it was reported that APC stakeholders from the South-east pushed for the position of National Secretary, while the party’s position in the South-west, where the position was originally zoned, remained divided.

During a meeting with the president, APC governors agreed that all previous positions held by members from the North-west would now go to those from the South-east; all positions held by those from the North-east would go to those from the South-west; and all positions previously held by members from the North-central would go to those from the South-south. This meant that the national secretary and chairmanships had been filled.

However, with the party’s formation of a zoning committee, stakeholders will be on the lookout for possible changes to the zoning formula, despite the fact that a governor, who requested anonymity, recently stated that the zoning formula in use was not inviolable.

However, in a telephone conversation, Akpanudoedehe stated that the party’s current focus was on holding the convention.

“We have a party leader, which is the president,” he said. Stakeholders, governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives, and former governors are all present. They are crucial and have legal authority. A number of issues must be considered.

“On the Electoral Act, we have yet to meet.” Remember that it was signed over the weekend, and that it is now a new week. We are, however, entirely focused on the convention.”

When asked if the party’s zonal congresses, convention, and primaries would be held between April 4 and June 3, the secretary said he didn’t want to jeopardize the party’s leadership.

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“Let me not pre-empt the party’s leadership,” he added. I’m not going to speak for myself. I’m only in this position out of a sense of obligation to everyone. I am speaking on behalf of the caretaker committee’s decision. The convention is proceeding as planned.”

However, according to another party source, Akpanudoedehe wanted to stay on as party secretary to make it easier for him to get the Akwa Ibom State governorship ticket.

“He (Akpanudoedehe) wanted to stay secretary and run for governor,” the source said. The governors, on the other hand, sent the secretary to the south-west, and it was micro-zoned to Oyo State. Buni aspires to be Vice President of the United States. Ken (Namani) aspires to be governor.”

Sheriff: I’m not aware of President Muhammadu Buhari’s support for Adamu.

Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, a former governor of Borno State and a frontline candidate for the All Progressive Congress (APC) national chairmanship, said he was unaware of President Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged endorsement of Senator Abdulahi Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa State, as the party’s next national chairman ahead of the party’s convention on March 26.

Sheriff stated this at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, claiming that the party’s leadership had not informed the aspirants that one of them had been endorsed.

However, the former lawmaker stated that if the president, as the party’s leader, anointed someone, he would withdraw from the race and support the decision.

Sheriff said it was necessary to speak to the press because some party members were concerned about the president’s and party leadership’s alleged decision and position on the national chairmanship.

“Of late, I’ve been bombarded by insinuations and rumors that President Muhammadu Buhari has zoned and endorsed a candidate for this critical position in our party’s leadership,” he said.

“First and foremost, I am not aware of any official statement or position by Mr. President regarding the endorsement of any particular candidate or the zoning of our great party’s chairmanship position.

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“Mr. President, and the party as a whole, have yet to make a formal statement on these issues.” Because of my character, capacity, and competence, I am running for the national chairmanship of our party, the APC. My intentions are clear and explicit in that they are for the public good rather than personal gain.”

As a loyal party member, the former governor stated that he would follow the president’s decisions at any time he stated an official position. Sheriff stated unequivocally that he believes the president is capable of making the best decision for the party’s growth.

“Our guiding principle will be the party’s constitution and manifesto, and I will be committed to it,” Sheriff said, stressing that he was committed to working with anyone to reposition the party for a resounding victory in the 2023 general election and beyond. I support Mr. President’s decision.”

Mustapha State Unity Candidate Declared by Ex-Kwara Speaker

Hon. Benjamin Issa Ezekiel, APC chieftain and Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University of Dutse, said Malam Saliu Mustapha, the party’s chairmanship aspirant from Kwara State, was the state’s “unity candidate” for the position.

Mustapha, 49, is said to be the youngest of the aspirants vying for the position of APC national chairman, with experience as the defunct Congress for Progressives Change’s National Deputy Chairman.

He has been a long-time ally of Buhari, dating back to the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the CPC.

Ezekiel, a former Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, spoke in Ilorin on the sidelines of a Personality Public Lecture organized in Mustapha’s honor by the University of Ilorin chapter of the Postgraduate Students Association of Nigeria. He emphasized that if elected, Mustapha would unite the party by leveraging his goodwill among the various factions.

“Mustapha enjoys the blessings of all tendencies in the APC in Kwara State,” Ezekiel said. Mustapha has a long history of good relations with virtually all of the party’s major stakeholders, beginning with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.”

Senators representing the state, as well as two state ministers, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Senator Gbemisola Saraki, among others, backed Mustapha’s bid, according to the former speaker.

“The only reason Mallam Saliu Mustapha is the only candidate from Kwara State is because of his goodwill at home,” he claims. He is not only well-liked by the community and traditional leaders of the state, as evidenced by his elevation to the position of Turaki of Ilorin, but he is also well-liked by the political class, particularly among the progressive family.

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“This is in contrast to other states in the North Central, where multiple candidates from the same state are running.” Examples abound, such as Niger and Nasarawa. So, of all the North-central candidates, he is the only one who has the most powerful state backing that cuts across all interest groups. This is why we’re pleading with the president to rally behind Mustapha, who, by the way, has been a long-time ally of his.”