The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has reassured its members that the March 26 National Convention of the party will go ahead as planned.
The party’s National Youth Leader, Ismaeel Ahmed, made this known on Friday in Abuja.
Addressing newsmen on Friday at the National secretariat of the party in Abuja, Ahmed said: “I’m not only a youth leader or internal spokesperson, but I’m also a lawyer and we have served a notice to INEC for the 26th of February earlier. We served that notice on the 5th of February and that was the required 21 days.
“If you are going to make any adjustment to that date, all you need is a letter, making an adjustment to the date. You don’t need another 21 days and that letter was written about two weeks ago, when we realised that we couldn’t hold it on the 26th of February.
“The moment the CECPC agreed on the 26th of March, that letter was written to INEC, INEC accepted that letter. So that is long gone is not an issue.”
Ahmed clarified that there was no issue about the convention date, nor is there any contention.“
“The issue of the date of the convention is not in question, not in INEC, not certainly with us. That is settled. It is sacrosanct on 26th of March and we have complied with all the rules and we have notified INEC as appropriately expected for us to do that. So that’s no longer an issue”, he said.
On the controversy surrounding the leadership of the party’s Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Ahmed explained that the Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Bello, was acting with the full authority of the caretaker committee, stakeholders, leaders of the party, and with the full consent of Buni.
He noted that while Governor Mai Mala Buni remained substantive Caretaker Chairman, Bello was only acting in his absence.
Ahmed, said that the position of Governor Buni, as the chairman of the CECPC, is incontrovertible, emphasising that Governor Bello is only in acting capacity.
According to him; “somebody asks, what is the position of Governor Mai Mala Buni in the party? I think it’s pretty simple. I don’t know why this is a complicated process for a lot of people not to understand. Since the inception of this CECPC on June 25, 2020, whenever the chairman is not around and Governor Sani-Bello is around, he acts on behalf of all as the Chairman.
“It has always been the case that has never changed. It has always been the case.
“Now, we have a convention on March 26. The chairman wrote a letter and transmitted power to Governor Bello to enable him to go for medical treatment. Those are two emergencies. He has a medical emergency that cannot wait for the Convention. We have a convention that cannot wait for him to be healthy.
“So, one has to leave for the other, whichever, he has transmitted a letter and Governor Sani Bello has been acting appropriately.
“Why is it so difficult for people to understand that? Why, why is it so difficult for people to simply understand? I cannot understand why people are making this allegation.
“So, Governor Sani Bello is acting with the full authority of the Caretaker Committee and with the full authority of the stakeholders and with the full consent of Governor Mai Mala Buni. It is very clear and simple.
“Anybody who has issues with any of our decisions can head to court. For now, we are doing it with the full backing of the law. So, there is no ambiguity on this, absolutely none”, he thundered.
