By James Jibril
The inability of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to conduct a national convention has continue to create fractions within the ruling party.
The CECPC led by the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni was appointed to conduct a new national convention in six months after the National Executive Council (NEC) of the APC dissolved the Adams Oshiomhole’s led National Working Committee on June 25, 2020. Almost two years after, the swearing in, the CECPC has not been able to conduct the APC National Convention.
While tension continues to mount, the CECPC held its 18th regular meeting on Monday 20th December, 2021 at the party’s national secretariat to review its activities in the last one year. While briefing the press on the outcome of the meeting, National Secretary of the APC CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedeh said that the CECPC has among other things resolve that sub-committees on budgeting and other relevant structures for the National Convention will be set up.
Reacting to the development, the Special Assistant on New Media to the President of the Senate, Abubakar Sidiq Usman accused the CECPC of deliberate attempts to destroy the APC by playing around without the intention to organize a national convention come February 2022.
“So the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress, the very one that has outlived it’s time and no longer has any meaningful use remaining in that office held a meeting that is most likely the last in the year and just two months shy of the so called February convention, but it can only come out with four resolutions.
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“Disappointingly, only one of the four resolutions speaks directly to the issue at hand, which is to give a new life to the APC, particularly by conducting the National Convention of the party which the CECPC has continued to play around with since 2020, not minding that their continued stay is fragmenting the party and preventing genuine progress which we earnestly seek ahead of the 2023 general election.
“This only relevant resolution itself falls short of what many members of the APC expected would come out from a meeting like this, especially when you consider the number of days left for us to get to the end of February which they have put forward as the convention date but have not done anything to show they are really prepared for.
“They didn’t announce the actual date for the convention nor did they release any guideline or anything meaningful to suggest that February is still on course. Not even a mention of February in their so called resolution matters. They only told us that they resolved to set up sub-committees for the forthcoming national convention that has no date and not that they have actually set up the sub-committees. So when exactly are they going to set up the sub-committees, when will they be inaugurated, when will they get to work and towards what date will they be working?
“The APC Rebirth Group saw all these coming and championed a call for the rebirth of the party. The concerns raised by the group, which has been vindicated are also being raised by many others. Collectively, the holders of the party willl have these set of people to contend with in the days ahead,” Usman said.
Some political analysts believe that the inability of the APC to hold a national convention is a pointer to the disintegration of the party. Noting that the fallouts from the party’s national convention when it finally held in 2022 will flow into the party’s primary elections, which shall worsen the crisis in the party and subsequently impact negatively on the performance of the APC in the 2023 general elections.
