APC Convention: Badaru to meet 48 aspirants

Ahead of Saturday’s National convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the chairman of the planning committee and governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru, would be inspecting the venue of the convention, Eagle Square.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Mr Badaru will be at the venue by 10:30 a.m., after which he would meet with 48 aspirants for the various positions in the elective convention of the party at the convention secretariat by 4 p.m. Thursday.

At the convention, about 6800 delegates across the country are expected to participate in the exercise.

Inspection of the facility is set for Thursday while governors of the party would also meet, concerning the party and its convention.

Some of the governors at the Imo State governor’s lodge as at Wednesday evening were; Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Aminu Masari (Katsina), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Abdulrauf Aregbesola (Osun) and Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano).

Amidst this, an aspirant for the position of deputy national secretary of the party, Ebitimi Amgbare, has called for the support of the party’s delegates.

Mr Amgbare, Bayelsa State governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress (AC) in 2007 said there was need to consider his bid for the seat reserved for the South South geopolitical zone of the country as he believes there is need for the APC to be developed in Bayelsa State.

“I am calling on delegates to throw their weight behind my candidature. You see imbalance in the distribution of positions in our region which I think is unfair. We must develop the party in all states equally.

“Bayelsa State needs the presence of this office. We need this office to develop and grow the party in Bayelsa State.

“I am begging our national leaders, as they speak to their top delegates, to point to the direction of my candidature, so we can have this office.”

Emmanuel Ebediru, contestant for the national organising secretary position, said he has the capabilities to run the party and take care of a lot of things that have gone wrong in the last four years.

Mr Ebediru, who said he was one of the pioneer state secretaries of the party in Imo State, noted that he has been quite involved in party activities.

“Our party at this moment needs serious re-jigging because a lot of things have gone wrong which led to crisis, as a result of certain individuals, but if I am elected as national organising secretary, I will make sure most of these issues are no more.”

He said the party as at now, has no data base, which is one of the things expected of the office – to get membership and take the party to the grass root.

Speaking on the performance of the outgoing organising secretary, Osita Izunonso, he said the current man obviously hasn’t done enough because if he has, there won’t be need for him to run. According to him, there are certain things he can do better.