National Convention date unchanged, Buni remains interim chairman – APC youth leader

Despite a letter issued recently by the electoral body, INEC, an official of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday, said the party will conduct its National Convention on March 26 as planned.

Their interim National Youth Leader, Ismaeel Ahmed, stated this at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday.

With reference to Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, the Commission, in a letter dated March 9, had asked the party to send its notice for the convention as stipulated by the Act.

The section states that political parties should send to INEC “notice of any convention, congress, conference, or meeting convened for the purpose of merger and electing members of its executive committees, other governing bodies or nominating candidates for any elective office” at least 21 days before any of the events. This means the party ought to have sent the said notice latest by March 5.

However, the party, in its reaction to this, insisted that it has not breached any law as suggested by the electoral body.

Mr Ahmed has been speaking for the party after the party controversially replaced Mala Buni with the Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, earlier this week.

Since its leadership got reshuffled, the party has been under an intense leadership crisis as power play reigned supreme at its headquarters in Abuja.

Mr Ahmed said the party does need to issue “another 21 days” notice to INEC before holding its convention as suggested by the commission.

“We have served the 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 a 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.

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“The moment the CECPC agreed on the 26th of March, that letter was written to INEC and it was effected. INEC has accepted the letter, so that is long gone, it is not an issue. The issue of the date of convention is not a question, not even to INEC, not even to us.

“That is settled. It is sacrosanct that that date is the 26th of March and we have complied with all the rules. And we have notified INEC as appropriately expected of us to do. So that’s no longer an issue,” Mr Ahmed said.

Buni remains APC chair, Bello only acts

Mr Ahmed also spoke on the raging controversy over who between Mr Buni and Mr Bello is the interim national chairman of the APC.

He said Mr Buni remains the party’s interim chairman while Mr Bello has only been acting in his absence.

“I don’t know why this is a complicated process for a lot of people to understand. Since the inception of the CECPC on June 25, 2020 whenever the chairman is not around and Governor Sanni Bello is around, he acts on his behalf, as our acting chairman;, it has always been the case, that has never changed. It has always been the case,” he said.

This newspaper had exclusively reported the power play that led to Mr Buni’s removal on Monday.