…dissolves wards, state, zonal, national structures
…grants waiver to Umahi, new members to contest elections
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has approved a six-month extension for the Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee.
The NEC also dissolved all states, zonal, and national party structures.
The party’s NEC also extended the tenure of the party’s caretaker extraordinary convention planning committee led by Governor Mai Buni by six months.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the committee attended by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and other party chiefs.
The ruling party also granted a waiver to all new members of the party and others planning to join its fold from various political platforms.
The approval was to allow Governor Umahi and other new members of the party to contest for elections without having to wait for two years, as was done previously.
According to the party’s NEC, the decision to grant a waiver to new members is to encourage young people to join the APC.
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, told State House correspondents at the end of the meeting that the party also approved the expulsion of former National Vice Chairman, South-South, Ntufam Hilliard Eta, for his failure to withdraw the court case instituted against the caretaker committee.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari appealed to party members at all levels to make sacrifices that will move the party forward.
Buhari said this in his opening remarks at the ongoing meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President said, “I want to appeal to all our party members and leaders at all levels, to try and make the required sacrifices so that we are able to collectively restore our progressive and democratic political party, which can nurture and give expression to our collective dream of building a strong, united and developed Nigeria.
“May I use this opportunity to remind all of us of the need to recreate our negotiation secret of 2012, 2013 under our legacy parties. What guided our success to achieve the merger that produced the APC was the respect we were able to have for each other.
“In those times, decisions reached at both formal and informal consultations were respected with trusted initiatives taken and believed that they were needed to produce the required political platform that could guarantee electoral victory.
“Everyone of us as leaders ensured that those decisions were respected. I have through consultations of the caretaker committee and other leaders of the party, agree that our challenges in the party require that we take steps to rebuild the party from wards to national levels.
“The initiative to carry out membership registration revalidation is, therefore, a necessary, membership registration revalidation will lay the foundation for reorganizing our membership from ward to local government, state, and national levels.
“The responsibility of our party’s NEC at this meeting is to adopt and dispassionately consider all proposals submitted by the caretaker committee and grant all the necessary approvals requested to rebuild the party.”
