Convention: APC zones Chairmanship Seat to North-central, Southeast to Get Secretary
- Sources within the APC say the ruling party has decided on its zoning formula ahead of its national convention
- According to the inside sources, the north-central zone will get the chairmanship slot while the southeast will produce the secretary
- The implications of the zoning formula are that three former governors interested in the position have been automatically edged out
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FCT, Abuja - A report by The Punch newspaper indicates that the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may have decided to zone the chairmanship of the party to the north-central region of the country.
According to the report, the national secretary position of the ruling party will be zoned to the southeast while the deputy national chairman (south) is expected to go to the south-south.
Source: Facebook
A top chieftain of the APC who made the disclosure, also revealed that the party would be alternating certain positions.
He said positions that were occupied by northerners in the last National Working Committee (NWC) would be given to southerners and vice versa.
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His words:
“Discussions are ongoing. So far, we have agreed that the north-central will take the national chairmanship position while the south-south will take the national deputy chairman (south), and then the southeast will get the national secretary position.
“Also, the plan is that all positions that the north occupied in the last NWC will now be occupied by the south. Of course, everyone who wants to contest has the right to do so but this is the plan for now. Other positions will be determined in due course.”
The APC is also expected to set up sub-committees that will handle several aspects of the convention ranging from publicity to budget, security, and logistics.
The members of the caretaker committee met in Abuja on Tuesday, January 18 but had yet to finalise discussions and agreed to meet again on Wednesday, January 19.
If the reported zoning arrangement is adopted, it means aspirants for the chairmanship position like Ali Modu Sheriff, Abdulaziz Yari, and Isa Yuguda will lose out.
Sheriff, Yari, and Yuguda are former governors of Borno, Zamfara, and Bauchi states respectively.
While Yuguda and Sheriff are from the northeast, Yari is from the northwest region of the country.
But an official of the ruling party told Legit.ng on the condition of anonymity that zoning has not been decided by the party.
His words:
“We have heard the rumours too, but I can authoritatively tell you that they are false. No one has discussed zoning yet.
“Of course, it can get to that later, but for now, there is nothing like that. Our focus is on ensuring the convention is held first before talking about zoning.”
In a related development, The Nation newspaper reports that All Progressives Congress (APC) governors at the weekend foiled a plan to shift the party’s convention.
According to the report, the governors at a meeting in Abuja voted for the convention to hold on Saturday, February 26, and sent emissaries to President Muhammadu Buhari on the need for the convention to hold as decided.
APC convention: Mustapha vows to end internal crisis as party chair
Meanwhile, a frontline national chairmanship aspirant of the APC, Mallam Saliu Mustapha, has promised to adopt preventive diplomacy in crisis management if given the opportunity to emerge in the party's forthcoming national convention.
The Kwara state-born APC chieftain also promised to discourage a fire-brigade approach to party governance.
Mustapha made his plans known while speaking on Thursday, December 16, 2021, in Abuja at the second annual public lecture summit of the APC Press Corps attended by a Legit.ng reporter.
APC groups back Dada Olusegun for national youth leadership position
Similarly, some progressive youth groups have thrown their weight behind Comrade Dada Olusegun to contest for the National Youth Leader of the party.
The groups cited the political acumen and widespread influence of Comrade Olusegun over the years as a reason for their endorsement.
They said their decision to wholeheartedly support Comrade Dada for the position was based on his wealth of experience in politics, and his acceptability among various APC youth groups.
Source: Legit.ng
