APC NEC dissolves all party structures, extends Buni’s tenure — and expels vice-chairman

The All Progressives Congress national executive council (APC NEC) has dissolved all the party’s structures — national, zonal and state. 

Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, disclosed the development to state house correspondents after the NEC meeting which was held at the presidential villa on Tuesday.

NEC, the highest decision making organ of the APC, also expelled Ntufam Hilliard Eta, vice-chairman south-south, for failing to withdraw a suit he instituted against the caretaker committee.

At the meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, the council extended the tenure of the Mai Mala Buni-led caretaker/extraordinary national convention planning committee by another six months.

The APC was struck by a leadership crisis which precipitated the dissolution of the national working committee of the party.

The Buni committee is to midwife the party until a new executive is established.

The recent ”fireworks” in the party have been speculated to be about the 2023 election.

Speaking at the NEC meeting on Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari commended the caretaker committee for its efforts in increasing membership and ensuring the party’s success in recent elections.

“I have received periodic briefings from the caretaker/extraordinary convention planning committee, as well as other leaders of the party. I am convinced that in the last five months, since the appointment of the caretaker committee, the initiatives taken have brought remarkably new atmosphere of hope in the party,” he said.

“Healthy debates are now taking place and the potential for organs of the party to affirm majority positions as the decision of the party is now possible.

“In fact, we have begun to win back our members who left us and other notable political leaders are being attracted to our party.”

Buhari, who cited the example of the defection of David Umahi, governor of Ebonyi, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC, said the party is “making progress as a party of choice for Nigerians, as we move towards the resolution of our leadership challenges”.

The president also urged members to work towards what will benefit the party.

“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 collection dream of building a strong, united and developed Nigeria,” Buhari said.

“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 the belief that they were needed to produce the required political platform that could guarantee electoral victory.

“Every one of us as leaders ensured that those decisions were respected. I have, through consultations of the caretaker committee and other leaders of the party, agreed 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, necessary. Membership registration revalidation will lay the foundation for reorganising 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.”