Convention: APC sets up zoning committee amid crisis over national positions

March 2, 2022 5:39 pm

PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES KWARA GOV 5.. The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq briefing State House Press after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari during a visit to the State House Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE . SEPT 22 2020

Mai Mala Buni, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) caretaker committee, has appointed Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, governor of Kwara, to lead an eight-member zoning committee ahead of the party’s convention.

The party has scheduled March 26 for its convention.

In a statement on Wednesday, John Akpanudoedehe, national secretary of the APC caretaker committee, said the panel is expected to submit its report by March 7.

The secretary also said Ovie Omo-Agege, deputy president of the senate, was appointed as the deputy chairman of the committee.

Nkem Okeke, deputy governor of Anambra, is the secretary of the zoning panel, while Etim Nyong, M.B Shehu, Mustapha Salihu, Teslim Folarin, a serving senator, and Sadeeq Sule-Iko Sami are members of the committee.

The development comes amid talks of ripples within the ruling party over how the national positions will be zoned.

After an earlier meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on February 22, Nasir el-Rufai, while addressing journalists, had said for the national offices, positions earlier held by the south would go to the north and vice-versa.

Hours after the meeting, a list of how the offices would be zoned was widely published across media platforms.

But according to information made available to TheCable, some APC governors were said not to be satisfied with the zoning formula as published in the list.

The governors had also agreed to hold a meeting on March 2.

Speaking after the meeting on Tuesday, Atiku Bagudu, chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), while addressing state house correspondents, said the governors are on the same page with regards to the convention.

Bagudu also said the governors and party stakeholders are working hard to ensure that the APC elects its national officers.

“We are working hard to ensure that on March 26, we have our convention and elect our national officers and that remains the case,” he had said.

Meanwhile, according to the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 elections, parties are expected to have sorted out all issues regarding primaries by June 3, 2022.