Lalong: APC will announce exact date of convention on Sunday

Simon Lalong, governor of Plateau, says by Sunday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will announce the exact date for its forthcoming convention.

In late 2021, it was announced that the ruling party fixed February to hold its elective convention, but no exact date was given at the time.

Speaking with journalists on Friday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock villa, Lalong said holding the convention soon is a way of averting a crisis in the party.

“You know, when a convention is coming, there are fears here and there. Some people will tell you it will work or it will not work. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but the visit to the president has already assured us and you know that there is already a notice that all the governors are meeting on Sunday,” he said.

“By Sunday, we will tell you when we’re doing the convention. We have taken a date already.

“Before Christmas, we said we’re going to do a convention in February and we are still working for the convention. As far as I’m concerned, except things change from another angle, we’re working for our convention in February.

“These are things that the president was raising his fears about, but we’ve already given him assurances that nothing will stop us from having a very peaceful election.

“Some parties have done their own; the PDP did their own. Nothing will stop APC from doing their own.”

The governor also said every APC member has a responsibility to ensure that the convention goes smoothly.

“We are meeting and we are very hopeful. With the admonition given by the president, it’s a warning signal to all of us to sit up and ensure that we have a seamless, very clean, fair and transparent convention so that our party will not get disintegrated,” he said.