Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has been called on to rescue the governing All Progressives Congress, APC from the allegedly bad leadership of the party’s National Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee,CECPC.
A party chieftain and immediate past Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, Mr. Salihu Lukman made the call in an open letter to the President.
He said the President could save the party by ensuring that nothing stops the APC’s National Convention from holding on the already scheduled date of February 26.
Based on the schedule of activities for the Convention released by the CECPC Secretary, on January 19, 2022, Sales of Forms to all aspirants is supposed to commence on February 14, 2022.
However, the sale has not begun and this could be due to the fact that the zoning formular for leadership positions has not been decided on and made public by official channels of the party.
Mr. Lukman lamented the lack of sale of forms and the aspect that Convention sub-committees have not been set up with the Convention being less than two weeks away.
He said, “Looking at the schedule of the Convention, the CECPC is expected to publish Convention Sub-Committees on Saturday, February 19, 2022.
The question is, has the Sub-Committees been setup and are already working? If they have, what are these Sub-Committees and who are the members? If not, when will they be setup? What are the details of these Committees and their mandates, which is to be implemented within less than one week to the Convention?
“Your Excellency, the way the CECPC is approaching the organisation of the National Convention gives enough ground to suspect internal sabotage.
“Is leadership of the CECPC working to ensure that the Convention doesn’t hold on February 26, 2022? Recall that initially, the Convention was scheduled to hold December 28, 2021. Through consultations, it was moved to February 5, 2022.
“Unfortunately, we found ourselves, as a party, in the embarrassing situation of having to contend with speculation about alleged ambition of His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni to manipulate his emergence as the substantive National Chairman of the party, which means reluctance to organise the National Convention and handover to an elected leadership. Somehow, here we are, from February 5, 2022, the Convention had to be moved to February 26, 2022” Lukman lamented.
Mr. Lukman stated that the leadership of the CECPC convening meetings of other party organs or tolerating criticisms which he posited is bad for the success of the the APC.
“Your Excellency, beyond manipulating situations in the party to impose their choices on party leaders, members and Nigerians, these few party leaders led by the leadership of the CECPC are very intolerant to criticisms.
“This is no longer the party, Your Excellency, together with all the founding leaders negotiated to establish. Now, even if one support the aspirations of some of our leaders but disagreed with them on any issue, such a person risked being declared enemy.
“Consequently, debates are hardly taking place in the party. The leadership of the CECPC have also ensured that meetings are hardly taking place. The only meeting now taking place is the meeting of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF). So long as meetings are not taking place, ability of leaders and members of the party to hold the leadership of the CECPC accountable will be weak.
“Many party leaders and members are greatly at pain that, as a party, we are sinking deeper and deeper in more and problems. A Caretaker Committee, which is expected to open a new democratically vibrant life for the party, facilitate internal party contests, is more and more becoming an Undertaker Committee working to end every democratic life existing in the party by blocking every internal party contest” he said.
The PGF Former DG appealed to President Buhari to call a meeting of critical stakeholders to decide on the zoning formular and other aspects related to the Convention preparations in order to speed up the planning process.
Confidence Okwuchi
