The caretaker chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC) Mai Mala Buni, has announced that plans are in place to organise the party’s convention as demanded by some stakeholders.
Some party leaders including Kabir Marafa, former senator representing Zamfara Central in the senate, last week accused Buni of plotting to take over the party structures ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Marafa threatened that unless a convention is put together to elect the leaders of the party before the end of the year, APC stakeholders will be left with no option but to push the Buni-led committee out.
However, Buni has now announced that a convention is underway. He made the disclosure after a close door meeting with Nigeria’s president- Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Rock.
The caretaker committee was set up by the party’s national executive committee (NEC) in June following a leadership crisis that ensued in the party.
Buni, who is also the governor governor of Yobe, said the committee was at the villa to consult with the president on the registration of party members – a prerequisite to the convention.
“You are all aware. We have three sitting governors in the committee. And you should know that none of the governors is seeking for job,” he said.
“Already, we have a job. But we have to sacrifice to ensure that we reposition the party. So, anybody who is thinking that maybe we are job seekers is wrong. We are not job seekers. We are here to reposition and reunite our party so that we have a party we can all be proud of.
“This is our mandate and we are ready to discharge our mandate. That [tenure elongation] is left for NEC of the party to decide. It is not me or caretaker committee to decide. We are operating within the limit of our assignment because NEC of the party said we must rebuild the party bottom up
“It’s to consult with him (Buhari) on the process of the membership registration. As from today, we are commencing with sensitisation.
“Thereafter, it will culminate into membership registration across over 119,000 polling units in the country. It is part of our mandate as bestowed on us by national executive committee to rebuild this party bottom up.”
