APC shops replacement for Betta Edu, Kyari, others

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has begun the process of replacing some of its National Working Committee who have either resigned or been nominated as Ministers by President Bola Tinubu.

The new officers awaiting ratification by the National Executive Committee (NEC) are former Cross River State Commissioner for Local Government, Dr. Stella Odey-Ekpo (Women Leader); Borno State APC Chairman Ali Dalori (Deputy National Chairman,  North); former Nasarawa State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Prof. Abdulkarim Kana (Legal Adviser), former Abia, State House of Assembly Speaker Martins Azubuike (Welfare Officer), and former Special Adviser on Water Resources to Kogi State Governor,  Muritala Ajaka (Deputy National Publicity Secretary).

The decision to fill the positions is in line with the directive of the National Executive Committee (NEC), it was learnt yesterday.

Last week, former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje assumed office as national chairman and Senator Ajibola Basiru as national secretary, after their predecessors-Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Senator Iyiola Omisore-resigned.

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Apart from the Vice Chairman (Northwest), Saliu Lukman, and Legal Adviser, Ahmad El-Marzup, who also resigned, two NWC members-Senator Abubakar Kyari and Dr. Beta Edu-were also nominated as ministers by President Bola Tinubu while a member passed on.

A party source said following the ceding of powers by the NEC to the NWC at its August 3 meeting its directive to the administrative organ to fill the vacant positions, the States Executive Committee that produced the former officers nominated candidates for the vacancies, in line with the directive.

Sources said the Borno State chapter and the Northeast Executive Committee consequently elected Dalori, as Deputy National Chairman (North), to replace Kyari, whose ministerial appointment has been ratified by the Senate.

It was also gathered that the Cross Rivers State chapter has forwarded the name of Odey-Ekpo to replace Edu as National Women Leader.

With the position of the National Legal Adviser now zoned to the North Central, it was gathered that after wide consultations with the six states in the region, Nasarawa State was favoured to nominate a replacement to El-Marzuq, who resigned last week.

Also, Azubuike will replace the National Welfare Secretary Friday Nwosu, a lawyer, who died in March.

The new National Publicity Secretary, Ajaka, had resigned from APC to contest for governor on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) before he retraced his steps.

However, the source said the Northwest is yet to nominate a replacement for Lukman.

A member of NWC, who spoke in confidence, confirmed that the National Secretariat of the party has received the nominations.