Bello, El-Rufai CECPC coup foiled, recognize Buni as chairman  

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State, Governor Nasir El-Rufai and others may be failing in the perceived coup to overthrow Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State as national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC). The rejection of the APC letter by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) inviting the commission to its National Executive Committee (NEC) next Thursday may have foiled the perceived coup to oust Governor Buni, as well as tame acts of lawlessness by political actors.

The APC leaders have realized that the aborted coup to oust the APC CECPC national chairman would have complicated the conduct of the party’s national convention on March 26, including other activities towards the 2023 general elections.

APC CECPC Publicity Secretary, Ismael Ahmed, at the Buhari House National Secretariat in Abuja on Friday, subtly disputed the removal of Governor Buni, explaining that whenever the national chairman is not around, the deputy national chairman, Governor Bello acts in his place. He asserted that this is what is going on in the APC CECPC contrary to public perception of removal of Governor Buni.   Ahmed highlighted: “Somebody asked, what is the position of Governor Mai Mala Buni in the party, I think it’s pretty simple. I don’t know why this is a complicated process for a lot of people not to understand.

“Since the inception of this CECPC on June 25, 2020, whenever the chairman is not around and Governor Sani Bello is around, he acts on behalf of all as the Chairman.

“It has always been the case that has never changed. It has always been the case. Now, we have a Convention on March 26. The chairman wrote a letter and transmitted power to Governor Bello to enable him to go for medical treatment. Those are two emergencies. He has a medical emergency that cannot wait for the Convention. We have a Convention that cannot wait for him to be healthy.

“So, one has to leave for the other, whichever, he has transmitted a letter and Governor Sani Bello has been acting appropriately. Why is it so difficult for people to understand that? Why is it so difficult for people to simply understand? I cannot understand why people are making this allegation.

“So, Governor Sani Bello is acting the full authority of the Caretaker Committee and with the full authority of the stakeholders and with the full consent of Governor Mai Mala Buni. It is very clear and simple.

“If anybody has issues with any of our decisions, he can head to court. For now, we are doing it with the full backing of the law. So, there is no ambiguity on this, absolutely none.

“As part of efforts towards the hitch-free conduct of the March 26th National Convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) stepped up preparations this week.

“Convened a meeting chaired by the Acting Chairman and Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello, where strategies were adopted to fast-track the process towards conducting a National Convention;

“35 State chairmen of the APC and that of the FCT were sworn-in and mandated to work towards ensuring unity and harmony in their states. They were also charged to mobilise the members and the people to enable the party win future elections.

“Received and deliberated on the report of the Committee on zoning. After exhaustively deliberating on the report, it was approved and the zoning formula was made public. The zoning formula was well-received by members of the party and all Nigerians.

“Assigned schedules of specific responsibilities to each member of the Caretaker Committee aligned to the existing Directorates at the Party’s headquarters. The purpose is to ensure speedy execution of the various activities leading to the National Convention on March 26, 2022. The exercise has the additional benefit of ensuring synergy between the leadership of the party and the Directorates.

“Deliberated on and disagreed with the Federal High Court in its judgement on the status of the Governor of Ebonyi state over his sound decision to leave the PDP and join the APC along with the majority of members of the State House Assembly; CECPC regards the judgement as a travesty of justice and stand with the Governor and Ebonyi state legislators on appealing to a higher court;

“Streamlined and expanded the leadership of the various sub committees for the conduct of the National Convention by bringing in more Governors and Ministers of the Federal Republic to spearhead the process. This has obviously fostered and deepened sense of belonging, inclusiveness and reflect the mosaic nature of the membership of the party;

“Reviewed and strengthened the membership of the National Convention Subcommittees by making them compact and lighter. The subcommittees earlier composed were unnecessarily unwieldy and comprised excessive number of members, a situation that can reduce their efficiency;

“The CECPC committee chaired by His Excellency the Governor of Niger State has issued a notice for a meeting of the National Executive Committee of the party on March 17, 2022. As usual, a number of important issues will be discussed at the meeting.”

The APC CECPC led by Governor Bello had written the INEC on Wednesday, inviting the commission to the party’s emergency NEC meeting next Thursday. INEC rejected the invitation, pointing out that the invitation notice must be signed by the APC CECPC National Chairman and National Secretary in accordance with Article 1.1.3 of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Party Operations (2014).