El-Rufai dares Buhari as plot to scuttle APC convention thickens

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has expressed his opposition to the return of Yobe’s Governor, Mai Buni, as the Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) Chairman, describing President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive on the matter as a charade.

It would be recalled that President Buhari, when he ordered the return of Buni to his position, claimed the decision was part of efforts to save the party from extinction and a repetition of the 2019 episodes in Zamfara.

Buhari also sounded a note of warning to Governors sowing the seed of discord in the party to stop their antics and work for the collective interest of the party.

El-Rufai had in the past week reacted in an audacious way to Buhari’s return of Buni as APC CECPC Chairman as against El-Rufai’s preference, Niger state Governor, Sani Bello.

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

Governor El-Rufai, in a leaked whatsapp message which had since gone viral, said he was done with the “charade”, apparently referring to the President’s decision to return Buni.

“Your Excellences, unity is impossible to attain when leaders that are in office, because we consented to it, are consistently erratic, capricious, corrupt, and deceitful.

“Let’s restate that I am done with this charade, unless concrete, honest and transparent steps are taken to implement our agreed plans under a leadership we trusted,” he wrote on the Governors’ Forum platform.

Multiple sources said the message has been brought to Buhari’s attention, adding that the President did not take it lightly.

“The President felt really uncomfortable with the message and was really surprised that someone like El-Rufai could dare him. That’s why El-Rufai has been placed under heavy security monitoring.”

READ ALSO: Full text of Buhari’s letter in defence of Buni against El-Rufai, other APC governors

According to one of the feelers who confided in our reporter, El-Rufai has reportedly succeeded in getting some of the Governors on his side and they are planning to boycott the March 26 national convention.

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“They’ve been discovered to be planning to scuttle the national convention. Himself and a few other governors. He asked Governors loyal to his camp to boycott all the activities leading to convention. They’re insisting that the president should choose between Buni and them. That as long as it’s Buni that will conduct the elections, they will boycott it.”

It was a result of the revolt, that the screening of the Chairmanship aspirants did not commence on Saturday as earlier scheduled, another source at the party secretariat said.

Recalls that El-Rufai’s camp of the ruling APC lost the battle to oust Yobe State Governor and Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Mai Mala Buni.

Buni has survived the plot by some powerful forces in the party sequel to interventions by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Buni-led committee was inaugurated on June 25, 2020, following the dissolution of the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC).