The National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ended on Thursday with the dissolution of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
The NEC of the APC also constituted a Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Committee, headed by the Yobe State governor, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni, as Chairman.
Addressing State House Correspondents after the NEC meeting, Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) and governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu, informed of the details of activities of the event.
Bagudu, who led seven of the other governors in attendance, said President Buhari, among other things, ordered that all ongoing litigations in connection with the party crisis be withdrawn.
He also said the NEC ratified the outcome of the Edo State governorship primary election. He also foreclosed possibilities of further litigation over the decision of the NEC to dissolve the NWC.
The Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Committee is meant to run the affairs of the party for six months, at the end of which it would be expected to convene a convention that will produce new leadership.
“The meeting was well attended, most importantly by President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker, Deputy speaker, Governors from the different APC states .
“Among other items, Mr President, in his speech, called for the dissolution of the National Working Committee and appointed in its place a caretaker committee, which at the same
time will serve as convention planning committee and membership were proposed and approved by NEC of our party.
“His Excellency, the Governor of Yobe State, was charged with the burden of leading the caretaker and convention planning committee. Among the committee are also other governors;
governor of Niger State representing the North-Central and Osun State governor representing the Southwest and other illustrious members of the party .
“We are indeed very grateful that the President and the NEC expressed confidence in the governors by appointing this distinguished personalities and we are happy that today the issues bedeviling our party have been laid to rest by this momentous decisions.
“We are equally congratulating Mr President on the exercise of the mandate that has been given to him by Nigerians and today the party issues, which should not distract him, has been sorted.
“Equally, the meeting ratified all the decisions that have been taken in Edo State primaries and screening primaries and a name will be forwarded properly to INEC, the name of our candidate in the Edo gubernatorial elections.
“Equally, the schedule of activities that will commence in the Ondo state primaries, where by God’s grace, we will also be presenting a candidate, will commence under the leadership of the caretaker committee. We thank all our supporters for putting faith in our party and our party leaders for all the support they have been giving Mr President to achieve this wonderful outcome”, he said.
Meanwhile, responding to questions from journalists, the Chairman of the newly inaugurated Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Committee and governor of Yobe State, Buni, said his committee would be focused on doing justice to all parties.
He noted that the Committee had a six month timeline to restore peace and cohesion to the party, adding that managing the crisis now was in the interest of the party.
“My plans for the party, as a former two-time national secretary of the party, I know the party very well. It’s all about doing justice to every member of the party because without justice there won’t be peace and it is all about team play. I am a team player, I have a capable team that can work with me.
“If you don’t manage crisis, obviously crisis will manage you, so I won’t allow any crisis to fester henceforth and the process of convening this NEC, I want to tell you that it is a continuation of the last notice that was issued and we said we have adjourned and now it’s a continuation of the last adjourned NEC meeting. All the notices were issued accordingly, so in no way ara we in any aberration.
“The duration of office is for six months within which we will do whatever we can as enshrined in our constitution and ensure that we strengthen the party and cap it up with the convention.
“NEC is the highest organ of the party if not convention and by our constitution, NEC can act for convention in between . Whatever that happened during the last NWC culminating in Edo primaries have already been ratified by NEC. So we are good to go. All litigations will be withdrawn.
He also said the dissolution of the party NEC was not targeted at victimising or degrading the influence of any party leader, adding that all stakeholders were concerned with the situation within the party and were united in saving it from collapse.
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“You mention the name of one of our leaders, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a founding father of this party. We are all together to rescue this party from all this, nobody is happy with the situation under which the party is now operating because we are in court for various problems and crises, so this decision was taken by NEC to address some of these issues. So nobody is targeted and it is against nobody. Asiwaju is one of the leaders of this party and a founding father of the party”, Buni said.
