APC Congress: Buni calls for peaceful exercise, warns against sabotage

The Chairman Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee and Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, has enjoined party stakeholders and members to conduct the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s ward Congress peacefully.

The APC is bracing up for its ward Congress across the country on Saturday.

In a statement signed Friday night by his director-general on media and publicity, Mamman Mohammed, Governor Buni called on officials conducting the Congress to be fair and objective to all candidates contesting the election.

“As stakeholders of the party, we have a great responsibility to make the ward Congress in all the participating States successful.

“We should endeavour to place the party and members’ interest above personal interests,” Buni charged.

The chairman warned that the party would not hesitate to take decisive measures against anyone who deliberately sabotage the Congress.

“We have come a long way repositioning the party, we have reconciled many groups and individuals, we must not allow personal interests in this election to divide us and draw us back,” he advised.

He expressed the commitment of the committee to entrench internal democracy and respect for the people’s choice.

Governor Buni further said adequate arrangements had been made by the party to conduct successful and acceptable congresses across the country.

He solicited for support and cooperation of members to the officials; “for APC to be a role model for other parties”.

The Chairman also charged aggrieved members to channel their grievances to the appropriate quarters at the party secretariat.

“We should avoid Media wars over issues we can settle at the secretariat. I assure you that we will be fair and just to everyone,” Buni said.

The order

Secretary of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe, had, in a statement earlier on Friday, threatened not to accept any parallel congress while ordering all members with pending litigations to withdraw them immediately.

Part of the statement reads: “All pending litigations instituted by members against the party should be withdrawn forthwith and going forward, no member should institute matters against the party, without exhausting the internal mechanism for conflict resolution, as enshrined in the party’s constitution.

“Consequent upon the above, party members should please note that: (i) All activities that may be carried out by persons to put the party and its officers in a bad light, before, during and after the congresses should be jettisoned.

“All activities or processes leading up to the congresses and thereafter which do not have the approval of the CECPC are exercises in futility.

“This is to say that: any purported; parallel congress, parallel party organ and or parallel party office, is, to say the least, a nullity. These divisive activities will not be tolerated.”

Wrangling in States

Already, there are internal wrangling in some State chapters of the party which are threatening the success of the ward and local governments congress slated for Saturday.

In Kwara State, the APC faction of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said it has secured nomination forms for all its aspirants in Kwara State. The other faction loyal to the governor of the State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, is also struggling to control proceedings at the congress.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin during a press conference on Friday, the caretaker legal adviser of the party in the State, Barrister Ladi Mustapha, said the Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa-led faction is prepared for the Congresses slated for Saturday provided every other thing remains constant.

Also in Osun State, the faction loyal to the State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, is alleged to have seized all the nomination forms for the exercise in the State.