APC crisis deepens as protesters call for sack of NWC

Scores of protesters on Monday besieged the National Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to call for the sack of the members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

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The protesters, under the aegis of “Concerned APC Members” led by Comrade Okpokwu Ogenyi, also called for a meeting of National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.

Comrade Ogenyi said the uncoordinated activities of the NWC had given room to “the low esteem opposition members” to criticise the APC and the government.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari was being distracted on daily basis by the people who ought to protect his legacy.

He said: “This present NWC has caused us to lose seven states to the opposition. APC had twenty four (24) Governors before the present NWC, today, we have eighteen (18) Governors.

“Just yesterday (Sunday), the Deputy Governor of Ondo State left us and joined the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Are we making progress or going backward?

“Today, we have four individuals who are members of the NWC parading themselves as Acting National Chairmen of our Party, what a dance of shame! We are being ridiculed on daily basis.

“The same Working Committee caused the Party not to feature candidates in Zamfara and Rivers States in the 2019 general elections.

“Fellow patriotic members of the APC, just as the administration of President Buhari is killing corruption before corruption kills Nigeria, as a Party, we must do away with the present National Working Committee before it kills the Party completely, the time is now!

“We are calling on the highest decision making body, the National Executive Committee, NEC of our great Party, to immediately call for NEC meeting and dissolve the National Working Committee with immediate effect.

“We also call on President Buhari whose integrity the Party is still surviving, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of our great Party, the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajablamila to support the dissolution of the present National Working Committee if we must move on as a Party.

“We wish to unequivocally state that any attempt to further keep this current National Working Committee of the Party is to send the APC into its early grave. We shall not continue to fold our arms and allow our collective efforts being ruined.”

Some of the inscriptions on the placards during the protest included: “the Current NWC Members Have Destroyed Our Party”, “NWC Has Failed, NEC Should Meet Immediately to Dissolve the NWC”, “the NWC Has Divided the Party, and Highly Uncoordinated, We Want it Dissolved”, and “The Current NWC is Our Greatest Problem” among others.