The Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) says Governor Mai Mala Buni is still in charge of the party.
Some APC governors had expressed support for Governor Sani Bello who took charge of the party on Monday.
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Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State had said Buni, who is on a medical trip in Dubai, had been removed at the instance of President Buhari.
He blamed Buni for the widening crisis in the party and said that the Yobe governor had been removed for good and that Sani Bello was fully in charge with the support of at least 19 governors of the ruling party.
However, Bello met a brick wall when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) refused to acknowledge his leadership.
Bello had written to INEC, inviting the electoral body to the party’s emergency NEC meeting scheduled for next week.
But in its response, INEC said it would only acknowledge a letter signed by Buni and Senator John Akpanudohedehe, secretary of the CECPC.
Addressing reporters at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, on Friday, spokesman of the CECPC, Ismaeel Ahmed, said, “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 go for medical treatment. Those are two emergencies. He has a medical emergency, that cannot wait for 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.
“On the issue of Senator John James Akpanudodehe, what is the position because I spelt others out the other members of the committee, but I didn’t say anything about other people as well, we just talked about members of the committee. I didn’t talk about their positions, whether secretary or chairman, since they have their responsibilities spelt out for them.
“The other members are the ones told to come back to handle specific departments and that is what we are doing. At the full course of time, once all these are over, I will be able to brief you. But for now, these are the responsibilities of every member.
“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, H.E. Abubakar Sani Bello, where strategies were adopted to fast-track the process towards conducting a National Convention.
“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.”
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