Intrigue as APC holds midnight inauguration for NWC members over raging protest

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has finally inaugurated 6 National Working Committee (NWC) members amidst serious protests.

The inauguration took place at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Friday midnight because of protests that trailed the emergence of the new members.

The new members sworn in by the APC national chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, are the deputy national chairman (North), Hon. Ali Bukar Dalori; Hon. Garba Datti Muhammad (National Vice Chairman, North West); Prof. Abdul Karim Abubakar Kana (National Legal Adviser); Hon. Donatus Nwankpa (National Welfare Secretary); Mary Alile Idele (National Women Leader) and Duro Meseko (Deputy National Publicity Secretary).

Recall that the inauguration was earlier slated for Thursday but Kogi protesters led by Governor Yahaya Bello and others from Cross River State stalled the swearing in.

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On Friday morning, the Abia APC Caucus and stakeholders rejected the process that led to the choice of Donatus Nwankpa as replacement for the late Friday Nwosu as national welfare secretary and the representative of Abia at the NWC.

The stakeholders in a statement signed by Senator Chris Adighije and over 15 others said, “Considering that Abia APC does not have a Governor and that the Deputy Speaker who is the leader of the party in the state and the stakeholders were not carried along by the NWC in reaching their decision, we hereby call on our national chairman and the NWC to revisit their earlier decision.”

Recall that the 12th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the APC held on August 3, in Abuja, had picked a former governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Ajibola Bashiru as national chairman and secretary following the resignation of Abdullahi Adamu and Iyiola Omisore.

The NEC also transmitted its powers to the NWC to fill the remaining vacant positions in the Committee created by the appointment of the deputy national chairman (North), Senator Abubakar Kyari; national women leader, Dr Betta Edu and others who either resigned or died.

Yahaya Bello had stormed the party’s headquarters in Abuja, in the early hours of Thursday protesting that his anointed candidate was not chosen for the office of deputy national publicity secretary.

Our correspondent reports that Ganduje was however, not on seat to receive him, and after several hours of waiting, the governor left the party’s secretariat without talking to journalists.

It was gathered that he later met with Ganduje at his residence in the night where they reached a pact that Bello would nominate someone for the office of zonal organising secretary (North Central).

It was learnt that the candidate of a former member of the House of Representatives and Secretary of the 2023 APC Presidential Campaign Council, a close political ally of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Hon. James Faleke’s anointed candidate, Duro Meseko, was picked for the office of deputy national publicity secretary while Bello’s candidate was dropped.

APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yakubu Ajaka, had defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), where he emerged as the party’s governorship candidate for the November 11 governorship election in Kogi State.

Similarly, another group of protesters from Cross River State equally stormed the APC headquarters demanding the removal of the new women leader from the list.

Sources told our correspondent that the immediate past National Women Leader, Dr Betta Edu, who is the current Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, had nominated Dr Stella Odey-Ekpo to replace her from Cross River, but her candidate was schemed out to pave the way for candidate of a former governor of Edo State and former National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, Mary Alile Idele.